French Toast @ Lilas Coffee, Chuo Ward, Sapporo, Hokkaido

 

As per the tradition if you are in this side of the country, it just makes sense to visit the Sapporo Beer Museum. And being the cultural establishment that it is, lines will build up of you do not come early.   So while waiting for the museum to open it makes sense for me to get some breakfast near the premises since it only opens at 11am. 

So after wandering around, I found a quaint cafe called Lilas Coffee nearby. Located on the same road as the Sapporo Factory shopping mall, it is not hard to find. With a roaster in house, it does fell like a factor in itself, but this was nicely tempered with some modern and chic decor. After looking at the menu for a little bit, I opted to get their French toast and coffee combo for breakfast. For a mere 850 yen, that was a sweet bargain. 

It has arrived. 

What came later was pretty incredible. Thick pieces of golden brown bread along with a hot cup of joe was what I really need to start the day. And despite being something that is so simple, the overall product was definitely anything but simple. The base of the eggy bread came in the form of a thick cut shokupan, which is another Hokkaido specialty. You may probably heard of this bread type via a more famous name of the Hokkaido milk bread. 

Golden wonder

The end result is something that is quite robust. This allowed the toast to be quite thick and firm as the spongy texture of the bread absorbs the custard with relative ease. Despite that, the interior was silky and smooth. It just felt like pudding but in bread form. And a bit of maple syrup to finish off the plate, and you get something very special. 

Liquid abyss

The coffee was also quite interesting. Roasted in house, it was Columbian Blue. The owner, a sweet young lady, rotates the beans she has in her arsenal which creates a little intrigue. The coffee was pretty good too. With a crisp yet silky mouth feel, it has a nice toasted quality to it. It was pretty full bodied and the bitterness help cut out the sweetness from the French toast I had just now. A great combo. 

Front of the house. 

I was alone at the time since I was there a bit early for the beer museum. But as the hours start to tick more and more people come in. And somehow there were equal amount of foreign tourist as per locals. I am somewhat impressed on how these foreign visitors were able to find the place as it is not really central to many attractions and even the beer museum is a bit of a walk. Still, if you are within the area, this place deserves your attention. So if you are within the area, do give this place a try. The address is as follows:

〒060-0034 Hokkaido, Sapporo, Chuo Ward, Kita 4 Johigashi, 4 Chome−5番65 A・F・Dビル 1F