Hokkaido Revisit 2017 三回目の北海道の旅 - Biei Senka 美瑛選果

Revisited on 14.10.2017 (Sat)
Previous post: http://hsuchia.blogspot.sg/2013/02/hokkaido-summer-2012-asperges-biei-senka.html

Memorable experience. The previous time when I was in Biei, I felt that I did not explore this scenic town well enough. Despite that, Biei Senka 美瑛選果 was one place which I fondly remember from my first visit to Hokkaido. Here, we enjoyed a memorable and exquisite lunch experience at Asperges, an in-house restaurant which serves French cuisine and my family would still mention about it whenever we reminisced about Hokkaido. Apart from that, we brought back heaps of snacks from Senka Ichiba 選果市場, the section where local agricultural products from Biei are put up for sale here.

Alfresco area for patrons of Senka Kobo. 

Asperges.

10 years. After accomplishing my expedition of Patchwork Road, I cycled back to the main town and made my way to Biei Senka. Recognised the iconic, modern looking container house immediately when I turned into the parking area. Biei Senka is an antenna concept shop, aimed to showcase and promote a wide array of products harvested from the land of Biei. This shop set foot in this small town a decade ago and has become a place where both locals and tourists drop by and gather to enjoy delicious flavours that Biei has to offer. Apart from the flagship store, Biei Senka also operates two other antenna shops; one in New Chitose Airport (a good place to head down to for last minute shopping before departure) and the other one in Yurakucho, Tokyo (opened in 2015). The Michelin 1 star accredited French restaurant, Asperges, is the pride of Biei Senka and continues to impress diners with their creations, incorporating ingredients from Hokkaido.

Senka Ichiba.

At Senka Ichiba, I felt like a regular customer here; helped myself to the food samples and located my favorite snack corner effortlessly. Before I stepped into this market section of Biei Senka, I have already set sight on what I wanted to buy from here - the same snacks which I bought five years ago.

- Dice milk ダイスミルク (350 yen): Do not underestimate this small freeze dried milk cube! Popping this into the mouth will unleash the richness and sweetness of raw milk and raw cream concentrated in the milk cube. For milk lovers including myself, this is an irresistible and crazily addictive snack and the entire content will be exhausted in no time, without much effort needed. I wil highly recommend bringing this back home!

- Freeze dried corn とうきび (300 yen): Another equally additive and delectable snack. You will be amazed by the amount of natural sweetness contained in each tiny dried corn kernel and it felt like eating fresh corn out from a cob. This is another item not to be missed out in your shopping list.

- Freeze dried azuki beans あずき (350 yen): This is a new product introduced recently. Similar concept is employed like the two products mentioned above, azuki beans are first boiled with sugar and then freeze dried. These sweet red beans can be eaten directly from the pack or used as a condiment for ice-cream. Bought a couple of these back this time round and my parents like it a lot. 

After all the shopping at Senka Ichiba, it was time to grab a rich and creamy Biei's milk soft serve (310 yen) from Senka Kobo 選果工房, the section of Biei Senka where sweets such as roll cakes and pudding prepared by professional chefs can be purchased from here.

Yet another fruitful trip to Biei Senka!

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Biei Senka 美瑛選果
北海道上川郡美瑛町大町2丁目
Opening hours: Differs with season https://bieisenka.jp/store/
http://bieisenka.jp/

How to get there? 
(1) Approx 10 minutes walk from Biei JR Station.