Over the last decade, this owner-chef of Molière has established himself as one of the leading French cuisine chefs in Hokkaido and is best known for his great respect for tradition.
Like many of the 3-star Michelin restaurants in Japan, chef Hiroshi Nakamichi's Molière is tucked away in a quiet residential district across the street from the Maruyama Park. The interior is decorated in a modern European style which we found extremely homey and comfortable.
There were a total of 3 different lunch sets being served with price tags ranging from ¥2,400 to ¥6,400. After carefully weighing our options, we decided on the most expensive Menu Molière thinking that we could sample a few more of Chef Hiroshi Nakamichi's signature dishes.
Bread, 8/10
Lunch started off brightly with a nice piece of homemade bread.
By the time it arrived on my plate, it was still smoking as if it has just come straight out of the oven. Warm, spongy and crunchy on the outside. That's the way I liked it!
Burdock soup, 6/10
For anyone who's tired of pastry or fish as amuse bouche, this one's for you!
This tiny cup of burdock soup had a strong flavor and excellent depth. It tasted as if it's been blended with some sort of beans. Very "beany".
Herring salad, 4/10
Next up, we had a beautifully presented salad with assorted vegetables and herring. The key of this dish was really the three kinds of purée dressing served on the side.
I tried to mix the purée well with the salad and the result was just average. The olive purée (brown) was flavorful while citrus purée (yellow) was refreshing. Both, I found quite enjoyable to go with the leaves. But the berry purée (red) disappointingly did not carry much flavor.
Foie gras, 6/10
The first real test came from our second starter - a sautéed foie gras from Landes. The thick slab of foie gras was perfectly sautéed to golden colored and then served on a big slice of artichoke with a port wine sauce providing the finishing touch.
The texture of the foie gras was brilliant but there was a bit too much black pepper on top.
Ray fish, 4/10
For the second dish in a roll, we were served with something sautéed - this time a sautéed ray fish fillet served with cabbage.
There was some citrus in the sauce that made it slightly too sour for my liking.
Also there was way too much grease. My family doctor probably won't recommend this dish.
Pear and tea, 3/10
Time for a change of pace as our server brought us a little sorbet as our palate cleansers before the meat course arrived. This was a pear and tea flavored sorbet with brandy. Not enough flavor from the tea unfortunately and the liquor seemed a little too overpowering.
Duck, 7/10
Our meat course of the day was a duck breast with caramelized radish, liver paste and potato gratin.
The duck breast was served somewhere in between medium and medium rare allowing the meat to stay tender and juicy. The sauce with spring onion was a little bit of a weird choice in French dining (perhaps too Asian influenced) but nevertheless, this was an excellent dish coming from a talented kitchen.
Vacherin, 6.5/10
Finally we saw some creativity and innovation in one of our dishes - our dessert Vacherin. Presented like a potted plant, this was a bowl of coconut meringue sitting on a bed of vanilla ice cream and pineapple slices.
Not exactly super creative but at least it's not boring.
Sweets, 5/10
From a kitchen known for its traditional French cuisine, I was fully prepared for some macarons at this point but instead they threw me a 'curveball'. How about a slice of preserved grapefruit on top of a kiwi jelly cube for a change?
The grapefruit I thought tasted fairly good and not to be outdone was the orange liquor flavored marshmallow on the side.
The passion was certainly there but I thought it would be hard pressed to justify the 3-star status.
Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: ¥¥¥
Address: 1/F Lafayette Miyagaoka, 1-1 Miyagaoka 2chome Chuou-ku, Sapporo
Closest Metro Station: Maruyama-koen
Tel: +81 011-631-3155
Website: www.sapporo-moliere.com
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