Great food!

🦑Savor an exquisite chamen overflowing with Sea of Okhotsk seafood at Shokujidokoro Kitaya (㐂多や)🦑 A local staple eatery located near the former Kitami-Esashi Station area in downtown Esashi, Hokkaido, it's Esashi's most popular diner, nearly full at lunchtime with customers from in and outside town. 🍜The signature chamen is a stir-fried noodle dish you can order in two varieties, salt or soy sauce. The umami of local seafood and vegetables like Esashi scallops, squid, napa cabbage, and wood ear mushrooms is concentrated in a thick, silky sauce, and the sweetness of the ingredients builds the more you eat. The portion is seriously generous, and that satisfying, can't-finish-it fullness is why it's loved by Hokkaido locals and travelers alike. Besides chamen, the menu covers everything from ebi-ju, buri kama, grilled fish set meals, sushi, ramen, and even curry — truly an "everything diner." 🏘️With a wide range of seating — a counter where sushi is made, tables, private rooms, and tatami rooms — it suits all kinds of occasions, from solo meals to family banquets. It's also a handy location for a lunch stop on a drive along the Okhotsk coast or on the way toward Soya. 🌀Closing days are irregular, so check ahead if you're coming from far away. At peak lunch hours you may have to share a table, so give yourself some extra time. A set-meal diner brimming with local love in Esashi, recommended for "those who want chamen loaded with Okhotsk seafood" and "those who want a hearty lunch on a drive through Esashi"🦑 🌟Overall rating: ★3.9 / 5.0

Second visit after a year! A place I definitely want to go whenever I'm nearby. This time I had the signature chamen (salt), the scallop curry made with Esashi's famous scallops, and fried shrimp. I was torn between the fried shrimp set meal and the chamen, but the pleasant, kind staff told me I could get the fried shrimp à la carte, so I got to eat both☺️ So grateful! The chamen comes with a piping-hot, well-seasoned sauce loaded with chunks of scallop, squid, and vegetables, and it stays hot and delicious to the very end. The fried scallop curry had 3 meaty fried scallops (just the adductor), with a roux curry featuring fall-apart beef, mild spiciness, and loads of umami — I wolfed it down. I was so busy digging into the fried shrimp that I forgot to take a photo, but it was 6 big, plump shrimp nearly 15 cm long for 1500 yen à la carte. Insane value. I didn't have it this year, but the sashimi set meal I had last year was also super fresh with lots of variety and sooo good, so there's always so much I want to eat — it's fun! I'll definitely come again!

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I stopped by on the way from Wakkanai to Abashiri. I'd searched online beforehand and read that you can eat delicious scallop dishes here, so I had high hopes. The taste exceeded my expectations — very satisfied. The fried scallops, which I love, were really delicious.

Mini katsudon set (soy sauce ramen) ¥1030 When I went around Esashi, many restaurants had closed down and weren't operating, but this place was lively. You can park right in front of the shop, and the Department Store Saijo parking lot is also right across. Sushi toppings are displayed at the counter, and it has the vibe of a Japanese izakaya with all sorts of menu items. The interior is spacious, with table seats and tatami seating in the back. Overall the menu is cheap, and the noodle-and-mini-bowl set I ordered had a solid portion. The soy sauce ramen had lard covering the entire surface and was piping hot. The broth was an exquisite, well-balanced blend of rich animal-based and seafood-based flavors. I could taste the niboshi more, and I sensed a slight fish sauce flavor — or was that just me? The katsudon was amateurish, like something you'd make at home, but the taste wasn't bad, and even though it's called a mini bowl, it had a decent amount. In northern Hokkaido, I'd gotten used to sets like this costing around 1200 yen as completely normal, so this place's pricing felt very reasonable. The service was courteous too, and this goes for Esashi as a whole: compared to other towns in northern Hokkaido, I felt Esashi's restaurants run honest businesses, serving genuinely tasty food at fair prices.

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