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If you are a TikTok user or an Instagram user, you might have seen these cute bears sitting in a Japanese hot pot. The bears are one of the recent trends on social media, which has recorded over two million views on TikTok.
They are signature menu item at a Japanese hot pot restaurant called Hokkaido Menkoi Nabe Kumachan Onsen 北海道めんこい鍋 くまちゃん温泉 (Hokkaido Cute Japanese Hot Pot -Teddy Bear Hot Spring-). Menkoi means “cute” in the Hokkaido dialect.
I visited their Shibuya Miyamasuzaka Store in Tokyo to meet the cute bears! This is their second branch which just opened on December 10th.
Report 1: Choose the color of your bear and hot spring
When I arrived at the store, the seats were almost all taken. According to a staff member, for the time being, the restaurant was only open to customer who had reserved in advance, so please make sure to book in advance.
Photo by Mochijapa
At my seat, there was such a nice wet napkin and a paper apron.
I opened the menu and was so excited by these adorable bears! There are seven soup options and the color of your bear depends on the flavor of the soup.
The flavors are:
It was really tough to choose one, but finally I chose the Junmai Ginjō Miso Sūpu. My companion’s choice was Tantan Sūpu, which was the orange-colored bear as seen below.
Photo by Mochijapa
Report 2: Choose your ingredients & sauce
Next, I chose my ingredients. There were six kinds of sets: beef, beef tongue, pork, mutton, chicken & minced chicken balls, and 特選めんこいセットTokusen Menkoi Setto (Special cute set: beef, pork, chicken, and minced chicken balls). The Tokusen Menkoi Setto is the recommended set, so I chose it. All sets come with vegetables and the choice of one additional topping from boiled dumplings, ramen noodles, or Tteokbokki (Korean rice cake sticks).
Photo by Mochijapa
You can also mix your own sauce from this sauce bar. I chose honey & lemon sauce and the original white sesame sauce.
Report 3: Meet your cute bear!
Right after I came back from the sauce bar, the moment finally came…
Photo by Mochijapa
Ta-da!
Wow! I knew it was going to be cute, but it was incredibly cute! Look at its pretty eyes and the perfect teddy bear shape!
The bear is made from collagen and fiber. So, it shakes sometimes and it is incredibly adorable.
The shop staff member was very kind enough to tell me “After you take your pictures, I’ll light up the gas stove so let me know.”
When I asked her to light the fire, the table looked like this.
Photo by Mochijapa
My white bear seems to be really enjoying his bath. How peaceful!
Photo by Mochijapa
Well-balanced and cute food. This is a really perfect dinner!
After staring my bear for a while, it suddenly fell over! I was worried, but I remembered the instructions from the staff, “When the bear falls over, it’s your sign that it’s a good time to eat!”
Photo by Mochijapa
Oh...Okay...I feel a little bad for the bear, but it’s time to eat!
I put in the vegetables and meat.
Photo by Mochijapa
“Itadakimasu!” (This is a Japanese phrase to say before you eat.)
Photo by Mochijapa
The bear was not only cute, but also very tasty!
The weather is getting colder and colder. Make a reservation or buy the kit online to enjoy the cute edible bears in delicious Japanese hot pot!
Photo by Mochijapa
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