Hoa Sen Restaurant — Restaurant in Sapporo

I really don’t want to give this restaurant a one star but the owner needs to improve hygiene practices and service. First of all, they have too few people trying to serve the number of people (which were not many). There’s one main male cook in the kitchen, and then there’s another guy (guy #2) who delivers food to the table and also does some food preparation like putting together cold chicken salad. There’s another woman who comes out to take orders from a customer.

I was there 10 minutes without being seated. Guy #2 said for me to wait and so I stood there in the doorway. There are trays of empty dishes that people have finished eating and that have not yet been removed. This waiting is not too much of a problem as I have waited longer for a seat in other restaurants. But, what I observed next while standing there just grossed me out. I observed guy #2 cutting cooked chicken and assembled fresh ingredients onto a plate with bare hands without washing his hands first. He just goes in and out of the restaurant delivering food and back in and touched cooked food with bare hands. These same were handing menus to customers. Small thongs should be placed with fresh ingredients so that you don’t have to touch it and gloves should be used when touching cooked food. This is serious food poisoning waiting to happen. I...

Not sure how this place got such good reviews.

The food overall was quite disappointing considering the high rating.

The item listed as 'fried chicken' on the menu is actually chicken cartilage with no meat. Poor translation until you get to the actual bill.

The beef pho was a novelty being served Shabu-Shabu style but the actual broth lacked good beef flavour and those classic pho spices.

The soft shell crab was Chinese style with a sauce. Not spicy at all.

Not inedible but not proper...

The food tastes very good, the service attitude of the staff is good. The staff here wear “Ao dai” - the traditional costume of Vietnam. All of them are Vietnamese, they can speak Japanese and English. You can talk to them comfortably, Vietnamese people are very friendly. Restaurant is very beautiful, with decorations and paintings about Vietnam. Is a suitable place for those who want to know more about this country. I will...