Jingisukan BBQ @ Tirol, Furano (Hokkaido)

After snowboarding the whole afternoon after arriving at the ski resort in Furano, we were tired, but decided to head out of the hotel for dinner. Since the resort was located about 10 minutes from downtown Furano, we caught the Downtown Shuttle to Tirol Lamb Barbecue, adjacent to a small western-style inn operated by the same people. Tirol serves Jingisukan (i.e. "Genghis Khan"), lamb grilled on a dome-shaped barbecue plate. This dish is so-named because the people generally associates lamb with the Mongolians, and the shape of the cooking grill resembles the Mongolian soldiers' helmets which the soldiers apparently used to cook their food,

Tirol Lamb BBQ, below the Cafe and next to the inn; and the menu and instructions on how to enjoy Jingisukan barbecue, in English:

Tirol is a warm, cozy eatery with friendly and smiling waitresses, offering hot comfort food - the perfect refuge beckoning to cold travellers in the snowy world outside. One table was taken up by a couple of Australian guys, and a short while after our arrival, another table was filled with six Australian men in their fifties or sixties, coincidentally also from Perth! These Aussies were in Furano for (almost) the same reason as us - the ski slopes. There were a few things on the menu, and we knew what we wanted so we didn't take long to decide. Honey and Rob are big fans of lamb, and poor guys are deprived in Japan where for the most part, lamb is hard to get. Their meal choice was a no-brainer, and both of them got the Tirol Set which includes both the lamb loin and shoulder cuts, vegetables, kimchi (Korean pickles), rice, gelato and tea. The barbecue items come with a homemade sauce with a choice of non-spicy (sweet), "middle spicy" or "very spicy". When our waitress saw that we couldn't decide which sauce we wanted, she said she'd bring out all three for us to try. All three went well with the barbecue lamb and veges, and just as we suspected, the "very spicy" sauce barely left a tingle. Rob and my sister enjoyed the barbecued lamb.

The uncooked ingredients; and the lamb meat and vegetables assembled as per instruction and cooking on the dome-shaped grill plate:

The Stone-baked Curry looked interesting, so I ordered the chicken version as well as additional vegetables for the barbecue to ensure that we got our sufficient nutrition during the trip. The Japanese curry came out bubbling in a hot stone bowl containing tender chicken pieces and pumpkin slices on top of a bed of rice, with a cheese topping that had been browned very nicely. It's very much a comfort food, and I quite enjoyed it. I think Japanese-style curry is starting to grow on me.
After our meal, we shared Chocolate Gelato and Matcha Gelato (green tea) which came with Rob's and Honey's sets, and they were delicious indeed.

Stone-baked curry:

We had a nice experience at Tirol, and if you're ever in Furano, I definitely recommend this little eatery for a Jingisukan meal.