Topic: Curry House CoCo Tokyo

[prawnsalad]

Having been back two weeks following a fortnights holiday in Tokyo I realised it was time to make a curry.
The purpose of cooking this one was to be sure I was right about the food I?d had at Curry House CoCo an eatery which has a similar conveyor belt operational style to many traditional Japanese caf?/bar restaurants, something I had not been looking for or had expected to find in Japan.

One thing I realised while there is I?m not big on Sushi or Sashimi probably due to my indifference when it comes to rice (which makes up 90% of each mouthful of raw fish,) so I took the opportunity to try two eat-in dishes (Cuttlefish and a Mixed Seafood Curry) from this company which according to its English version website:

https://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/info/profile.html

has been around since 1978 and has curry houses in 10 other countries.
This is the direct link to its menu:

https://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/info/pdf/multilingual_1603.pdf

For me both meals tasted almost the same as what I have been making for years now (ie. Fresh tasting curry completely lacking a real BIR flavour.)

Not that I was expecting BIR at all as the Japanese aren?t familiar with it but what I did find interesting that all dishes use the same final curry (pre-made offsite according to their website) regardless of what meat/fish is added although unlike their few competitors CoCo allow you to choose the heat level (1-10) of any dish, only serving you a 5-10 after you?ve managed an entire level 5 previously. I found level 3 to be similar to a typical Madras back here.

So if you find yourself in Japan its worth a look if only for the seafood angle.

Here is a link to a few photos for those interested as in my view anything curry is interesting (The file host is Russian but quick so click the button on the left then the link that appears ignoring/closing any adverts, its just a zip file with JPG images.

http://sendfile.su/1232210

[Sverige]

Very interesting post, thanks for sharing this Prawnsalad. From what I know of Japanese curry, they make a curry roux with flour and curry powder (like Khoan's now deleted Chinese curry paste video) and add it to a watery soup of root vegetables (more potato and carrot than onions). So this might give a clue to the origins of the "BIR flavour" as the frying of spices in hot oil and the mainly onion based base gravy are both absent from the Japanese method.

Interesting choice of holiday venue too. No Spanish beaches for you! I'm a little jealous actually as I've often been intrigued by the "otherworldness" of Japan. I hope to make it there one day.

[chewytikka]

Two weeks in Tokyo, Nice one
I remember doing a bit re-searching for this and came up with the same fast food company.
circa 2013
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,12153.msg97420.html#msg97420

My conclusion was probably the same as Maysan/Makway instant curry blocks and NO comparison to BIR. At All.

I think I would have been trying the noodle shops or watching the Teppanyaki - jugglers

[Garp]

Nice insight into the Tokyo take on curry. Thanks for the post