CoCo Ichibanya makes a very authentic Japanese curry. Japanese style curry is thicker in consistency and generally milder than Indian curry. While it does not possess the complex spices or varied undertones of Indian curries, it is very enjoyable still.
What I like most about CoCo Ichibanya is that you can completely customize your meal. From the spiciness of the curry, to the ingredients, to the weight of you rice, it can all be tailored according to your preferences.
My mom ordered one of their preset curry choices: a mild curry egg omelet with asparagus and cherry tomatoes. She enjoyed this very much.
I was not particularly hungry so I ordered my own combination of eggplant and calamari curry, medium spicy with a regular serving of rice. It was delicious but I should have ordered more ingredients as I did not expect them to be so stingy with the eggplant and calamari. Lots of curry sauce which was delicious with the Japanese pickles that was on very table. Those sweet and sour pickles were a perfect complement to the heavy curry.
Overall, I enjoyed my meal and would not hesitate to go back. It does not make my monthly rotation as curry for me goes hand in hand with garlic naan. But if you have never had Japanese curry before, I would not hesitate to recommend CoCo Ichibanya for the taste and reasonable pricing. Around $15USD per person including nonalcoholic drinks.
Other things of note: (1) Coco Ichibanya is a chain that mostly operates within Asia but has two branches in the USA located in Los Angeles and Hawaii. (2) Very clean and pleasant atmosphere. Servers are polite and efficient. (3) Try to time your visit outside of primetime lunch and dinner hours, it gets very crowded.
The branch I visited is located at: Shop 302, 3/F, Silvercord Tower, 30 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 3572-0460
Lightly crisped chicken, level 5, cheese and double meat
That’s my order every time. So funny, that I got the email alert about this post as I walked to get Coco’s after work today.
I try to avoid it because it is so fattening, but it’s also so good, lol.
Level 5?! Isn’t that crazy spicy? Where are you based now?
Yes it is spicy. I am in Tokyo. We have Coco’s every where here.
I wonder if anyone ever finishes all that sauce. It takes up most of the plate whereas in Indian restaurants, the main course is served in these rather meensy looking bowls but it always turns out that it’s actually quite a lot – just packaged in a way that is dense not spread out.
Except for the gawkiness/unprettiness of the girl, this rendering reminds me of 1960s/70s Chinese style:
Framed Art Poster 20×30, Goblin Market
I only found it because of my favorite poem:
http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/crossetti/bl-crossetti.htm
I always finish the Indian sauces but the Japanese one doesn’t look like it is supposed to be finished or is this usually shared family style?
I usually try to finish all the sauces as I love curry especially shrimp curry.
I do not think that girl is unpretty, rather that was the look of the time. =)
Both my great grandmothers carried their own scales with them to the Canton and Hong Kong wet markets because the vendor scales always lie but I don’t think anyone would dare bring one along to a HK market these days.
Would you believe that I had Coco’s only once in all my 4 years in Japan? (http://expatgourmand.blogspot.hk/2010/01/japanese-curry-coco-ichibanya-tokyo.html – the year we moved to Hong Kong.) It was also our first and only experience at a “fami-resu” (family restaurant), which we found was great for dining out with our son who was very young at the time (Japanese families avoid dining out with young kids, and when they do go out with kids, usually it’s at one of these fami-resu). Japanese curry is very easy to make at home using one of those ready-made roux cubes, and it’s a favourite meal that my Japanese mother friends like to make.
Japanese curry is easy to make but I don’t like the lingering smell of curry in the house. Plus hubby likes Japanese curry with fried pork chop, and I do not fry anything at home. Much easier to eat out.