Japanese Curry, Snubbed by Michelin, Finds Fans: Tokyo Dining

Review by Rocky Swift

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The Michelin Guide’s list of top Tokyo restaurants features French eateries, sushi shops and even blowfish specialists. Left entirely unrepresented is one of Japan’s favorite foods: curry.

Yet this gooey, affordable culinary transplant regularly tops surveys as the favorite food among Japanese school kids and adults. Introduced from India by way of English traders in the 19th century, curry has been adapted to local taste and has become as much a part of Japanese popular culture as baseball.

The Japanese version is almost like a gravy, and is thicker than Indian and Thai curries. Most shops here plant their flag either in the Indian camp, which is more aromatic and heavy on cloves, or the more-improbable European side, featuring meaty stews built on a long-reduced stock. Some Tokyo restaurants have attracted fans on the Internet and lines outside their doors.

To get up to the speed on all things curry, start with these two restaurants in central Tokyo.

The first, called Tokyo Curry Lab, is nestled inside the base of the city’s neon-lit Tokyo Tower in the southern part of the city. True to its name, its decor invokes a laboratory atmosphere, with a glass-walled demonstration area in the front and jars of spices suggesting chemical reactions.

Seats are arranged around a bare white counter with soundless movies and cartoons playing on tiny personal TV sets, and place mats that offer trivia such as “curry causes body temperature to rise and increases the blood flow in our brain.”

Pork, Chicken

I tried a combo dish of the spicy pork and almond chicken varieties; the pork was mild enough for infants and the chicken was a bit gritty from the pounded nuts mixed into the sauce.

The other curry classroom is in the basement food court of the Itocia building in the Yurakucho area. Called Club of Tokyo Famous Curry Diners, it claims to serve curries from five of the city’s most-celebrated restaurants. While the restaurant offers variety, it lacks made-to-order appeal.

On a recent visit, I tried a special “beef-beef” menu item, a minced meat keema curry on rice with a rich, European- style meat reduction sauce in a separate bowl to dump over the rest. It was rich and filling; my companion said her chicken curry was too mild.

According to Japan’s Supleks Web site, which ranks the nation’s best curry and ramen noodles based on surveys, the second-best curry eatery is the Curry Rice Senmonten Ethiopia, in the central Ochanomizu district. Despite its name, this joint specializes in Indian-inspired curries.

At the vending machine inside the door, I chose a chicken- and-vegetable mixed curry for 1,200 yen ($13.40) and a tall bottle of Heartland beer for another 500 yen.

Free Potato

Taking a seat at the long counter, the waiter delivered a steamed potato with a pat of butter (I had three: they’re complimentary. Awesome.) and asked how spicy I wanted my curry on a scale of one to 70. He steered me toward Level 3, while that scholarly kid to my right ordered the same at Level 20.

The curry had large chunks of juicy chicken and veggies -- including broccoli, shimeji mushrooms and okra -- that were still crisp amidst the steaming broth. The sauce was somewhat watery and lacking the complexity I’d expected.

To sample a more European-style joint, I went with one of food writer Robb Satterwaite’s recommendations to a place called Tomato, in the commuter neighborhood of Ogikubo in western Tokyo. A server there explained the name came from using tomato as a base for many of their sauces.

Beef-Tongue Curry

I heard a number of orders for the beef-tongue curry, but I went with the veal option for 1,680 yen as it seemed the most decadent. The rice was sprinkled with preserves and cheese and the sauce came in a separate metal pot.

Described as mild on the menu, I was still surprised at how meek the milk-infused sauce was; its aromatic seasonings, creamy texture and lack of salt gave it an odd latte-like flavor. Maybe I should have done the tongue.

Well, enough messing around, it was time to go for the best. I went on a pilgrimage to M’s Curry, in a nondescript neighborhood west of the city center. Down a typical commercial alley and sharing a strip with a butcher and fishmonger, I could tell M’s popularity just by the line out the door.

Around 15 minutes later, I was sitting at the L-shaped counter in front of an open kitchen and a bearded chef, who alone took orders, fired the burners, served the meals and collected the money.

I chose the popular 870-yen pork curry. The complimentary salad was a simple affair made more interesting by a homemade Italian-style dressing. The curry resembled a landscape sculpture on a plate: an ocean of brown sauce with a cliff of roasted pork next to a narrow peninsula of white rice.

The sauce is dense with flavor, with sweetness and meaty richness trumping the spiciness; the pork was plentiful and soft.

The combination was just amazing, which goes to show that when it comes to Japanese curry, you might have to brave the outer boroughs.

The Bloomberg Questions

Cost? 800 yen to 2,000 yen.

Sound level? All the restaurants are quiet.

Date place? Not really.

Inside tip? The Kanda area, near where Ethiopia is located, has a cluster of some of the country’s top-rated curry spots, as ranked by Supleks.

Special feature? Try the 70 times spice at Ethiopia.

Private rooms? No, mostly counter seating.

Will I be back? Yes to all.

Rating? Tokyo Curry Lab *, Club of Tokyo *, Ethiopia **, Tomato **, M’s Curry ***

Tokyo Curry Lab, Tokyo Tower 2nd Floor, Shibakoen 4-2-8, Minato-ku. +81-3-5425-2900. http://www.orange-p.co.jp/currylab/

Club of Tokyo, Itoocia B1, Yurakucho 2-7-1, Chiyoda-ku. +81-3-3211-0616. http://www.t-curry-m.com/

Ethiopia, Kanda Ogawamachi 3-10-6, Chiyoda-ku. +81-3-3295- 4310. http://www.ethiopia-curry.com/menu.html

Tomato, Ogikubo 5-20-7, Suginami-ku. +81-3-3393-3262.

M’s Curry, Sasazuka 2-10-6, Shibuya-ku. +81-3-3378-4744.



What the Stars Mean
**** Incomparable food, service, ambience.
*** First-class of its kind.
** Good, reliable.
* Fair.
(No stars) Poor.
(Rocky Swift writes for Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Rocky Swift in Tokyo at rswift5@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 18, 2009 11:31 EST