Japanese curry flavours

By Huang Lijie, Singapore Cooks, Sunday Times dated 1 Feb 2009

Singaporeans are won over by its less spicy and milky taste

Japanese curry is finding favour with Singaporean diners, even if it is not as spicy as Indian curry or as lemak (milky) as the Malay version.

The dish has made its way onto the menus of more Japanese restaurants here, and at least three eateries specialising in the curry dish have opened in the last two years.

To widen its appeal, some restaurants are even pairing it with pizza and pasta instead of the more traditional rice and noodles.

One of the new speciality curry shops is Mr Curry in The Central. The 58-seat eatery by the Waraku group of Japanese restaurants opened last December.

A Waraku spokesman says: 'We noticed that there is a market for restaurants selling Japanese curry because the curry dishes at our Waraku restaurants, such as curry udon, have always been a hit with our customers.'

Indeed, the appetite for Japanese curry here has grown in recent years to allow the 75-seat restaurant Curry Favor, which opened in Stamford Road in 2004, to spawn a larger 100-seat outlet at Novena Square in 2007.

Veteran curry eatery Romantic Kobe, which has been selling Japanese curry in the basement of Liang Court since 1995, has also seen its business increase by some 10 per cent every year.

It is not just Japanese expatriates who are patronising these curry shops.

At Wakashachiya, a curry udon (noodle) restaurant with 64 branches in Japan and an outlet in The Central, Singaporeans make up 70 per cent of its diners here while Japanese expatriates constitute the remaining 30 per cent.

Unlike Indian, Malay or Chinese curries, which the Singaporean palate is used to, Japanese curry tends to be less spicy, slightly sweeter and of a thicker consistency.

Teaching assistant James Chan, 50, admits that he found the taste of Japanese curry 'a bit weird' when he first tried it 10 years ago while on holiday in Japan.

He says: 'It wasn't as spicy and its gravy had a creamier texture than the Chinese-style curry I was used to eating.'

However, he has grown to appreciate these qualities of Japanese curry and is now a regular customer at Wakashachiya.

For housewife Ellen Lim, 52, who is a fan of the curry tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet) at Japanese chain restaurant Tonkichi, the appeal of Japanese curry lies in the absence of coconut milk in the gravy.

She says: 'Japanese curry does not use coconut milk so it is not as oily as other Asian-style curries. Not only is it healthier, but it is also less jelat (Malay for overwhelming) to eat.'

Curry - the Indian version - was introduced to Japan in the late 1800s and was subsequently modified to suit the Japanese palate.

The dish gained popularity in the 1950s with instant curry mixes and roux bricks available for sale on supermarket shelves.

Potato, carrot, onion and curry powder are common ingredients used to make Japanese curry, although variations of the recipe exist.

At Mr Curry, mango chutney is used to enhance the taste of its homemade curry sauce, which comes in four flavours: original, cream, tomato and squid ink.

For the Shokudo chain of Japanese restaurants, where curry dishes are one of its top sellers, its curry sauce is made from imported curry paste and powder from Japan, as well as tonkatsu sauce, Fuji apples and Japanese soya sauce.

And at Wakashachiya, the soup for its curry udon uses wadashi - stock boiled from dried bonito flakes.

Japanese curry is traditionally eaten with rice or noodles, and accompanied with sides such as deep-fried meat cutlets and vegetables.

Chefs here, however, have taken to pairing the gravy creatively with pastas and pizzas because it does not have an overpowering flavour.

At Shokudo outlets, Japanese curry is paired with omu rice (tomato fried rice wrapped in an omelette) and also used as a topping in its Hokkaido-style Curry Mashed Potato Cheese Pizza.

Similarly, Mr Curry offers its Japanese curry with risotto (a creamy Italian rice dish) as well as in its naan bread (an Indian flatbread) pizzas as a pizza sauce base.

For fans of Japanese curry, these newfangled variations are much welcomed.

Account director Lily Chow, 32, who is a regular at Mr Curry, says: 'These different types of Japanese curry and new ways of eating it, in pastas and pizzas, keeps me excited and wanting more. For example, I've not eaten the squid ink curry at Mr Curry but I am keen to try it because I like squid ink spaghetti.'

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Get your curry fix

Mr Curry

Where: 03-84 The Central, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, tel: 6221-8860, open: 11.30am to 11pm daily

What: Besides boasting four flavours of curry - original, tomato, cream and squid ink - it also offers three degrees of spiciness. Hot-sellers include its crab omelette curry ($14.80) and pork cutlet curry rice ($16.80).

Wakashachiya

Where: 03-92 The Central, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, tel: 6534-9984, open: 11.30am to 3.30pm and 6 to 10.30pm daily

What: The restaurant specialises in curry udon, which comes with seven types of toppings such as lightly fried lotus root ($15.30, above) and deep-fried pork ($16.50).

Shokudo Japanese Pasta & Pizza

Where: B1-23 Citylink Mall, 1 Raffles Link, tel: 6341-9542, open: 11.30am to 11pm daily, and 02-06A Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, 8 Grange Road, tel: 6736-0971, open: 11.30 to 2am (Sun to Thu), 11.30 to 4am (Fri and Sat)

What: Tuck into Japanese curry in an array of pizza and pasta options such as Hokkaido-style Curry Mashed Potato Cheese Pizza ($10.80). Other popular items include its tonkatsu (deep-fried pork) curry rice ($13.80).

Tonkichi

Where: Various outlets, including 04-24 Takashimaya Shopping Centre, 391 Orchard Road, tel: 6735-7522, open: 10.30am to 10.30pm daily

What: This restaurant specialises in tonkatsu and its curry tonkatsu is well-loved. Try its Hire Katsu set ($21), which comes with three juicy pieces of deep-fried pork cutlet and a velvety curry sauce.

Curry Favor

Where: 01-08 Stamford House, 39 Stamford Road, tel: 6883-1087, open: noon to 10pm daily, and 03-26 Novena Square, 238 Thomson Road, tel: 6255-2395, open: 11.30am to 10pm daily

What: The curry sauce is cooked for five hours from scratch. Popular items include its beef stew curry ($16.90, above) and cheese katsu curry ($19.90), where cheese is sandwiched in a pork fillet and fried.

Romantic Kobe

Where: B1, Meidi-ya, Liang Court, 177 River Valley Road, tel: 6333-0630, open: 10am to 9.30pm daily

What: The curry sauce is served separately in metal saucers so you can decide how wet or dry your rice is. Popular items include its beef curry rice ($10.20) and pork cutlet curry ($12.30).