Any spicy addicts among my dear merry goers?
For those of you who like me love spicy food and especially enjoy challenging your taste buds to the world of spices you will find my latest food post extremely enjoyable. Once again thanks to Butterfly Project for arranging this Japanese Curry dinner for us where we were able to challenge our tolerance to spicy food at CoCo ICHIBANYA Curry House, 1 Utama Shopping Centre.
Serving Japanese Curry dishes, my mouth was watering even before stepping into the restaurant no thanks to all the delectable and delicious looking display dishes right in front of the restaurant! Super love Japanese restaurant because seriously, how are they able to recreate these realistic looking dishes? So tempting!
Before we were served with our dishes, we were introduced to the concept behind CoCo ICHIBANYA Curry House and the spicy levels for the curries. There are 5 different curry levels where 1 is the least spicy and 5 is the maximum. As they were afraid we might not be able to tolerate the highest level, they decided to serve the Level 5 Curry Sauce on the side. Altogether we tasted 7 of the dishes served at CoCo ICHIBANYA.
First up we have the Beef Yakiniku Curry which was served with the standard curry sauce. If you are not sure which curry level you liked, you can opt for the standard curry sauce which is the most acceptable curry level. The beef yakiniku was tender and well seasoned but of course let's focus on their curry sauce. The standard curry sauce is considered to be still mild for my taste buds but I must say the sauce is really fragrant and had a unique taste to it different from the normal curry we normally consume locally. From the colour of the curry which is darker, it is thicker and had a sweet tinge to it.
Let's now proceed to Level 1 which has definitely got to be very mild. The fragrance of the spices is still there but the level of spiciness is definitely missing. Served with the Level 1 sauce was the Pork Cutlet Omelette Curry which has one of the best tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) I have tried. Crispy and evenly battered with breadcrumbs, the pork cutlet was deep-fried to perfection leaving the meat still slightly pink and moist on the insides. One of my pet peeves about fried food which make me avoid them is overfrying the ingredient until it is all dried and greasy but well done to CoCo ICHIBANYA for doing a good job on their pork cutlet. The curry helps to balance of the greasiness from the pork cutlet as well plus do not even let me get started on the omelette served with this dish. Creamy and fluffy, this omelette is just so soft it practically melts in your mouth.
For those who love your beef, you might prefer the Wagyu Beef Steak Curry where we were served with the Level 2 curry. Nicely seared, the wagyu beef remains pink and not overcooked retaining the pinkish hue to the meat. Although I would prefer my meat to be slightly thicker I do understand wagyu beef is quite costly. Up til Level 2, the curry still remains mild for me but I could see some of my comrades starting to feel the heat.
Come on it is time to level up to Level 3 curry which was served with the Creamed Mushroom Omelette Curry. Bathe in the Level 3 curry, this has got to be one of my favourite combinations because the mushroom sauce is so creamy and I love how the whole dish really complements each other with the mushroom and the fragrant omelette topped with the curry. It is like the perfect comfort food for me but well sorry to say this Level 3 curry still does not give my any kick.
Ok now enough of fun and games! It is time for my taste buds to feel some heat so let us level up to the Level 4 curry where we were served with the Grilled Squid with Mayonnaise Curry. This has got to be one of the best grilled squid so far. I normally will not order grilled squid because if you do not grill it properly, it will turn rubbery really fast and you will be chewing on the squid like a piece of gum before you can swallow it. However the squid was grilled just nice, with it still being tender and the addition of the mayonnaise gave me that Japanese taste like having some mentai sushi. But do take note that the mayonnaise do reduce the spicy level down a notch and BUT Level 4 curry why you still not spicy? *sigh* Unfortunately, my expectation of the Level 4 curry is still mild although I could see my comrades sweating and avoiding the sauce, it's either their tolerance for spicy food is really low or there is something wrong with my taste buds. So it was time to challenge their spiciest curry which was Level 5 and yet *sobs* it was not up to my fiery expectations! I could feel the heat from the Level 5 curry but I was hoping that their highest level curry had more kick to it. Plus I added the additional chili powder provided at each table but yet nope... definitely no kick yet.
Note: My dear merry goers, please take note that my spicy tolerance is really quite high so it may not reflect the actual spicy level for the curry at CoCo ICHIBANYA.
My other comrades refused to touch the additional Level 5 sauce and well, only me and Bowie which had rather good tolerance to spicy food finished the whole bowl of Level 5 sauce. Even the owner was surprised and looked at us like we were aliens from outer space when we told him Level 5 was still mild!
Of course not everything is spicy at CoCo ICHIBANYA and there are several cooling appetizers that you can order. I am a huge fan of smoked salmon, well technically anything salmon but smoked salmon is seriously oh-so-good! When I saw there was Smoked Salmon Salad Goma on the menu, boy was I delighted! The Smoked Salmon was just so good but I would prefer them cutting it into smaller pieces so that it will be evenly mixed with the salad rather than this huge pieces which well honestly I would be more than happy to eat it on its own! The sesame dressing paired well with the overall salad but well sesame dressing always taste good so this is a no brainer.
Another must try salad is the Bacon and Pumpkin Salad Goma! Can you just imagine this salad with the bits of crunchy bacon in it and let me tell you beforehand that I am not a fan of pumpkin! Well, technically I am not a fan of any vegetables that do not have like a defined texture for example pumpkin, squash or slimy texture like lady fingers but at CoCo ICHIBANYA they prepared their pumpkin salad really well retaining some solid texture to the pumpkin and it was really good. Creamy and sweet plus the savoury bits from the bacon makes this salad an all-rounder.
Lastly, thank you CoCo ICHIBANYA for the cool ice-cream treat to end the night. For those of you who would like to challenge yourself to the curry at CoCo ICHIBANYA I dare you to try the Level 5 one and let me know what you think about it!
Coco Ichibanya Curry House
1 Utama, LG 333A, Lower Ground, New Wing
Contact: +603 7732 8937
For more information:
Website: http://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Curry-House-CoCo-Ichibanya
1 Utama, LG 333A, Lower Ground, New Wing
Contact: +603 7732 8937
For more information:
Website: http://www.ichibanya.co.jp/english/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Curry-House-CoCo-Ichibanya
16 Comments
Didnt know that they have yummy salads there...love the healthy treat
ReplyDeletealright, so much choices of food. Thinking which to get start, shall wait my dear to tell me.
ReplyDeleteOh, didn't attend this one with the butterflies, else will be able to meet you! I have tried the shop in Tokyo itself, the curry rice is really good! No wonder the one here is as good too :)
ReplyDeleteHow I wish that Ichibanya is halal - will be a great place to spend with my friends over the food!
ReplyDeleteI tried this before when I was in the 1 utama food hunt, but only those dishes with no pork... and it was yummy....!!!!!
ReplyDeletewow~!! Creamed Mushroom Omelette Curry looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteWonder how Creamed Mushroom Omelette Curry taste like. Looks delicious...
ReplyDeleteCreamed Mushroom Omelette Curry always my 1st choice !
ReplyDeleteI love their salad. Usually I have the Smoked Salmon Salad Goma and other salad also.
ReplyDeleteThe main course portion are big enough, i think i need to share if i order it. Well, I am interested to the Ice-cream, hehehe
ReplyDeletebeen hearing a lot good reviews and yet i have yet to try it out! T_T
ReplyDeleteIm willing to try level 3 (max). Looks so good!
ReplyDeleteso banyak curry.. not bad. I like spicy food, but not those "super spicy" type, just enough spice to tingle the taste buds. :D yum!
ReplyDeleteHeard so much about this place, the Pork Cutlet Omelette Curry looks really appetizing, would like to try that out :)
ReplyDeletei love jap curry always. i always walk by this place in one utama, must go in and try soon
ReplyDeleteAh I have tried this place before and the dishes are not bad. Their variety is pretty vast though so props for that :)
ReplyDelete