37 CURRY shop opens at Roppongi Hills

Is it expensive? I love Samrat for their great food, staff and the family that runs it.

Why does almost all curry in Japan have to be meat based? Even what's passed off as veggy curry has animal ingredients ( usually lard ).

paulinusa.

You just need to hit a proper curry shop, most don't advertise.

I got a great one run by a guy for 35yrs now and his curry and ingredients are all imported. Don't break the wallet either. You won't find any Beef on his menu(Chicken, Mutton, etc) he also caters for the local Hindi community.

Samrat and fellow chains suck for great curry, IMHO.

Zenny11 : I was going to recommend J's Kitchen for curry (vegetarian and organic) at Hiro station but checked their website and they're closed (relocating?). It seems they're victims of the earthquake in that either quality vegetables are difficult to find or people are suspicious of eating them. What a shame.

paulinusa.

Not too familiar with the places inside Yamanote-line. Myself haunt the western tokyo area and if you are willing to travel.

Contact me via the forum and I got a few suggestions or we could meet up.

Place I was talking about got the thumbs-up from my Indian friends, etc. Spicy but not hot.

Forgot his Naan is BIIG and he also does Briyani, etc.

Wouldn't dream of going to this place. there are twoi Indian restaurants in my City, both don't have too much variety on the menu but unlike japanese curry house chians, they are flexible and know their job.Problem most palces in Japan for Indian food is lack of variety and lack of authentic grub.

Japanese rice is also a no no when eating curry.

Like the british would know proper curry. ;)

Some do but the majority are simply fed a fare provided for them. FYI, Japanese curry came from the british. ;)

Most of the curry restaurants are actually run by nepali and thus closer to their cuisine. Look for places that specialise in southern(indian) curries).

Zenny11; I had good learning of authentic Indian from an early age as my best friends motehr was Indian.

I know about Japanese curry origins but curries eveolve and Jpaanese curries don't so much. he Japanedse type of curry was served at schools and workplaces when i was younger. It is ok, but people back home want everything more authentic nowadays, or what they perceive to be as authentic like Chicken Tikka Masala. In fact where i used to live in South London most of the first Indian restuarnts were run by Bangledeshi refugees who pretended they were from India.

These Japanese curry places are ok if you want something cheap after a beer but i wouldn't go for a proper meal. My mother in law used to make a decent curry when she was well, nothing like the curry shop advertised.

Don't knwo about tokyo but in Kansai there are quite a few Nepali restaurants, generous portions, good value and their curries usually pack a punch.

I worked alongside Indian, Bangladeshi, etc for over 10yrs and I was often a guest at their homes and most of what is sold commercially as curry don't even come close.

Still can't find a decent Samoosa here, you know the crispy-fried triangles. ;)

Bought some reasonable frozen vegetarian samosas from Indojin.com, Pretty aurthentic but only come in packs of 25 so you need decent freezer space.They also often have special deals on Indian snacks and sweets.

It is very hard to find real authentic curry here as they adjust the menu for Japanese taste and by the looks of it most are not too adventurous.If you live in the sticks like me and know a little Indian restaurant that knwos its stuff they will usually make plenty of off menu dishes. More vegetarian are my main gripe here, i am not veggie but don't eat meat so often.

Hippo got the answer.

Got 2 locally ones, decent grub and atmosphere for a decent price. Been visiting those for 14yrs now.

Thanks, will look into Indojin.com. 25 won't survive long between moi and son. ;)

This weekend I will be making some Chilly-bites.

Hippo.

In central Tokyo yes, less here in the burbs/sticks. ;)

ADK99.

Give us ready locations for better ones. Remember we are not all in your area.

Japanese rice is also a no no when eating curry.

Oh, no. You mean improperly cooked Japanese rice.

And this takes me back onto topic.

My local curry shop charges me 750Yen for a curry(choice), Naan or yellow rice(long grain) plus yoghurt salad and a drink(lassi is an option).

He offers a few sets the biggest is 2 curries(choice), salad, drink, naan or yellow rice, Tandoori chicken, another type of bread and you won't break 1.400Yen.

Briyani comes in lower and his food got the approval from my Indian, etc friends. As they studied at the local UNI and hated the local curries, etc.

Zenny11; that's teh kind of prices we have round here. The places round here always give me bigger protions than the locals and double the size nan bread.

I have known a few Indians since i came here and none are fond of japanese curries at all and i don't blame them really.

Steve.

Fully get you.

Glad you got some good options and decent food. I buy many of my ingredients from him. ;)

Glad you are sorted. ;)

paulinusa:

Why does almost all curry in Japan have to be meat based?

As a vegetarian, that's my biggest complaint about curry (and food in general) in Japan. I just visited the supermarket today and found a packet of dhal. It had meat. I'm not an expert on curries, but I have never in my life seen dhal with meat. Now and again, there may be a truly vegetarian curry, but then it disappears from the shelves after a few weeks.

I agree with some others - once you've tried real home cooked Indian food (lovely South Indian food from my old Indian colleagues), then you'll realize what the Japanese are missing out on. The same old four types of curry and naan gets boring. And the restaurant food is particularly greasy and very rich. Not a fan of Japanese rice with Indian food, just like Mr Roper.

Pukey2 : And even with the meat based ingredients some products are still claimed to be a "vegetable" version.

"standing curry shop"

That's like a standing udon or sushi shop. I won't stand for that. Who wants to stand and eat? Apparently a bunch of people, lol.

The ubiquitous curry rice we see all over Japan is said to come from the Hotel Ritz in Paris, via a Japanese chef from Tokyo's Imperial Hotel, who was working there under Auguste Escoffier in the 1920s or 30s. The story goes that the French giovernment of the day wanted to find a way to stimulate the economies of their colonies in Indochina by increasing a domestic demand for white rice - produced in Indochina. The French government is said to have asked Escoffier to come up with a dish the average Frenchman would enjoy and eat often in the homeland, and Escoffier whipped up the sort of curry sauce-heavy beef and shrimp curry we see now here everywhere, and served them with French condiments and shredded coconut. The Imperial Hotel chef brought the Escoffier Ritz recipe back to Tokyo after his stint at the Ritz ended and offered it on the hotel's western menus, but changed the condiments to the popular Japanese 'rakkyo' and 'fujinzuke' we find here. Escoffier's curry flopped in France, but the dish caught on bigtime in Japan and the Imperial's version was widely copied around the country, where you can find it almost everywhere in watered down form even today.