Today's recommendation is on my favorite curry house CoCoICHIBANYA that originated from Japan. My first encounter of the brand was actually in Thailand. I remembered the somewhat cute logo:
I can't find any local website except for it's Facebook page. So far I know there are branches at 313, Bugis+ and The Star Vista, all fairly new.
Why is it my favorite Japanese Curry House? Actually the restaurants are small to mid-size outfits that are not spectacular at sight. The pricing is not super cheap as well. But what it lacked in restaurant settings and pricing, it has made up in taste. Especially for those who love spicy food. A snap shot of The Star Vista branch beautified with my app filter:
(By the way I love the architecture of The Star Vista with its go green concept with no air conditioning in common areas and its tall ceiling for each floor.)
CoCoICHIBANYA has a special offering allowing eaters to select the level of hotness of the curry. If I recalled correctly, it has 5 levels. From hot, very hot, extra hot, super hot to crazy hot! LOL! Ok, all the curry are supposedly hot, but if you know Japanese Curry, the standard ones are not known to be a challenge to the average Singaporean. If you cannot tolerate spicy at all, I think there is a particular offering that is supposed to be for kids.
The restaurant also allows one to choose the amount of (Japanese pearl) rice that goes with your curry. If you choose to reduce your rice quantity by 1 tier (low carb eaters and small eaters...), you get a $1 discount from listed price, and you top up $1 for 1 tier above standard quantity etc. Not bad right? At least it gives you options!
My favorite preference for my curry rice is extra hot level and standard portion of rice. See picture on my delicious Pork katsu curry ($12 excl tax and service charge) at The Star Vista outlet. The hotness level is just nice for me. It numbs my lips and gives my tummy a fiery time (I love hot stuff so the descriptions are all good.). The quantity of rice is just nice for a hungry me as well and the texture of rice is just nice and not too dry or too moist.
I think the pricing of the menu items is fair too. Curry katsu at other Japanese restaurants can cost up to $20 excluding tax etc, although of course the type and quality of meat selection may differ. I know of a certain restaurant that offers selection of which section of the piggy you would like as your katsu. But the price tag is more than double that of CoCoICHIBANYA. There are cheaper curry katsu sold at food courts too. But so far I have yet to encounter one with very good curry.
By the way, CoCoICHIBANYA does offer other meat choices like chicken, beef, vegetables, fish, etc to go with your curry. It's just that I prefer the most conventional pork katsu most of the time. Oh ya, before I forget, CoCoICHIBANYA also graciously offer eaters unlimited seasoned sweet pickles. Trust me. It's super nice to go with the spicy curry! There is a plastic container of these pickles at every table. I swear I can finish half tub of the pickles with my rice. Two persons can easily finish a whole tub (Oops)! I would say this highlight is a plus plus plus point of the restaurant!
I love my curry at CoCoICHIBANYA!! I hope they will retain the tradition of free pickles forever!!! Lol. Lovely rating: 9/10.
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