Questions about Japanese Curry.

[Lord_Leperman]

So I'd like to hear from you guys. We've been eating so much curry over the past few years that I'd like to get some feedback.

1) What do you guys see or expect in Japanese Curry? Like what kind of ingredients do you expect, and how much of it is inside?

2) Any particular preference for it like should it be sweeter, spicier, sour, etc? And what about the texture, do you prefer it to be thicker or thinner?

3) Appearance, what color or smell would be most appealing for you?

4) Describe your ideal curry is as great detail as possible.

5) Given your preference, how much are you willing to pay for it? Honestly. Also, how often would you be eating it at that price range?

5) Any other comments.

[NiX]

By the way, this is pretty serious. We're thinking of putting up a curry place. But that should've been obvious with the questions asked.

[Hell Heart]

So I'd like to hear from you guys. We've been eating so much curry over the past few years that I'd like to get some feedback.

1) What do you guys see or expect in Japanese Curry? Like what kind of ingredients do you expect, and how much of it is inside?

-Just the usual for me. Carrtos, potato and whatever meat. Preferably beef.

2) Any particular preference for it like should it be sweeter, spicier, sour, etc? And what about the texture, do you prefer it to be thicker or thinner?

-Spicier and thick I guess.

3) Appearance, what color or smell would be most appealing for you?

-Not sure what to look for as long as it looks like curry? lol

4) Describe your ideal curry is as great detail as possible.

-My moms cooking curry..lol

5) Given your preference, how much are you willing to pay for it? Honestly. Also, how often would you be eating it at that price range?

-Im not sure about the usual price but from what Ive seen it ranges from 180-200+? Im always willing to try but I havent eaten curry that keeps me coming back.

5) Any other comments.

[Fox]

1. Just the normal kind. Lots of meat (doesn't matter if it beef, pork or chicken) and potatoes, with generous portions of onions, garlic and green/red peppers. Same as Uraki, i can't stand carrots. I'd be interested in trying curry made with lamb or some more exotic meat.

2. I prefer my sauce to be thick and hearty, enough that it coats each grain of rice. I also like it spicy, the hotter the better. Don't give me any of the subtly spicy ones. I want the heat to kick in on the very first bite.

3. The brownish-orange hue usually found in most curry dishes is fine. Just the normal, fragrant curry smell is enough for me, the kind that fills the entire room as soon as the pot lid is lifted and makes your mouth water.

4. a bowl with 3/4ths rice and 1/4th curry on top, some greens sprinkled on it to contrast the curry's color, the sauce slowly soaking into the rice and the steam slowly wafting away.

5. Around php150+ upwards to a max of php250 seems reasonable, depending on the quality and number of ingredients per serving. For a basic dish costing around php150, i'd probably eat there once or twice a week.

5. There are two number 5s?

[NiX]

To add:

1. From where, locally, have you tried Japanese curry? (UCC, Tokyo Caf, Tempura, Teriyaki Boy, Yabu, etc.)
2. Which of those you've tried did you like best in terms of the actual curry sauce?

[Grim]

1. With regards to ingredients, aside from the curry sauce itself, I'd like to see the regular stuff: potatoes, carrots, and onions. For the meat, well there's always Wagyu (expensive lol), but I think other replacements such as pork, chicken, and turkey would work as well.

2. Since you said you're thinking of putting up a curry place, I'll speak from the perspective of having that one signature sauce to get a buzz started about the brand/shop: I prefer for it to be the thick kind, but not so much that it starts to clump up. It should still flow and be easily spreadable over the rice. It should have a kick, but not too much that it'll scare away the person with a regular tolerance for heat. It should be the right balance of sweet and salty (but more salty).

But hey, what's stopping you from offering a whole range of sauces? Thick, thin, very spicy, mild, sweet, salty. But I think that can come later.

3. Brown? Haha. I think curry smells pretty distinct so as long as it smells like that and yet manage to not be too overpowering, then it should be OK.

4. I'd like to give another description, but I think Fox nailed the goddamned nail on the head. I found myself salivating. Maybe you could add a side of sunny side-up egg to provide further contrast.

5. I'd be willing to pay P150-200. But if the product just screams "premium" in terms of presentation (freshness of ingredients, bowl/cutlery used, extras on the side), then I'd be OK with paying P250-300.

I've tried Yabu, Teriyaki Boy, and of course RR curry. I'd have to say that Yabu is pretty close to what I have in mind, because they offer a range of spiciness from which people can choose. But in terms of taste, I have to say RR curry is the best...

because it was made with love.

[Mjting]

1) Standard fare, carrots, potatoes, onions. as for the meat, i tend to gravitate to pork or beef compared to chicken.

2) I usually like mild curry, so there is a bit of sweet and spicy as well. proper balance, I suppose. Thick sauce is preferred for myself too.

3) Brown I guess. in my lifetime, I have only seen green curry in thai dishes or what.

4) Since its Japanese curry, Just a simple plate, with rice on one side, curry sauce and meat/toppings/etc on the other. Then red plum somewhere else.

5) As long as the quality is top-notch, and authentic Japanese curry, 150-250. anything higher would be sorta pushing it I think.


Well, aside from the second number 5, that's probably it for my input.

[Serene]

1. Beef, Pork, Chicken, Shrimp, or Squid. Basically, any type of meat with the usual carrots, potatoes and onions like what the others have already said.

2. Spicy curry is the best for me. Thick with strong flavor.

3. Yellow to brown. AS long as it smells like curry,

4. Kinda difficult. Skiping.

5. 100-200. Once or twice a week I guess.

6. Just my mom's Indian-style curry and RR's Japanese-style. I don't eat at restaurants and fastfood much,

7. Both because the styles are different.

8. Suggestion: Make a separate super spicy curry with just the veggies and a sweet one, also without meat. So that customers could adjust the strength of their sauce, with out losing the curry taste.

[Fox]

To be honest, the very first time that i ever tasted Japanese Curry was when Leperdude made some during the first Tagaytay trip in 2007. The first spoonful alone brought me happiness on such a level that i had never known.

They do say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, after all.

[NiX]

By the way, have you guys tried hayashi sauce rice? Or something with demi-glaze sauce?

[Fox]

Yep. Also made by Leperman. In Tagaytay again during the 2009 trip. Awesome stuff but i still prefered the curry.

[Shintetsu]

1) What do you guys see or expect in Japanese Curry? Like what kind of ingredients do you expect, and how much of it is inside?
-- Not really sure what to expect as I'm not that much into curry (though I'd eat it any day), but I'd like a serving of curry with equal parts of half-chewy, half-tender beef chunks, sauce, and maybe a smaller portion of the veggies. I tend to dislike having big chunks of veggies in my curry.

2) Any particular preference for it like should it be sweeter, spicier, sour, etc? And what about the texture, do you prefer it to be thicker or thinner?
-- Sour, spicy, and thick. Flaverful enough to infuse flavor with every spoonfull of rice, but not too salty. Again, I've little experience with curry - this is how I'd like mine though.

3) Appearance, what color or smell would be most appealing for you?
-- Appearance wise, the usual deep dish with a heap of rice at the side and a pool of curry at the other is good enough for me. For garnishing, a parsley leaf would suffice.

4) Describe your ideal curry is as great detail as possible.
-- Like above in appearance, with flavor as above. What matters to me is the flavor, serving size, and serving temperature - not too hot to scald your hungry mouth, just warm enough for you to appreciate the flavor and heat of the sauce.

5) Given your preference, how much are you willing to pay for it? Honestly. Also, how often would you be eating it at that price range?
-- Again, I put emphasis on the serving size - for a good serving amount I'd pay 150-300php, and I could eat 2-4 times a month if it isn't within easy commute. Commute aside, 1-2x a week is cool.

5) Any other comments.
BYOC? With recommendations for the uninitiated, of course. Curry of the week (on price off) could be good too!

Haven't tried any of the restaurants mentioned, so I don't have a clue on which tastes better.

[RoninFang]

1. usually first thing comes to mind when you say curry something spicy

2. depends but i guess a good variety would do, something spicy for those that love spicy stuff and something non spicy or mild for those that does like spicy stuff

3. usually...hmm brown like the color of gravy or i think there some curries that have that greenish color

4. thick sauce, for my case i like mine a bit spicy. i usually like some extra sauce to mix with the rice

5.probably around 200-300...with that price range probably once a week on weekends

[zero_kanipan]

1) What do you guys see or expect in Japanese Curry? Like what kind of ingredients do you expect, and how much of it is inside?
meat, potatoes and carrots. maybe some other vegetables for variance. i saw one with broccoli before. as for amount, i prefer having as much veggies as there is meat. most importantly, they shouldn't be drowning in sauce.

2) Any particular preference for it like should it be sweeter, spicier, sour, etc? And what about the texture, do you prefer it to be thicker or thinner?
thick, spicy with a touch of sweetness.

3) Appearance, what color or smell would be most appealing for you?
im with Fox on the whole smell-fills-the-room bit. appearance, i don't care for too much. if it's brown, again, don't drown the ingredients in sauce so it doesn't look like diarrhea.

4) Describe your ideal curry is as great detail as possible.
the meat is tender and requires little to no effort when you cut it. breaks apart in your mouth with little chewing. the potatoes are equally soft. the carrots on the other hand are firm, but cooked. there is enough sauce to coat all the ingredients thickly, but just enough to coat the rice thinly. the spiciness is mild at the start, but kicks in after the first few bites. at its peak, the spiciness is enough to make you want to drink water, but not so hot that you need to drink water. (yung bang gusto mo nang uminom ng tubig, pero hindi ka umiinom kasi alam mo na kaya mo pa.) makes you keep on and see if you can take one more bite.

5) Given your preference, how much are you willing to pay for it? Honestly. Also, how often would you be eating it at that price range?
depends on the amount offered. but 100 to 200. as for frequency, it depends on how hard it is for me to get there. if it's near the house/office or along the commute, then one to two times a week.

6) From where, locally, have you tried Japanese curry? (UCC, Tokyo Caf, Tempura, Teriyaki Boy, Yabu, etc.)
RR, Tokyo Cafe, and i'm not sure if it was Japanese curry, but i had brown curry before from a nearby karinderia and at my grandma's XD

7) Which of those you've tried did you like best in terms of the actual curry sauce?
can't really say. i really liked the one at my grandma's, but thats because the beef was cooked via pressure cooker and it was super soft XD (puro matatanda kasi ang kakain)

8) Any other comments.
customers should be given the choice on how spicy they want the curry. could be as simple as mild, moderate, or hot. it would also be nice to have a non-meat variant, and a few house recommendations. especially for people who are new to Japanese Curry. and +1 to Curry of the Week. hey, maybe do a Curries of the World theme. oh and a challenge thing. like, eat the house super super spicy curry special in under 10 minutes WITHOUT WATER, and the meal is free.

[Sforza]

1) What do you guys see or expect in Japanese Curry? Like what kind of ingredients do you expect, and how much of it is inside?

Half the plate full of curry. The rest of the plate should be filled with rice. Preferably served with a little tsukemono on the side. The curry should have the essential meat (chicken, beef, or pork) ingredient, and maybe one type of vegetable like carrot or potato at least if it's not served as part of a side dish.

2) Any particular preference for it like should it be sweeter, spicier, sour, etc? And what about the texture, do you prefer it to be thicker or thinner?

Don't make it taste like curry roux. It's easy to tell because the thickening agent is difficult to mask. Instant curry will always taste like instant curry no matter what's added. I immediately get disappointed at the restaurant when this happens.

3) Appearance, what color or smell would be most appealing for you?

Reddish brown. It should smell a little bit like the spices included. Yes, I'm still talking about Japanese curry.

4) Describe your ideal curry is as great detail as possible.

Go to Sekitori in Little Tokyo and order katsu curry. Deduct 100 pesos from the price, and improve the overfried, soggy, rubbery fatty katsu. Ideally, replace it with katsu from Yabu. Otherwise, just to go Japan and try any popular curry restaurant. The difference in quality is huge.

5) Given your preference, how much are you willing to pay for it? Honestly. Also, how often would you be eating it at that price range?

400, but it better taste like the ones in Japan. Probably once a week if it's nearby.