TFP Food News
European curries
Tokyo has scores of
restaurants serving
Japanese curry, but
the subgroup devoted
to "Oufuu"
(European-style)
curry have their own
special charm. These
restaurants typical-
ly have French-
sounding names and
classic 1970s Japa-
nese coffeeshop
decor - heavy wooden
tables; white stucco
walls hung with
paintings; artistic
knickknacks every-
where; bebop-era
jazz playing in the
background.
The curries them-
selves are a mix of
European and Indian
influences - basi-
cally the roux in-
corporate Indian
spices simmered in a
European-style stew
base, each shop with
its own special
recipe.
Diners can choose
their level of hot-
ness (mild to extra-
spicy); base ingre-
dients (usually
meats and/or shell-
fish); and toppings
(mushrooms, cheese,
boiled quail eggs).
Curries are ladled
from a small gravy
boat onto a plate of
white rice that's
dotted with bits of
cheese. Boiled pota-
toes and colorful
pickled condiments
are served on the
side.
Besides specialty
shops, Oufuu curry
is also served in
some yoshoku restau-
rants along with
nostalgic Western
dishes like beef
stew, crabmeat cro-
quettes and fried-
rice omelettes.
Here's a rundown of
some of Tokyo's more
famous Oufuu curry
spots, plus a few
other notable curry
destinations around
town.
Perusona (Jimbocho)
Perusona serves top-
quality European-
style curries, and
two- and three-in-
gredient combination
curries are easy to
order. We opted for
eggplant, chicken
and beef (Y1400) on
a recent visit - the
sauce was richly
spiced and on the
sweet side, while
the beef was lean
and very tender. The
eggplant is a nice
option, adding some
balance to the ubiq-
uitous meat ingre-
dients. The spacious
second-floor dining
room is done up in
classic kissaten
style, with Brazil-
ian easy-listening
music in the back-
ground. [data]
Petit Feu A La
Campagne (Hanzomon)
This off-the-beaten-
track shop on a
Hanzomon side street
serves some of To-
kyo's better
European-style Japa-
nese curries. The
mixed curry with
chicken, pork and
beef is especially
recommended - the
meats are tender and
skillfully prepared,
the sauce rich and
spicy. Curries come
with a good-size
helping of boiled
potatoes. The cof-
feeshop decor is
nicer than average,
although it can get
smoky when crowded.
[data]
Bondy (Jimbocho)
The curry sauce here
is scrumptious, with
a natural fruit
sweetness, well-
balanced spices and
complex flavors.
There aren't many
mixed-ingredient
options, but the
shrimp, clam and
chicken was quite
good, with plump
shrimps and juicy,
flavorful clams. It
also came with but-
ton mushrooms, al-
monds and a sprig of
watercress on top -
a nice touch - plus
umeboshi and a
couple of sweet and
delicious potatoes
on the side. The
entrance is through
a used bookstore -
take the far right-
hand aisle. Bondy
gets extra points in
our book for being
open all afternoon.
[data]
Bon Appetit (Mita)
An old standby in
the Mita neighbor-
hood, this long-
running basement
shop has solid wood
furniture, stucco
walls, odd little
paintings and soft
jazz in the back-
ground. The roux
here is okay, but
the quality of the
meat really stands
out - nice lean pork
and very tasty and
tender chicken. The
mixed meat or all-
chicken options are
recommended. The
boiled potatoes are
also quite good.
[data]
Aubergine (Yotsuya)
A popular spot for
local Yotsuya din-
ers, Aubergine of-
fers a good assort-
ment of European-
style Japanese cur-
ries, including two-
ingredient combina-
tion platters. The
shrimp and chicken
combo (Y1580) had a
sweetish, rich
sauce; ample por-
tions of well-pre-
pared chicken;
plump, flavorful
shrimps; mushrooms
and a tiny quail
egg. Curries come
with excellent home-
made cole slaw.
There are two other
branches (Mita and
Tsukiji), and to-
gether they deliver
through large swaths
of Tokyo. [data]
Gavial (Kanda)
This large tradi-
tional coffeeshop
plays classical
music and spe-
cializes in European
curries and espres-
so. Curries include
scallops and several
other seafood varia-
tions along with the
usual beef, pork and
chicken, but it's
not as easy to put
together your own
combination as at
some other places.
We tried the mix of
shrimp, asari clams
and chicken, which
had juicy shrimp and
nice mushrooms, but
the hot (karakuchi)
version was just a
little too fiery to
let us appreciate
the subtleties of
the spices - we'd
recommend sticking
to the mild setting.
The boiled potatoes
were sweet and very
tasty, but our
smoked salmon and
endive salad was
overly ambitious.
Curries are priced
Y1100-1700. [data]
Petit Feu (Hongo)
The curries here are
unusual and fairly
tasty, but unfortu-
nately the potato we
were served was
really sad-looking
and unappetizing,
and part of it was
sliced off for some
reason. Let's just
say it wasn't some-
thing you'd expect
to be served in a
restaurant. Too bad,
because our "yaku-
zen" curry, made
with medicinal
herbs, mushrooms and
tasty greens and
strewn with flower
petals, was really
interesting, a good
match for the pale
ale from the Kirin
Europe series. Cur-
ries from Y850.
[data]
Tomato (Ogikubo)
This small neighbor-
hood yoshoku-ya
serves "European
stews and English
curries." Curry
sauces are built on
a fond de veau base
and incorporate some
36 different spices,
all on display on
the shop's counter.
The flavor of the
curry is rather
unique and very
appealing - similar
to other European-
style Japanese cur-
ries but with an
intriguing hint of
medicinal herbs. We
enjoyed a mild,
"creamy" Hokkaido
veal curry, and we
highly recommend the
seasonal vegetable
option (Y300 extra),
which features
around ten different
vegetables such as
asparagus, okra and
lotus root. There's
also a popular beef-
tongue curry, which
might be an even
better match for the
rather assertive
sauce. Y2000 for
veal curry with
extra vegetables and
dessert. [data]
Dom Pierre (Kyoba-
shi)
One of Japan's more
famous yoshoku es-
tablishments, the
decor here is 1960s-
modern, with wood
paneling and a big
dessert cart. Our
beef curry (a spe-
cialty of the house)
was very tasty, with
tender meat and
mushrooms and fla-
vors that blended
together smoothly
and gently. It
seemed more like
beef stew than a
typical Japanese
curry, though, the
roux more like a
rich gravy with a
bit of curry flavor.
It was accompanied
by a small salad of
baby tomatoes and
carrots (good) and
cornichons (not
really a good
match). The beef
curry is Y1890, and
beef fried-rice
omelettes are Y2625.
[data]
Loup de Mer (Kanda)
Loup de Mer proves
that good yoshoku
cuisine needn't be
stuck in a time
warp. Our lunchtime
Hokkaido beef curry
(Y1100) was accompa-
nied by a very appe-
tizing salad of head
cheese and red-cab-
bage slivers. The
hunks of beef were
tender, lean and
very flavorful,
beautifully comple-
mented by the curry
sauce, rich but with
a bracing tanginess.
The soft but still
slightly crunchy
deep-red pickles
were excellent, with
an almost cherry-
like flavor. Unlike
most yoshokuya, the
decor here won't
make you sigh with
nostalgia - the
dining room is done
up in a tasteful
pastel color scheme
from the current
century. Chef Suzuki
is a veteran of the
famous Dom Pierre
yoshoku establish-
ment, and the menu
also covers stan-
dards like hayashi
rice and rice ome-
lettes, and even
offers tasting menus
at Y5000 and Y10,
000. [data]
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