Coco Curry, it'll rock your world....if you like curry, if you don't then there's something wrong with you.

Once upon a time in a mystical land there was a chain of restaurants that originated in Japan called.....Coco Ichibanya aka Coco Curry.  Japanese curry is not like Indian curry in the sense that the curry is really more about what you have in it, and on it, rather than Indian curry which has a variety of reds, yellows, greens and so on.  Japanese Curry, particularly Katsu Curry is delish.  And I'm lucky enough to have one in the basement of our local mall.

Jay, Staci and I visited Coco Curry just this last week and enjoyed a wonderful lunch and then a good shop at the Fabric Market.  When we arrive it was near the end of the crazy lunch rush, so we had to wait for a table, luckily the wait wasn't too long, maybe 5 minutes, and we got a nice big booth.   So the way it works is like this:

1- pick the amount of rice you would like with your curry.

2- pick the spiciness of your curry.

3- pick the toppings/extras for your curry.

I like the smallest portion of rice with the medium spice level (I've tried the hotter spice level but I think it detracts from the actual flavor of the curry.) with a breaded pork cutlet and mushrooms and cheese in the curry.  It's sooooo good, and very filling.  I never seem to finish my plate.  I can eat about 3/4ths of the dish and then I'm stuffed.  Sometimes the mushrooms are better than other times, but hey it's a fast food place, that's to be expected.

Jay likes the same combo I like except he gets a variety of vegetables instead of just the mushrooms.  And Staci went completely different and got a smaller portion of breaded pork cutlet with a potato croquette, and mixed veggies with out cheese.   The cheese is what really finishes the dish for me, but the potato croquette is pretty good.

From left to right: Jay's curry, my curry, Staci's curry.  And yes, I'm aware that my curry looks terrible.  I'd mixed it up before I remembered to take a picture.  Don't just it by how it looks, because it tastes delicious.

 

 

The service is fast and great, although a little "on you" in the sense that the waitstaff hovers about.  There is a huge selection of different things you can have in your curry ranging from all sorts of meat and vegetables to weird sea urchins.  They also have some fruity drinks, but I usually just get water.

For our three meals the total cost was about 120RMB, so around $20USD which is great for the amount of food you get and for three people.  Coco Curry isn't an everyday kind of place for lunch, but it's definitely a once a week stop, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has a chance to check it out.

:)Margaret