A Japanese Curry Journey - From Americanized to Wonderful - Champion's Curry, Curryfornia, Akane Chaya, Kagura, Sagami, Daichan and Tanakaya, Foo Foo Tei, Midoh (Bonus: Pearl River Deli and Gjelina?!) [Thoughts + Pics]

Just out of curiosity–do people in Japan usually eat katsu with curry, or is that just a restaurant thing here? A Japanese friend in college introduced me to the curry bricks you can get at the grocery store, so I’ve been making curry with those all these years. Just with rice and the meats cooked in the curry, nothing fried.

In Japanese Cuisine, it’s considered a Western Dish… Yoshoku… but it’s also perhaps the most popular dish in Japan (We watch Lunch On and the amount of curry you see on that show is quite a bit). Katsu Curry is very popular variation on the dish, which is why, for a homey dish that is very easy to make… there are so many Curry Restaurants (Some of which have come here like Coco and Champion) because Katsu is best made in a restaurant setting… But yes, at home, the most common curry is perhaps an easy type with thin slices of pork (You can actually buy a cup of this at Tokyo Central, which is delicious!) or just curry rice. Similar to how one of the the most common curries made at home in India is Keema Curry.

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Yes it’s a thing in Japan. Just check on Tabelog Japan and you’ll find almost 24,000 restaurants that sell Katsu Curry (and those are only the ones registered there).

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Good article about Japanese curry and it’s navy connection.

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curry is much more diverse in Japan, but curry + katsu is pretty common there

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Midoh maybe a required visit this weekend. Thanks, @Chowseeker1999!

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Hi @attran99,

Hope you like it. :slight_smile: (You can bang x bang with Cindy’s Kitchen!) :wink: Although if you’re getting Tonkatsu, make sure you uncover the fried cutlets so it doesn’t steam.

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YAY!! Glad to see the Foo Foo Tei is still delivering it! OMG. It’s been at least two years since I last visit, bit it’s the place that made me fall in love with curry! For completely curry gluttony… I recommend The omelet curry rice. The omete is not as lucious as the ones in Youtube… but still expertly prepared. It’s so delicious… heavy… but worth the effort to try for curry and omurice fiends.

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/foo-foo-tei-hacienda-heights?select=xjtnSw4sI5HL8o-dmBHwoQ

Thanks for the report on Midoh! It’s been on my list and now I’m even more excited to try it! They just opened one up in Sawtelle… as I haven’t been headed east as of late…

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36 posts were split to a new topic: Epic Japanese curry digression

Bless you… B/c I am NEVER anywhere near Midoh, but the pics look FANTASTIC.

@Chowseeker1999 next time at Midoh try the hamburg steak. That is one of their specialties. Midoh is a gem.

If you are deep in the OC keep Yoko on Beach Blvd on your list. They are a Korean-Japanese place focusing on tonkatsu and soba/udon. That’s basically the whole menu. They bring out the sesame seeds for you to pound out as well.

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I been going to/know of Diamond Plaza for years and never thought once to go there! It’s just when I am thinking of Japanese food I am thinking of South Bay, Sawtelle, Little Tokyo, Ventura Blvd, Costa Mesa/Tustin

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I don’t want to make you blush @Dommy, but the breadth of your food knowledge is pretty awesome. You take great advantage of living in this great food city. I always learn something. Thanks!

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Going off topic, ever tried OoToro in Walnut? 480.8+ content Yelpers

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I haven’t been there but you know what the crazy thing is? I have friend that prefers that place over Mori and she had been to both. :rofl:

I can’t vouch for her taste though!

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I’ve actually heard really good things about Ootoro from friends - as in high quality fish selection and preparation and not “OMG, they used both eel sauce and sriracha on my California roll!! So innovative!!”. A place to try in 2021.

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Thanks for the heads up. We’ll take any good sushi recommendations near North OC.

@Chowseeker1999 @JLee

I think I’ve gone off topic long enough here! So I’ll check myself out. Thanks for the discussion by the way!

Have you had Noguchi?

In OC though Sushi ii is on my to do list. I always wanted to do the full omakase at Shibucho.

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Noguchi is our favorite in North OC. The only other ones we go to in the area are Ohshima and OMG.

Costa Mesa/Newport/Irvine have a lot of better sushi options but driving there is almost the same amount of time as driving to DTLA. Guess which option we usually choose?

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