You might remember a certain fast food fried chicken chain touting their "11 herbs and spices," but there's a new specialty Japanese restaurant prepping to open in Vancouver that's all about their "17 different spices."
The restaurant is called Mr. Japanese Curry, and their focus is one of Japan's most beloved comfort dishes: Curry.
Curry arrived in Japan around 150 years ago, and soon rose in prominence as a household staple. The dish - often made at home with instant packets - is one of the most-eaten in Japan. Curry, the dish, is comprised of a rich, fragrant, mildly spiced sauce served atop rice, often with the addition of meat or vegetables.
Here's how Mr. Japanese Curry describes what they'll be spooning up: "Mr. Japanese Curry dedicates to provide authentic house made Japanese curry. You can choose beef, chicken, or vegan curry sauce and select from a diverse array of traditional toppings to fully customize your dish. Each dish comes with Super Premium Short Grain Koshihikari white rice and a sprinkle of fried onions. It is affordable, delicious, and a new curry experience."
On their menu are a number of takes on curry dishes, including curries served with beef, fried pork cutlets, deep fried chicken, vegetables, or fried prawns. They also have a vegan "cheese" curry, an omelette curry, a fried tofu vegan curry. Their signature "Mr. Curry" is made with beef curry sauce, rice, fried prawn, "Stamina" (sliced pork), cheese, and a boiled egg.
Additionally, they'll have donburi (rice bowls), and sides like curry poutine and miso soup. For dessert, they'll stock pudding from Vancouver's Vegan Pudding Co., as well as old school single-serve dairy ice cream sundae cups.
Setting up shop near Cambie and Broadway at 446 West 8th Avenue in what was previously Maxim Donair, Mr. Japanese Curry is looking to open before the end of May, and will offer online ordering as well as delivery through Fantuan, DoorDash, and UberEats.
Mr. Japanese Curry joins the growing ranks of Metro Vancouver restaurants focusing on a sole specialty of Japanese cuisine. Earlier this year Robson Street became home to a famous international tempura chain, while ahead of that came places like Saku (centred on tonkatsu, or fried pork cutlet) and a slew of shops specializing in green tea desserts, drinks, and even savoury dishes.
Though they have been in a 'soft opening phase' their official opening day is June 12, 2020.
"We are all going through these difficult times together and we're trying our best to make sure our space is ready, clean, and most of all safe for our customers and workers. Thank you for waiting and we hope to see you soon!" shared Mr. Japanese Curry this week on Instagram. You can follow them there, or on Facebook.
Mr. Japanese Curry has listed their hours as Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
