I'd like to think that I'm a Japanese curry specialist because it's my
favourite food. I order Japanese curry in every Japanese restaurant I visit
when available. I noticed that my favourite is Japanese beef curry. It's
darker in colour and has a deeper flavour than the more common chicken-based
curry sauce. In most restaurants, you will find the chicken-based curry sauce.
With that said, my favourite Japanese curry in Vancouver is from
Suika
- it's my basis if another curry is good. It's a beef stew Japanese curry with
shredded melt-in-your-mouth beef. It's usually served with pickled vegetables
for a palate cleanser. The closest and my second favourite curry sauce is from
Takenaka Japanese food truck. Lastly,
Mr. Japanese Curry
has a delicious beef curry sauce too.
WA! Curry offers a Wagyu Curry base served with rice, and you can choose your
topping. We tried it with Pork Katsu (my go-to), Hamburg Steak, Chicken
Karaage, and Ebi Fry.
The sauce is close to what I get from Suika, so I am pleasantly surprised.
However, it needs pickled veggies as a side dish to cut through the fat and as
a palate cleanser.
The Pork Katsu is still the best topping, and theirs was less fatty than I
thought it would be. Meanwhile, the Hamburg Steak is perfect with just plain
rice without curry sauce. It's just too juicy and good on its own to go with
the curry.
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Wagyu Curry topped with Pork Katsu and Hamburg Steak from
WA! Curry by ABURI Restaurants
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On the other hand, their Chicken Karaage was quite disappointing. I hoped it
was more crispy and juicy. Mr. Japanese Curry has a better one. If I have to
pick a second side, the Ebi Fry surprisingly worked. The sweet, succulent
shrimp, in contrast to the curry sauce, was excellent.
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Wagyu Curry topped with Ebi Fry and Chicken Karaage from WA!
Curry by ABURI Restaurants
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The only thing that would make the curry better if there's an option to add
heat. Even a level 2 spiciness would improve the curry and help cut through
the greasiness. Will I come back again? Maybe. There's an option for the Wagyu
Curry Stew base, which was sold out when we got there. I might come back to
try that.