In my first couple of years in Japan I used to eat at Matsuya quite a bit. It's one of the biggest Japanese chain restaurants, selling things like curry, beef bowls, salads and raw eggs.
I liked it because I could eat there cheaply, and without needing to speak any Japanese (which I didn't speak at the time). Just go in, put a few coins in the vending machine, press the curry button (I nearly always had curry) and eat.
When I returned to Japan last year I found myself going off the curry at Matsuya. It just seemed to be like this brown sludge full of suspicious looking lumps of meat.
So I graduated from Matsuya, and moved across the road to Curry House Coco - ココ壱番屋 (ココいちばんや) or just ココイチ in Japanese.
Paying a bit more means you get something that's a lot more wholesome. Being pseudo-vegetarian I usually have the 野菜カレー (vegetable curry), ほうれん草カレー (spinach) or what I'm having tonight - オムエッグカレー. I like it as the omelette is freshly made... at least I think it is!
CocoIchi is famous for its hot curries, available on a scale of one to ten. Being a wimp when it comes to spicy food I always go for the mildest, no.1!
I do have a friend who tried the hottest, no. 10: he had to sit in a bath of ice for three weeks to cool down.
Has anyone else taken a curry challenge? Can you handle spicy food?
Joseph
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