Curry House Coco Ichibanya

Amazing how much Japanese curry has changed over the years. It used to be just curry cubes in hot water, with onions, carrots, and potatoes but nowadays, it’s almost unrecognizable with all the toppings that they creatively pair it with. At Curry House Coco Ichibanya, they do it so masterfully by mixing both good taste and imagination.

So let me break down their curry ordering “algorithm” from the top. They have 4 curry sauces mainly pork, vegetables, hashed beef or beef to choose from. Next, you select the curry’s level of spice from 0 to 10. Basically 0 is like a normal flavoured curry with a hint of spicy while 10 is like a free experience of what it’s like to be Smaug, the fire breathing dragon for about an hour. The highest level I’ve personally ever been able to bare is 5, and usually I enjoy my curry at around 0.5. Yep, you can also specify the spice level in decimal units (I bet you didn’t know you could do that, did you?). The curry is naturally served with rice, and the default amount is 300g which is actually a bit bigger than normal. If you are on a diet (as we all are, apparently) you might want to specify that you want the smaller version which is 200g, about the standard amount we see at other restaurants. Now, on to the toppings. Are you in the mood for some pork cutlet? How about some deep fried oysters? Maybe some grilled squid perhaps? These are actual topping choices for you to add, and believe me, I haven’t even began to scratch the surface. A notable few include hot dogs, fried chicken, clams, fish sticks, eggplant and even scrambled eggs. If I list them all, I will run out of paper. In some other branches in Japan, they even have crispy instant noodles for a topping. My main go-to curry is a level 0.5 beef sauce vegetable curry with a topping of tejikomi (manually prepared) pork cutlet and a thin layer of melted cheese. Excuse me while I wipe the saliva that just dripped on my shirt. An unequivocally gorgeous plate of curry.

In the end, you really can’t go wrong with Coco’s if you’re looking for a Japanese curry place. With their variety of choices, there will be something for everyone. Price is below average ranging between 800-1,000 yen depending on what toppings you get. There are many locations of Coco Ichibanya on island but I think the easiest accessible one is a little north of the Camp Foster commissary gate along route 58. It’s easy to spot as their logo has a giant plate of curry on it and its usually bright yellow. Enjoy!