Indian Lunch @ Suraj, Tenjin, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka

 

I love Japanese food. But after some time a change of pace is in order, and I really miss spicy stuff. After a little looking around, I somehow ended up in Suraj. Located in a small alleyway in Tenjin, located next to the historical Suikyo Tenmagu Shrine, I even surprised myself that I found this place at all. 

The entrance of said alley way. 

This is a simple restaurant which well, serves Indian food and it has been doing so for about 20 years. The place is covered with Indian paraphernalia. However, once you walk in, you clearly know you are in Japan as the shop is pretty small. When back home, I have my usual butter chicken and aloo gobi to go to. 

Quaint

But since I am alone for today and I have not eaten any Indian food in Japan at all, I am not sure what to order. So I took the safe route out and I got the curry of the day Lunch set. Before they sent in your order though, the staff will ask you as to what is your spice level, ranging from 1 to 5. I said 3 thinking I would be ok. But lets see how it goes later. 

Big!

This set was pretty decent. It comes with the carb of your choice (naan or rice), a side salad, fried pakoras and a drink.  And the curry of the day was saag chicken, which is chicken and spinach. For the drink I ordered a lassi and my carb of choice was naan. 

Intense!

It has been a very long time since I had decent Indian and what came before me was a pretty awesome plate. Pretty generous for a 870 yen serving of food. The first thing I noticed was the smell of the curry. It smelled intense, both in terms of aroma and heat. After savouring the smell, I ripped a piece of naan and had it along with the curry. The first bite was great, with alot of garam masala flavour and a walloping of onions and garlic. However, the chillies slowly creeped in and I felt an eruption in my mouth. It was very spicy indeed, and I cannot imagine how level 5 would taste like. And it seems I was not the only one as a few patrons sitting next to me were sweating and sneezing. I eavesdropped a little and I can confirm they ordered spice level 3 as well. 

Heatbuster!

The lassi was a great counter component. It was sweet and cold. Most importantly, it was milky. And as such was able to counteract with the heat in my mouth with relative ease. The padokas were good too and gave me a break between the curry and the lassi. It was at the end of my meal I realised that my chilli tolerance has dramatically fallen. I guess I am not given the almost daily exposure like what I had back home. If you don't use it, you lose it right? 

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this meal and it was pretty satisfying. It was really authentic, and a far departure from its Japanese cousins. If you are in Tenjin and ramen has started to bore you, then the address to this humble establishment is as follows: 

1 Chome-15-3 Tenjin, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0001