Food Challenge : Coco Ichiban curry Level 10 [Post 300!]

 

Its here, its finally here! THREE HUNDRED!!! Thank you all who have followed me throughout this great eating journey. And boy what a journey it was. Not only have I relocated to a different country, it was done during a pandemic. So as you guys may have noticed, posts are not as frequent as I would like due to reasons beyond my control. But now here we are. And lets get turn up the heat shall we?

Welcome to Coco's!

A common thread in my recent posts on spicy food is that things that breach the scoville level are not that easy to find in Japan. There have been great curries and chilli dishes but they are mostly based from other cultures like Indian or Thai. So now this is where the number one candidate comes in (pun intended). Coco Ichibanya, or Coco Ichi in short, needs no introduction. A humble yet globally renowned establishment, its name is as synonymous as Japanese curry itself. 

Choices, oh my!

Despite being only a curry place, it is surprisingly customisable. A patron can choose the amount of rice, toppings and also the spice level of the curry at hand. Eventually. some sick maniacs have decided to make a food challenge out of the the spiciest level of them all. And I was one such maniac. And for the people who are curious, its the branch near Susenji Station in Fukuoka. 

Dinner is served. 

The heat level ranges from 1 to 10, where 5 is the average that is usually taken, although people ordering level 4 is pretty common. My comfortable level is 6 although I had 8 once before. It was good but I had a real snotty nose after that. So since we have reached 300, I think something more special is in order. In the end, I opted for the 10. People ordering the 10 is relatively rare. So much so that if someone does it, the waiting staff would want to double check again to make sure that you are ready for the task. And I was ready as I can be. As a topping I got myself a menchi katsu and an orange juice as a drink. I should have ordered a glass of milk instead, which would have been a better option. But no turning back now!

Me, initially thinking this was a good idea. 

The plate looked like dark magma and the sauce was incredibly thick and sticky. Japanese curry tends to have this texture but not as much as this. After surveying the plate I took my first spoon. The curry sauce was the classic Coco's aroma. It was rich, slightly smokey and had a good amount of body. The first few bites were relatively good and I did not flinch one bit. However, after a few more I started to feel the burn. 

Molten

The heat slowly crept up and I can feel the walls of my mouth slowly ache. The fire that was reverberating in my gums were slowly picking up. It was not napalm death, but it was slightly uncomfortable. Still the curry was pretty good and the menchi katsu helped with tampering the heat. 

The first munch is always the easiest. 

As I slowly work on the plate, I realised that I now have more curry gravy than rice. Now that posed a problem. The heat in my gut was really picking up and just taking the curry as it is could lead to some trouble. Also my jaw line was experiencing embers. It was not as bad as the ghost pepper noodle I had the other time (click here), but it was not pleasant. It really was not at all. 

Me, starting to regret my decision. And I was barely there!

This was a struggle indeed. Was it because my chilli stamina had gone down? Was it because I underestimated the dish? Who knows? All I was thinking at that moment was I should have gotten a glass of milk instead of orange juice. They did give me free flowing iced water though. But that will only give you temporary relief. A chilli veteran would know. 

Look at the remnants! I will be back for revenge. 

In the end, I had cleared the rice and my fried minced patty but there was a good amount of gravy left. Let's say this challenge did not pan out as I expected. Still I may revisit this and test my mettle again! Soon but not so soon. Be that as it may, Coco Ichi is a place I really recommend people in trying. Despite being a chain, it has its own special charm to it and no trip to Japan is complete until you have a nice and hot heapful of curry to chow on. Till then happy eatings!