Soup Curry @ Soup Curry Vege Spa, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka

 

Despite being so hot these days, I will sometime have the mood for something quite spicy. Maybe it is the South East Asian in me, but if there is no spice, there is no life. I am not sure if that is how the phrase works, but it would probably sound something like that. 

Welcome to the premises. 

But I digress. And speaking of having more spice in my life, a soup curry would work wonders for me now. A classic Hokkaido dish, soup curry is not something you can actually find in this side of Japan, although I was able to have my first sampling in Kagoshima (click here). So when I was able to find a shop that does this northern specialty, I took the effort to have a visit. Which is where Soup Curry Vege Spa comes in. 

Dinner is ready

Despite the name, please note that this is NOT a vegetarian spot. It does have a lot of veggies in their dishes so you have been warned, for those vegetarians out there. But for those with a more omnivorous diet, then you are in for a treat. Being my first time, I got myself the chicken curry which stood for 1300 yen which comes with a serving of rice. I choose the medium spice level, as you never know what you might get, especially if you are not familiar with the spice level of the place. 

So bountiful

The plate, or bowl rather, that came before me was very abundant and loaded with ingredients. There were so many varieties of vegetables that I sort of lost count. And that does not even include the whole leg of chicken hidden underneath. The bountiful display and the pungent yet sweet aromatic profile of the dish already made me salivate even before I went down for my first bite. 

Spicier than it looks. 

And the soup curry was as good as it tasted. The soup was earthy and punchy. It has a dark aftertones to it, with strong hints of cumin, cinnamon, and smoked chillies. It as a slight sweetness to it to. I suspect it may be from all the vegetables that it was surrounded by in that bowl. The soup was somewhat liquid, so it is not like your standard curry. The chicken meat was literally flaking off the bone. It was incredibly tender and juicy. The spices worked like an indirect marinade and gave the meat so much personality and bite, that it became something else entirely. Totally satisfying. 

Curry, chicken, and rice. A menage a trois made in heaven?

Despite that, that liquid profile allows it to mix well with the white rice it came with. it help temper the overall experience and provided some extra comfort in terms of the spice. It was fortunate as well that I went for spice nevel that was on the medium range. Despite being someone that can take on spicy dishes, I was already sweating by the time I was halfway done. I cannot imagine if I went full throttle on this thing. My ancestors may be embarrassed. 

Ok this was incredible. 

But one thing they would not be embarrassed about is that I was able to eat all my veggies. There was lotus root, pumpkin, eggplant, okura, and so many other goodies, I am not sure I can remember them all. They are really putting emphasis o the word "veggie" in their name. The star for me was the pumpkin. It was slightly roasted and had a texture similar to a baked potato. However, it was intensely sweet and was able to help cut through the spicy profile of the soup. That was incredible. The lotus root was no second tier support member either. It was crunchy and had a nutty flavour that provided additional elements to the dish. This was really something special. 

Its unfortunate that everything is covered up.
Well, at least you know where this place is located.

In the end, I left the place very happy. Hot and sweaty, but very happy. It was a bit unfortunate that the exterior is going through some renovation works so some of the photos may not seem very appealing. But that does not detract from that incredible dining experience. So if you would like some soup curry but feel like Hokkaido is a bit too far, then the address is as follows:

 〒810-0023 Fukuoka, Chuo Ward, Kego, 1 Chome−15−53 Erina Plaza tenjin 2F