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Translated By DeepL

Curry Flight

Text and Photographs: Curry Cell

Along with ramen, curry is one of Japan's soul foods. In recent years, there has been no end to the number of "addicts" who are captivated by the fascinating taste of curry and its mellow aroma of dazzling spices. The mysterious charm of curry is that it makes you want to eat it and talk about it at the same time. In order to explore this profound world of curry, we asked Mr. Curry Cell, who boasts overwhelming knowledge and experience in eating curry, to act as our guide. Curry is a reading material.
 
An intellectually curious journey through curry.
Let's fly with curry today. To somewhere unknown.

Flight 16 If not at night, curry in the morning.

The government and metropolitan government's measures by preventing the spread of corona have successfully targeted the food and beverage industry.

We can't just say ...... that it is inevitable because the industry has always been bad at lobbying. Food is Japan's greatest tourism resource for inbound tourism. If this is destroyed, international sporting events will not be possible.

That's where curry comes in. Curry is strong in Corona anyway.

No, I don't mean in a spellbinding way.

It can use all kinds of ingredients, including vegetables, meat, fish and shellfish, and can be adapted for take-out, home delivery, and freezing. It can be freely fused with any food genre. I believe that such plasticity is overwhelmingly strong compared to other food and beverage businesses.

Izakayas, which have been closed to nighttime business and alcohol, have taken this opportunity to start offering curry for lunch takeout, which is how strong curry is in today's situation.

Today, a movement is quietly beginning to emerge in the curry world.

Morning curry.

In fact, more and more restaurants are starting to offer morning curry these days.

Is curry in the morning healthy?

Once upon a time, Ichiro, in his prime, was reported by the media as having a morning curry habit, which caused a bit of a boom. (Actually, Ichiro had stopped eating curry in the morning by the time the story broke.)

In fact, the spices used in curry are likely to be effective in nourishing and awakening the body in the morning, since they contain spices that stimulate appetite and blood circulation.

The number of restaurants offering morning curry is increasing in Tokyo!

There have been restaurants offering morning curry for some time now. Curry Shop C&C" and "11 IMASA" both in Shinjuku, and "ALPS" in front of Tokyo Station have been offering morning curry for less than one coin to help businessmen recharge their morning energy.

These Nippon Curry Rice are not the only ones.

Yoyogihachiman "Spice Post" serves full-size spiced curry from 8 a.m.

Pork vindaloo and keema at Spice Post. The side dishes are also included, making for a hearty breakfast.

In 2019, Kerala Wind, a key player in popularizing South Indian cuisine in Japan, will change its name to Kerala Wind Morning and change its business format to a restaurant serving South Indian light meals in the morning.
The groundwork for serving curry and spicy food in the morning at restaurants was slowly growing.

The evolving world of morning curry under Corona.

However, around the end of last year, when the Corona disaster hit the nighttime food and beverage business hard, morning curry began to expand in a variety of ways.
Exactly, "If night is no good, curry in the morning".

In February 2021, "Spice Curry Shokudo" opened in Yotsuya. Although it calls itself "Spice Curry" in an easy-to-access manner, it is actually a restaurant that serves Sri Lankan cuisine on a single plate. On weekdays, the restaurant is open from 8:00 a.m. until sold out. In addition to the regular menu available in the morning, a one-coin light breakfast menu is also available.

Sri Lankan cuisine, which does not use much oil and does not upset the stomach, is ideal for breakfast.

Black Chicken Curry at Spice Curry Restaurant.

Known as "standing buckwheat noodles with too much Indian curry," YOMODA-SOBA has expanded its branches to Tokyo and Nagoya. The restaurant has expanded to Nagoya, Tokyo, and is now serving Indian curry from 7:00 a.m.
Not only is the quality of the Indian curry surprising if you try it for the first time, but the soba noodles are also of a high level, so we recommend that you start with a set.

Half tanuki soba and half curry set at Yomoda Soba.

Kitchen and Curry" in Setagaya Daita also started offering morning curry mainly on Wednesdays and Fridays. Since the concept of the restaurant has always been to support a healthy lifestyle that starts in the morning, offering curry in the morning is a natural progression. The creative and healthy idea of combining curry with rice-flour pancakes is a quintessential example of this!
Check the restaurant's Instagram and Facebook pages for information on morning hours.

Morning plate at Kitchen and Curry. The curry of the day was beet.

Other morning curry restaurants have become more diverse, such as "Sri Mangalam" by Iron Chef Mahalingam, who specializes in South Indian cuisine, and "Gayabaji" in Asakusa, which has started offering West Indian mornings.

The number of morning curry dishes that are different from the traditional high-calorie curry rice is increasing, so there is no need to worry about "Will I gain weight if I have curry every morning? There is no need to worry about gaining weight if you eat curry every morning.

Curry is a food that is strong in Corona. If not at night, then in the morning, and it will continue to evolve this year as well, changing the way it is.

So, what Flight should we try next time? Curry is a food that is strong in Corona. If not at night, then in the morning, and it will continue to evolve this year while changing its way of being.

PROFILE

Hiroaki Matsu (Curry Cell)
Curry curator/video creator

In pursuit of all kinds of curry and strange creatures. A spice radar by nature, he has visited more than 3,000 curry restaurants in Japan and abroad. He has been featured in many magazines and TV programs, and is a member of the Japanese Curry Awards selection committee. He is a member of the Japanese Curry Awards Selection Committee, and is a member of the "Next Breakthrough Curry Restaurant" program, which invites a new local curry restaurant to Shibuya every month.SHIBUYA CURRY TUNEThe company is holding the "Mutual Aid Association of Japan (MAAJ).

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