I'd like to think that I'm a Japanese curry specialist because it's my favourite food. I order Japanese curry in every Japanese restaurant I visit when available. I noticed that my favourite is Japanese beef curry. It's darker in colour and has a deeper flavour than the more common chicken-based curry sauce. In most restaurants, you will find the chicken-based curry sauce.
With that said, my favourite Japanese curry in Vancouver is from Suika - it's my basis if another curry is good. It's a beef stew Japanese curry with shredded melt-in-your-mouth beef. It's usually served with pickled vegetables for a palate cleanser. The closest and my second favourite curry sauce is from Takenaka Japanese food truck. Lastly, Mr. Japanese Curry has a delicious beef curry sauce too.
WA! Curry offers a Wagyu Curry base served with rice, and you can choose your topping. We tried it with Pork Katsu (my go-to), Hamburg Steak, Chicken Karaage, and Ebi Fry.
The sauce is close to what I get from Suika, so I am pleasantly surprised. However, it needs pickled veggies as a side dish to cut through the fat and as a palate cleanser.
The Pork Katsu is still the best topping, and theirs was less fatty than I thought it would be. Meanwhile, the Hamburg Steak is perfect with just plain rice without curry sauce. It's just too juicy and good on its own to go with the curry.
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| Wagyu Curry topped with Pork Katsu and Hamburg Steak from WA! Curry by ABURI Restaurants |
On the other hand, their Chicken Karaage was quite disappointing. I hoped it was more crispy and juicy. Mr. Japanese Curry has a better one. If I have to pick a second side, the Ebi Fry surprisingly worked. The sweet, succulent shrimp, in contrast to the curry sauce, was excellent.
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| Wagyu Curry topped with Ebi Fry and Chicken Karaage from WA! Curry by ABURI Restaurants |
The only thing that would make the curry better if there's an option to add heat. Even a level 2 spiciness would improve the curry and help cut through the greasiness. Will I come back again? Maybe. There's an option for the Wagyu Curry Stew base, which was sold out when we got there. I might come back to try that.
