Hey Hive!
If you've seen my foodie posts before, most of them tend to be about local food in Singapore. But tbh we don't eat out that often when we're not traveling so I've kind of run out of stuff to write about regarding Singaporean food places. Since I also post a lot of travel stuff, and for this special #200 post, I thought of sharing more about the food we've tried in the countries we've visited!
This time, the restaurant in question is Abiko Curry which we had in South Korea!
We've been on two trips to Korea now, and the first time we ever tried Abiko was in Seoul in 2022. Sean heard about it from a friend who insisted this was the best curry place to try. We've been to Japan a bunch of times and although they have a lot of curry places, none of the big chains really appealed to us. They were good, but nothing fantastic or worth going back for imo.
The curious thing about Abiko Curry is that they actually specialise in Japanese curry, but are nowhere to be found in Japan! I guess it's because of all the other curry places there, but they have quite a few branches in Korea.
I also did some research and found out that they are actually based in New York! Established in 2016, they specialize in various types of curry-infused delicacies and serve Japanese-style curry, with a Korean twist.
The interior of both the restaurants we went to were pretty similar in colour scheme, using modern furnishings with natural wood finish contrasting against matte black on the tables and chairs. The tables also neatly concealed the utensils in hidden drawers underneath.
The tables are also branded with the Abiko Curry logo on it with the words in Korean.
Here's the menu which features a variety of different curries from mushroom, pork, chicken, beef and shrimp paired with either rice, udon or pasta. There are also various toppings and sides you can get with the curry like cutlets, fried shrimp, and hamburger patties.
So the first time we visited Abiko we tried one of the Couple Sets which includes Herb Chicken Curry Rice, Beef Curry Noodles, Pork Cutlet, Fried Shrimp and a drink. We wanted to try different kinds of curries and the rice and noodles so it seemed like the best option. There was also a spice chart for the curry which I think is quite commonplace now even though Japanese curry is not known for being spicy. But then again, this chain is Korean after all.
When we were served the rice and noodles, we could already tell that both dishes were very different. The curry was a different colour and the consistency was different too, probably because the beef curry was more like a soup with the udon. Both came topped with some fried garlic chips and beancurd strips.
Here's a close up on the rice with a small cooling rack of the fried pork cutlet and shrimp.
The curry rice was really nice and hearty. The chicken curry was savoury and did have a slight herbal taste to it that blended really well. It was definitely more savoury compared to other Japanese curries we've had which tends to be on the sweeter side. It also had some spice to it even at medium level which was nice since we like spicy food.
The udon noodles were thick and bouncy and the curry broth was actually quite light and complemented the noodles well. It was savoury and was just the right amount of spice for me. The noodles were thick and a little chewy, and there was quite a lot so it was a sizable portion. I'm not a big fan of curry noodles but it was really tasty!
We had such a good experience the first time that we went back a second time when we visited Korea again. The second time we went we tried the other Couple Set which had Vegetable Pork Curry Rice, Mushroom Beef Hashed Rice, Fried Chicken, Cheese Pork Cutlet and a drink.
This was the Mushroom Beef Hashed Rice which we're not sure why it's called Hashed Rice since it still looked like curry rice. But apparently Hayashi rice is beef braised in demi-glace sauce with onions and mushrooms until it thickens by itself. So I guess this is not actually curry?
This was the Vegetable Pork Curry Rice which looked a lot lighter in colour and texture.
This was the side of Fried Chicken and Cheese Pork Cutlet that came with our set.
Both rice dishes looked so good so we decided to share and go half-half on each.
The Mushroom Beef Hash Rice was darker and had a strong onion taste to it. It was a little sweet, spicy and savoury - the perfect combination of deliciousness! The beef was tender but it felt like toppings that weren't really necessary since the sauce was so good on its own. It was still good though and gave more texture to the sauce which still tasted a lot like curry. I wonder if they changed the hashed rice a little and made it like a darker curry.
The vegetable curry was lighter and more fluid than the hashed rice but it was still very savoury and slightly spicy. It looks pretty simple on the outside but the flavour was more than enough and paired really well with the vegetables and rice.
The cheese pork cutlet was actually really good! It had the classic cheese pull to it, the outside was nice and crispy while the pork was tender and juicy on the inside. The fried sides provided a nice crunch to the curry rice.
After Sean finished both his halves, he wanted more so he ordered an extra serving of rice and curry which was free. There wasn't an option for which curry though so we were curious to see what kind of curry they would give.
It seemed like the same as the vegetable curry since it was lighter. But it was scrumptious all the same, and very elegantly served in a gravy boat so we could get a shot of the thick curry being poured over the rice.
Overall, it's safe to say that we had two very satisfying meals in Abiko Curry and it has since become one of our go-to curry spots in Korea! Now we'll make it a point to visit whenever we go back for sure.
Thanks so much for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
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