March 08, 2018

SAMA Curry & Café Singapore's NEW Outlet At Plaza Singapura ~ Delicious Japanese Soup Curry!



Not all styles of curry are to my taste, but the ones at SAMA Curry & Café Singapore have endearingly caught my fancy.

The casual eatery specializes in Hokkaido-style soup curry that is customizable to our preference with different flavors and 30 levels of spiciness! Certainly not your usual kind of thick Japanese curry.

Though I did not get a chance to try it when SAMA Curry opened its first branch at Downtown Gallery last May, it's a happy case of better late than never. Besides, the new outlet which opened in February this year at Orchard's Plaza Singapura is a much more convenient location for me who works nearby.


A little background on SAMA Curry: It was founded in year 2004 when the first store opened in Sapporo, Hokkaido. The founder wanted to make soup curry a Japanese food culture and then spread the soul food of Hokkaido to different parts of Asia.

Well, he has undoubtedly succeeded.

Today, there are 10 outlets in Japan, mainly in Hokkaido, Sendai, Tokyo and Fukuoka, as well as outlets in Hong Kong, and now Singapore.


The menu can seem overwhelming for first-timers, but it's actually quite straightforward with 4 steps:-

(1) Choose Your Main Curry

There are 10 flavors to choose from, including Marathon Chicken ($14.90), Oink Oink Pork ($15.90), Moo Moo Hamburg ($16.90), Cheesy Bear ($17.90), Ocean Trophy ($18.90), and Keema Natto ($16.90).

(2) Choose Your Spicy Level
Categorized into Baby Bear, Adult Bear, and Crazy Bear, the spicy level starts from non-spicy 0 to a fiery 30!

(3) Choose Your Soup Base
Options include Tomato, Coconut, Shrimp, and Japanese.

(4) Add Extra Toppings
Each bowl comes with an assortment of vegetables (baby corn, broccoli, eggplant, green pepper, okra, potato, carrot and half Japanese soft-boiled egg), but if you like more ingredients in your bowl, you can add extra fresh vegetables ($0.70 per portion) and meat ($4.95 per portion).


We ordered a few bowls to share among the three of us, and it turned out to be such a tasty dinner.

My favorite was the Marathon Chicken ($14.90) in coconut broth. The chicken leg was tender and moist, and paired well with the coconut curry which was light in consistency and drinkable like soup.

It was on hindsight that we choose level 5 spiciness which didn't have much heat actually and allowed us to appreciate the interplaying flavors of soup curry. The whole bowl was easy to finish without that dreaded "jerlat" surfeit feel.

For more kick, go for the stronger Cheesy Bear ($17.90) with fried chicken cutlet in tomato curry, and choose a higher level of spiciness to go with it.

The Ocean Trophy ($18.90) with a medley of seafood including prawn, octopus, squid, and scallops was very pleasant too. It paired utterly well with the shrimp curry for an intensely aromatic crustacean flavor.


All bowls are served with premium Hokkaido Yumepirika rice, but we strongly suggest getting the Rice with Minced Pork & Cheese ($3) too. It was delicious! Especially when the rice is warm and cheese is still a bit melty.

For noodle alternatives, go for the Special Soup Curry Ramen ($15.90), and Special Soup Curry Udon ($14.90).

The crispy Sesame Chicken Wings ($7 for 3pcs), and Hokkaido Crab Cream Croquette ($7 for 2pcs) are worthy sides to order too.

Though SAMA Curry focus mainly on one offering which is soup curry, a meal here will never get boring as there are enough variety and different permutations which we can try at each visit. I'm already planning my next one :D


SAMA Curry & Café Singapore
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samacurrysg/

Outlets
Plaza Singapura
Address: 68 Orchard Road, Plaza Singapura, #06-11/12, Singapore 238839
Contact: +65 6445 233
Opening Hours: Daily 11am-10pm

Downtown Gallery
Address: 6A Shenton Way, OUE Downtown Gallery, #03-26, Singapore 068815
Contact: +65 6224 0590
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 11.30am-9.30pm / Sat 11.30am-5pm / Closed on Sunday

Prices are stated in Singapore dollars and subject to 10% service charge and 7% GST unless otherwise stated. Information is correct at point of published date.

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