Best Chicken Katsu Curry?

[DKP]

- Zippy's (everywhere) = suck. too crispy, dry, sauce seems like packaged

- L&L (everywhere) = not bad for the price. juicy, sauce isn't bad either

- Senoya's (S. King) = ok, not worth the hype, but better than the first two

- Loco Moco (everywhere) = better than L&L, not as good as Senoya's

- Taiyo Noodle (next to Blockbuster, Pi'ikoi) = ding ding ding...winner. sweet, mouth watering chicken and sauce. nice array of veggies, not too much. add their award-winning (my own award) kim chee and gyoza, and it's a multi-flavor multi-orgy for the mouth. plus they give free calendars to everyone 18 and over :D...and free shirts to me cuz I'm core :eek: :p

Any others worth mentioning?

[1stwahine]

DKP, You made me SMILE and Giggle so LOUD! I'll go this week and try.:D

You're great at promoting!;)

Auntie Lynn

[DKP]

No probs Auntie. The reason I started going there was it was close to where I worked at the time (Ala's), and it's affordable. I'm kind of short and slim, and 1 plate lasts two meals for me. THAT is the best thing about it.

My girl loves the Seafood Ramen (spicy or mild).

[Pomai]

Coco Ichibanya Curry House (http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/2004/04/coco_ichibanya_.html), altough rather "commercial", is pretty darned good.

They're that loud yellow (color-wise) place found in various strip malls and food courts around Oahu (and all over Japan). We usually go to the one in McCully Shopping Center.

As Reid mentions in that review, the Japanese style curry offered here is less spicy and more sweet, but there's still plenty of depth and a unique character to it. At Coco Ichibanya it's actually more of a sauce (there's no large pieces of vegetables or meats in it) intended to flavor various deep-fried entrees and toppings. Served with a portion of white rice and Fukujinzuke (soy-marinated vegetables).

As KDP points out, what is just as important as the curry is the quality of the chicken katsu underneath it all. This is where Coco Ichibanya excels, as the panko breading is very light and crispy, while the chicken is moist and tender. Quite simply Katsu done the way it should be. I have yet to try their Tonkotsu version (pork), which I'm sure is just as oishii.

If you order take-out, they put each item in a unique container that separates everything in individual compartments, so when you eat it the Katsu is still crunchy. At about $6, it's a good value.

[Lei Liko]

Hokkaido Ramen along Harding Ave. in Kaimuki (right by Territorial Savings) has the best Chicken Katsu Curry, IMO.

I'm a big fan of Curry House as well, but Hokkaido Ramen's curry has a distinct flavor to it. A mini plate (which is just right for me) runs you about $4.25. Their Mochiko Chicken Curry is really good, too.

[Mmm]

Does anyone know of any place that serves Katsu with chicken breasts instead of thighs (with or without curry)?

[helen]

When it comes to boneless chicken I can't tell the difference between thighs or breast. I take it you already tried places like L&L or Zippys. How's about Graces (on South King next to a Times Supermarket, I don't if their other location at Market City is still there or not), Mahalo Drive Inn (on Young Street) and/or AAA BBQ (located on the Don Quijote food court), did you try those locations before?

[dick]

I like Coco Ichiban Ya myself. Usually the chicken is good, and I like the curry. You can custom order the amount of rice you want, spicyness of the curry, and pick from a variety of toppings.

Worst I've ever had was at Ezogiku across from Puck's Alley. The curry itself is okay, but the "chicken katsu," if you could even call it that, was more like fried skin. Very little, if any, meat in it. I was pissed. And it isn't cheap -- something like $7 or $8. I will never again step foot in that place.

[zff]

Sumo Ramen in Kaneohe makes a killer mochiko chicken curry. It's not katsu curry, but close, and a lot better.

[jkpescador]

Ichi-Ryu.
Corner of Pensacola and King.
Huge portions.

[scrivener]

Sanoya's (S. King) = ok, not worth the hype, but better than the first two
Late hours are really the draw here, but expect some of the worst service on the island!

Loco Moco (everywhere) = better than L&L, not as good as Sanoya's
I'll agree with this assessment, but man...the curry is lousy. Huge, tough chunks of beef swimming in a floury curry. Bleah.

Taiyo Noodle (next to Blockbuster, Pi'ikoi) = ding ding ding...winner. sweet, mouth watering chicken and sauce. nice array of veggies, not too much. add their award-winning (my own award) kim chee and gyoza, and it's a multi-flavor multi-orgy for the mouth. plus they give free calendars to everyone 18 and over :D...and free shirts to me cuz I'm core
Good curry AND good katsu. Late hours a huge plus. Gigantic LCD television a huge minus. Cute female Korean clientele an enormous plus. Lousy parking (except late) an enormous minus.

Coco Ichibanya Curry House (http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/2004/04/coco_ichibanya_.html), although rather "commercial", is pretty darned good.
I agree. I like Japanese-style curry, and I think this is really the best of what's available on the island (though to be fair, I haven't tried Hokkaido, and now I've got to!). CoCo Ichibanya really pays attention to the stuff it puts alongside its curry; the potato croquettes are awesome, the fried chicken (the best thing they have) is delicious. The katsu's pretty good.

Worst I've ever had was at Ezogiku across from Puck's Alley. The curry itself is okay, but the "chicken katsu," if you could even call it that, was more like fried skin. Very little, if any, meat in it. I was pissed. And it isn't cheap -- something like $7 or $8. I will never again step foot in that place.
I used to work at another Ezogiku location, and let me just say that the curry is not a reason to eat there. When I worked there, katsu curry had just been added to the menu and I thought it was great; it was tonkatsu, though. I haven't tried the chicken katsu, which wasn't offered when I worked there. Ezogiku's ramen is great, though; the noodles are average, but Ezogiku's got the best shiru on the island. There was a time when it was the only decent ramen you could get anywhere in the state.

Sumo Ramen in Kaneohe makes a killer mochiko chicken curry. It's not katsu curry, but close, and a lot better.
The curry's okay, but yes. The mochiko chicken is pretty good. Stay away from the katsu, which kinda sucks. Several locations on the island.

Ichi-Ryu.
Corner of Pensacola and King.
Huge portions.
Pretty good ramen, too, and the people who eat there and the people who work there are friendly.

I'm going to add Tai Sei to the list. It's on Beretania, across the police station. The people who work there are super-nice, and the katsu curry is pretty good. However, if you're into ramen (and ramen is almost a religion for me), and it's your first (or second, or third) time there, you really gotta have some noodles. Tai Sei makes its noodles on the premises. The noodles are fresh, with a terrific mouth-feel. So get your favorite ramen order first. Then, on your next visit, try the cold noodle dish, which is mind-blowingly good. THEN try the katsu curry.

[dyasu]

I rather like Coco Ichiban (Curry House) as well. I find their chicken katsu is well cooked so it retains its moisture but with a crisp exterior. The curry sauce used at Coco Ichiban is very tasty, and is a thinner style that I prefer.

[cezanne]

Gosh I didn't know Chicken Katsu Curry was such a common dish. I thought it was some restaurant's gimmick plate or something: You like curry? You like katsu? Guess what? .....

[Mike_Lowery]

Ezogiku was great to me (although I'm biased, because I worked there in college and ate it for free every night. Whatchu know 'bout the senior 60?).

Didn't know you worked there too, scriv.

[scrivener]

Yeah, well. My mom was the manager of one of the other locations. That was in the mid-eighties.

With so much katsu curry on the mind, I had to hit Ayame Ramen in Kaneohe for dinner after work tonight. The katsu's pretty meaty, but I thought it was left in the fryer just a little too long. Also, it is my humble opinion that only fine panko should be used for chicken katsu; most places use a medium or course panko. I guess I can live with that.

The curry is a deep, dark red, much like at CoCo Ichibanya. A little on the mild, slightly bland side, but still good.

[pzarquon]

I like both Ezogiku and Coco Ichibanya, albeit for more than the katsu. I'm pretty sure my preferences are largely sentimental, actually.

Ezogiku because there was a little hole in the wall (literally!) on Paoakalani Ave. in Waikiki, half a block from where we used to live, that we'd stroll over to at all hours, sometimes in our pajamas. Nothing like a steaming bowl of goodness on a drizzly Thursday night...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/55/109437244_e629e87603_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hawaii/109437244/)

Coco Ichibanya, because I became a regular at the Puck's Alley location during the last couple of years I attended UH. I was a part-time student, splitting my time between a job and finishing my journalism degree, and would eat at Coco Ichibanya several times a week since it was right by the bus stop.

Margaret, the co-owner, was great, and we'd talkstory all the time. Eventually I graduated and didn't spend much time in the area... but just last year, I wandered back in, almost five years after the last time I'd patronized the place. Margaret remembered me, the name of my daughter (boy, was she startled to hear I'd had two more kids), and even my favorite dish... which was sadly no longer available. It was a special "lunch combo" that included, yes, chicken katsu.

[dyasu]

All the talk about Ezogiku reminds of a sour experience I had there. My girlfriend and I liked to eat there before this happened. One rainy day we were chilling out at my place and we felt like eating something hot, so of course ramen came to mind! We phoned over to the Ezogiku on University Ave and placed an order, and we told them that we had a coupon from the Entertainment Book for a buy 1 get 1 ramen free deal. They said OK and gave me the total for one ramen order.

I drove down there, parked, and went inside. As I waited for them to bring out my take out order the manager came out and told me that he was going to charge me full price because he wouldn't accept the coupon. I asked him why they didn't tell me that over the phone, because thats one of the reasons why I chose to order from Ezogiku. He said that the Entertainment Book coupon is accepted at other Ezogiku's but not the University Ave location.

From here was a long, heated conversation about the business ethics of telling someone they can use a coupon, giving them a total over the phone, then taking what they said back once I take the time to drive down and pick up the food. He refused to let me use the coupon. After arguing for long enough that I knew he wasn't going to budge I paid for the food and told him I would never be back again and that he would lose the business of my friends and family. I walked out, and never went back. This was over a year ago now.

Pretty lame if you ask me!

[cynsaligia]

best chicken katsu curries we've had lately were at:

restaurant yamagen, which, if you're facing mauka, is to the left of long's moiliili.

taishoken ramen, which is on the diamond head side of keeaumoku after ross' but before....errr....the strip bar that used to be called showgirls? penthouse? aah, i can't remember.

both have perfectly cooked chicken--meaty, juicy, crispy but not overly panko-ed. curry sauce is earthy in that currily good way, sweet-ish but not too sweet and spicy but not too. plus the rice that they serve is scads better than what can be had at taiyo, ezogiku, or coco ichibanya (and some of you know how picky we are about our rice (http://www.hawaiithreads.com/showthread.php?p=134301&highlight=complete+rice+snob#post134301)).

[DKP]

Duh to me...how the hell did I forget to mention Curry House, Sumo Ramen, and Ezogiku...all equal 2nd place winners to me (but 1st as far as convenience). Guess I was really hungry and couldn't think.

I'm gonna go sample Taishoken and Yamagen :) Rice is important to me too...but my preference, at least with meat, is of the Zippy's school of rice (I know it's kind of odd as I grew up on all kinds of rice and poi).

[cynsaligia]

Duh to me...how the hell did I forget to mention Curry House, Sumo Ramen, and Ezogiku...all equal 2nd place winners to me (but 1st as far as convenience). Guess I was really hungry and couldn't think.

I'm gonna go sample Taishoken and Yamagen :) Rice is important to me too...but my preference, at least with meat, is of the Zippy's school of rice (I know it's kind of odd as I grew up on all kinds of rice and poi).

i say this with as much respect as i can muster, but....


bleh!!! zippy's rice!!! bane of my existence!!

remember, i'm a confessed rice snob. it's the only way i can really control my rice intake bcs i'm also sorta kinda kinda well not always really trying to be lower carb. so if i "decide" a certain rice isn't good enough for me, i won't eat it. kinda like how a lot of people won't eat hershey's chocolate even if you paid them but they'll happily shell out bucks on occasion for ethel m's (godiva not good enough for me, either).

i forgot to mention that yamagen and taishoken's beef in the curry is always tender, never gristly, and has that wonderful, slightly gelatinous texture that can only result from good execution of stewing or pressure cooking such collagen-y cuts.

*droooooooooooooooooooooooool*

[DKP]

i say this with as much respect as i can muster, but....


bleh!!! zippy's rice!!! bane of my existence!!



No worries...besides, I've already shamed my family with my statement.

[dyasu]

This thread put me in the mood for some Chicken Katsu Curry! Went down to Curry House tonight and did a review of it while I was enjoying the curry :P Check it out on locokinegrindz! (link in my signature)