Curry in a hurry

AFTER ALMOST a decade of serving up yummy curries to Japanese foodies, popular Japanese restaurant chain Camp Curry recently pitched its tent in downtown Bangkok choosing Siam Paragon’s Food Passage for its first overseas site.

Launched back in 2007 in Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku ward, it offers a variety of curries made with premium vegetables and meat. Today, it has 30 branches around Japan with different menus that are based on the ingredients found in each region. 

The Bangkok outlet is being run by Chubby Hen, which also owns popular noodle shop Nuer Koo and an Izakaya-style restaurant on Soi Thonglor. It’s designed to look like a campsite too, seating 34 diners on benches at plain wood tables. 

The walls are decorated with funky camping gear, vintage lamps create a homey atmosphere and an open kitchen allows passers-by to observe the chefs as they whip up those curries. 

“The Camp’s founder wants to offer something different from regular creamy curry sauce so he’s created several full-flavour, spicy curry recipes that are served with a choice of toppings including cheese, poached egg and salmon,” says project manager Chananchida Chusang.

“The decorative items and tableware are imported from Japan to ensure our customers enjoy a new dining experience. The spoon and fork are designed to resemble shovels and our old-fashioned vacuum bottles have a distinctive tartan pattern.”

The spices and curry powder are flown in from Japan, the fresh vegetables come from the Royal Projects while the pork, beef and chicken are also locally sourced.

There are six main dishes on offer and customers can choose from corn, cheese, chicken, shrimp, salmon and beef toppings ranging in price from Bt10 to Bt150. We particularly liked the Hango Shake Salad (Bt100) with its yummy sesame dressing and the Fully-loaded Vegetables Curry (Bt190), a colourful mixture of steamed vegetables, served with aromatic curry sauce and rice.

Also popular is the BBQ Curry (Bt320) – steamed rice topped with barbecued pork in a spicy sauce. Perfect for sharing, the Big Camp Fire Curry (Bt380) is specially designed for the Thai palate and blends spicy Japanese nabe curry with a variety of local vegetables, shitake mushrooms and tender sliced pork.  

Only two desserts currently grace the menu but both are well worth a try. Hokkaido Milk Pudding with fresh whipped cream (Bt150) is made with the Northern island’s creamy milk, while Daigaku Sweet Pomato (Bt80) sees grilled sweet potatoes from the Royal Project sweetened with honey and served with fresh whipped cream. 

Beverage options include Hokkaido Honey and Mango Lassis (Bt90-Bt95), Picnic Bottled Japanese Tea for Bt55, and fresh, guava and mango juice for Bt50. 

 

SPICE IS NICE

Camp Curry is located in Food Passage zone on the fourth floor of Siam Paragon. It’s open daily from 10 to 10. Call (02) 610 9612 or visit the |“Camp Curry” page on Facebook.