10 Popular Soup Curries in Hokkaido
Soup curry is a specialty in Hokkaido. Unlike typical Japanese-style thick curry sauce, soup curry is, as the name indicates, more runny like a ramen broth. Soup curry is topped with fried vegetables. This tasty dish is definitely worth a try when you are in Hokkaido.
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1. Magic Spice
Magic Spice, aka Magispa has been serving soup curry since 1993. It is so popular that a line of customers starts forming by as early as 30 minutes before the place opens on weekends. The recipe adopts the notion of Chinese herbal medicine so the broth has a distinctive light taste with full of vegetables. You can choose from 7 spice levels with the hottest rank named as ‘Kokuu(the empty air)' If you think you can take up the challenge, go with Kokuu. It should blow your mind away to a whole new level.
6-2 Hongo Street, 8-Minami, Shiraishi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
2. Pole Pole
Founded in 1978, this establishment had been serving soup curry well before soup curry became a hit. The signature dish is ‘Srilanka’, curry broth with slightly thick texture but light and tasty with full of spices. The aroma will make you salivate. Try this long-established soup curry and you won’t be let down!
1-26 Sakae-dori, 17, Shiraishi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
http://soup-curry-polepole.jimdo.com/
3. Okushiba Shouten
Okushiba Shouten has several branches around Hokkaido. Interiors of each shop makes you feel like you are in a living room at someone’s house. The popular dish is shrimp-based broth with plentiful toppings of vegetables. Enjoy the veggies with flavorsome soup!（写真は函館本店）
Main branch: 14-2-2 Minami, 8-Jo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
4. ＳＡＭＡ Honten
SAMA is located in less than a 10 minute-walk from Hokkaido Shrine. Brace yourself for a long line of customers at lunchtime! Unlike typical soup curry, the broth is relatively thick using generous amount of tomatoes, giving strong tomato flavor which makes it appealing even to those who are not the greatest fans of soup curry. The scrumptious soup goes extremely well with rice.
11 Chome 2-11 Miyanomori, 1-Jo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
5. Soup Curry ＧＡＲＡＫＵ
It’s located on the second floor of a building but that doesn’t stop people forming a long line at lunchtime. GARAKU’s soup curry is packed with spice with powerful taste which goes really well with rice. It’s signature dish is soup curry with tasty pork shabu shabu. The good news is it is open well after 11pm.
2nd Floor, 2-7 Minami 3-Jo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
6. Curry Di SAVOY
The soup curry offered has a sophisticated and elegant taste which isn’t too overpowering and goes nicely with breads. It is so good you would polish the entire soup off ! Toppings of fried vegetables are also very tasty. The restaurant has an ambience of a traditional Japanese coffee shop. It is an ideal place for a pit stop when you are feeling hungry after a long shopping spree.
B1 Floor Toyokawa Minami 1-Jo Building, 5-7 Minami 1-Jo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
7. Pikante
The venue is close to Hokkaido University. It boasts of “non-exhaustive range of menu” and “vast variety of toppings”. The bowl in which soup curry is served is unique with one side of the bowl being bottom up, so that you can eat the cooked chicken leg meat and without an effort. The broth is rich and full of flavor.
1st Floor Acroview Hokudaimae, 3 Nishi, Kita 13-Jo, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
8. Coffee House
This place has been around for several decades, making it one of the long-standing establishments serving soup curry. You might think it tastes relatively mild as the spices aren’t too overpowering, but its lightness makes this soup curry an ideal as a soup to take with light meal. It will suit the taste buds of those who aren’t too keen on punchy-flavored soup curries.
1st Floor Fushimi Coop, 15-3 Nishi, Minami 20-Jo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
http://good-hokkaido.info/soup-curry-coffee-house/
9. Kitarou
This super famous soup curry eatery is in Minami-ku, the outskirt of Sapporo-city. It may be far from downtown but each day the place gets filled quickly with customers when it opens its door. The secret behind its popularity is the versatile flavor of the broth. It uses various dashi (cooking stock), giving broth a depth in taste. Here at Kitarou, soup is the main with toppings as supporting acts. Kitarou’s curry soups are also sold at the airport as well as various local souvenir shops, but when you are in Hokkaido we recommend you pay a visit as the curry soup served at the restaurant is, hands down, genuinely tasty.
1st Floor Sumikawa Building, 4-2-1 Sumikawa 6-Jo, Minami-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
https://sites.google.com/site/kitarousumikawa/home
10. Rakkyo
This is the legendry place that contributed to making soup curry an establishment. The broth is light and easy on spices so it appeals to almost everybody. Major curry manufacturer House Foods has collaborated with Rakkyo and sells curry roux branded “Soup Curry no Takumi (that is, Artisan of Soup Curry)” so even you don’t manage to go to the restaurant you can still buy them for souvenirs and try at home.
1st Floor Kapitenu Kotoni, 1-7-7, Kotoni 1-Jo, Nishi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.
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