One of the best Japanese comfort food to me is Curry. It is tasty, savory, lots of different types, ingredients, veggies, and it is so good any season of the year. There is a small Japanese restaurant that does curry and curry only. They have grown to 4 locations in the city now. It is a quick and easy spot to get some Japanese curry.

I went to the one near Times Square. Just like other locations, it is rather small, but easy to spot with their bright yellow sign and the gorilla. As soon as you walk in, it is just a one room setting with counter seats on one side, and table seating on the other side, and ordering counter at the end.

 

It has crazy amount of just about everything on the wall, from advertisement to magazine clipping about them, to photos of people who have been there… very busy wall, and most of them are old with food/drink splatter a bit. They also have a water tank and refrigerator where you can purchase some drinks or free water. It is usually crowded with those who are looking for a quick bite at affordable price.

  

Menu is pretty simple, basically, just rice, curry sauce, and extra side like chicken katsu, shrimp temupra, sausage, boiled egg, etc. We ordered Grand Slam ($12.50) and Pork Katsu Curry ($7.50 for single a.k.a. medium). Gland Slam comes with 2 sausages, 1 pork or chicken katsu, 1 shrimp tempura, and 1 boiled egg. There is no choice on the size, but you can get extra curry for $1.50. I know you can’t see the rice, but it is under the curry and all that toppings, very thin layer of rice. So was the amount of curry, actually. Yes it comes with lots of toppings/sides, but the main thing there, “curry and rice” was barely there, which was kind of disappointing. The Pork Katsu Curry, of course comes with pork catsu, on top of thin layer of rice and curry sauce. All the toppings – katsu, sausage, shrimp, egg – were nice, it was decent. Nothing special, but then again, it is a “quick” fast food joint. The katsu were also thin, I say thinner than normal, so you don’t feel like you are getting much chicken or pork, but it still has a good flavor being soaked in the curry sauce. Speaking of which, I am a fan of more meaty & filling curry, with lots of veggies and some type of meat. so, getting the rice with curry “sauce” was disappointing also, and being so little amount of them…

And what else? The special red pickles, Fukujinzuke, that always accompany Japanese curry was not there. When we asked about it, we were told that we have to buy them. Seriously? But we felt like the curry is not complete without them, so we paid $1 and got the pickles. They gave us generous amount, but we didn’t want so much of it, just a little spoonful to go with the curry…

So, after the lunch, we were still not satisfied. We were comfortably full, but not full in our hearts, if you know what I mean. Something (or a lot of things) were missing, and didn’t quite get that happy feeling when you finish your meal. I am not sure if I would go back to Go Go Curry, but when I have a crazy desire for quick curry, I might think about it. Oh, and if you visit any of their locations on 5th, 15th, or 25th of any month, you will get one of their “toppings” including the red pickles for free, so if I go back, I will go back on one of those days… At the end, the best curry is the home-made, home-cooked one. I better gather some ingredients and start cooking for the kind that makes my heart and tummy full and happy!

Go Go Curry – 273 West 38th Street, New York, NY 008