4 ms·

Not sure about Chinese, but Japanese food in UK is mostly not edible, by my standards at least. Being fusion is a huge disadvantage for me. I go to Japanese res

by wst_ 6y ago

Not sure about Chinese, but Japanese food in UK is mostly not edible, by my standards at least. Being fusion is a huge disadvantage for me. I go to Japanese restaurant when I want to taste original Japanese cuisine not some generic Asian mishmash. Either this or some obscure version of the dishes. Like, where does it come from that kare (curry) must always be katsu? Funnily enough this katsu is chicken. First time in my life I see katsu chicken. It should be pork. Or katsudon without an egg on top. Or tonkotsu ramen (in super hyper popular and regarded place) that doesn't look nor taste like one. It was good enough ramen, but why call it tonkotsu if it doesn't resemble it? Sure there are one or two good restaurants in city but that takes 1h minimum from zone 4 - one way.

Nursie 6y ago
I've never been to Japan, so can't comment on how authentic anything in the UK is, but ... We have 'wagamama' which at best can be said to be japanese influenced, and a few chain sushi places (like Yo Sushi) across the country. They really aren't all that great. But if you look at some of the smaller/independent Japanese places that are around and about, they seem to be far better quality. I think London probably suffers from its centre being dominated by chains. But on katsu ... I've had Chicken Katsu Curry in the UK, sure, but also in Australia, in Singapore and in Bangkok. If that's not a big thing in Japanese Cuisine then quite a lot of the world might have grasped the wrong end of the stick!
- rsynnott 6y ago
  > But on katsu ... I've had Chicken Katsu Curry in the UK, sure, but also in Australia, in Singapore and in Bangkok. If that's not a big thing in Japanese Cuisine then quite a lot of the world might have grasped the wrong end of the stick! While I don't know about this specific case, it wouldn't necessarily be surprising to see 'fusion' food exported. You can get chicken tikka masala, which is a British Indian invention, all over the place these days (and in fact even the katsu curry might be a remote descendant of British Indian 'fusion' food; AIUI the Japanese navy adopted curry from the British in the 19th century).
- wst_ 6y ago
  I'm not saying that katsu kare is not existent in Japan, but in the UK it is basically the only kare you can get. On the contrary in Tokyo you have it among ten other options and it is definitely not the most popular one. I can say only about my experiences but I'd say the most popular is one with beef which is put in the stew. The name of the dish is simply kare rasiu (curry with rise) and that's most common form. It's also super simple to make if you have rice cooker at home. Just pre-fry some onion, carrot and potatoes on the pan, then boil it with considerate amount of water and add curry blocks to it - done. You may add meat but it's just an additional ingredient which can be easily omitted. You can make it once and it lasts for couple of days. You can even freeze it if you want.
  - Nursie 6y ago
    I already do make that at home sometimes, it's delicious :)

by wst_ 6y ago

Nursie 6y ago

I've never been to Japan, so can't comment on how authentic anything in the UK is, but ... We have 'wagamama' which at best can be said to be japanese influenced, and a few chain sushi places (like Yo Sushi) across the country. They really aren't all that great. But if you look at some of the smaller/independent Japanese places that are around and about, they seem to be far better quality. I think London probably suffers from its centre being dominated by chains. But on katsu ... I've had Chicken Katsu Curry in the UK, sure, but also in Australia, in Singapore and in Bangkok. If that's not a big thing in Japanese Cuisine then quite a lot of the world might have grasped the wrong end of the stick!

rsynnott 6y ago
> But on katsu ... I've had Chicken Katsu Curry in the UK, sure, but also in Australia, in Singapore and in Bangkok. If that's not a big thing in Japanese Cuisine then quite a lot of the world might have grasped the wrong end of the stick! While I don't know about this specific case, it wouldn't necessarily be surprising to see 'fusion' food exported. You can get chicken tikka masala, which is a British Indian invention, all over the place these days (and in fact even the katsu curry might be a remote descendant of British Indian 'fusion' food; AIUI the Japanese navy adopted curry from the British in the 19th century).
wst_ 6y ago
I'm not saying that katsu kare is not existent in Japan, but in the UK it is basically the only kare you can get. On the contrary in Tokyo you have it among ten other options and it is definitely not the most popular one. I can say only about my experiences but I'd say the most popular is one with beef which is put in the stew. The name of the dish is simply kare rasiu (curry with rise) and that's most common form. It's also super simple to make if you have rice cooker at home. Just pre-fry some onion, carrot and potatoes on the pan, then boil it with considerate amount of water and add curry blocks to it - done. You may add meat but it's just an additional ingredient which can be easily omitted. You can make it once and it lasts for couple of days. You can even freeze it if you want.
- Nursie 6y ago
  I already do make that at home sometimes, it's delicious :)