It took me quite a while before I got the chance to write about Kumakuma Curry for several reasons. For one, during the time I have tried their amazing curries, I was met with an unfortunate news about the passing of a close friend which put a halt to my online activities to make way for grieving. Then, it also took me a while to retrieve all the photos I took of the curries from the corrupted SD I used as it needs help from experts far away. I guess the timing was unfortunate.
Although I feel bad that I could have written about this way earlier, I always believe that good things are meant to be shared. So here I am, writing about probably the best curry you can ever have here in the Philippines - Kumakuma Curry.
Kumakuma Curry is an online delivery store concept which is a perfect set up now that we are still in a pandemic, and it specializes in Japanese Curry. It is not just your usual food business that pops up out of nowhere because its origin is deeply rooted from chef Takumi's long-time love and insatiable liking for the dish he grew up with. It revolves around personal history of someone with high regard and deep respect to the dish, hence, you can expect nothing but perfection.
Kumakuma's advocacy is to strive to be as sustainable as possible. Hence, the use of environmental friendly materials from the process of creating their curry dishes to the things they use to house their creation are apparent. They uses eco-friendly bento boxes made out of bamboo fibers, starch, and water. These bento boxes is covered a multi-purpose traditional Japanese cloth called Furoshiki.
Our house help who received the food delivery took the bento boxes out of the Furoshiki due to some spillage, albeit minor maybe due to handling during delivery, so I was not able to take photos of the bento boxes wrapped. So, I just grab a photo from Kumakuma Curry's Facebook page so that you would have an idea how does it look. Pretty swell, right?
Truth be told, when it comes to curry, I prefer the Indian variety for its distinct intensity in flavor. I always thought that other countries' versions of curry are a bit mild and sometimes a tad sweet in comparison. Now, the reason why I love Kumakuma Curry's rendition of this amazing dish is that while it's Japanese in nature, but the flavor is anything but mild - and I am not talking about the level of spiciness, no. I am talking about the depth of flavor. I am happy to report that Kumakuma Curry did not disappoint.
There are several items in Kumakuma Curry menu, and I was able to try three of their offerings. It comes with informative post cards that provides a short information about the business and the dish itself.
The Beef Curry was basically made of sous vide beef short plate in a rich beef curry sauce. It comes with picked beets and radish mostarda as well as spiced carrots. The beef is suggested to be eaten as it is and then the accompanying condiments to be eaten separately as palate cleanser after indulging in spoonful of the curry.
As it was cooked in sous vide, the chunks of beef were impeccably tender and the flavor, intense but not overwhelmingly so. I love how each condiments served not just a palate cleanser but a vehicle that led to new flavors as well. It was the best beef curry I have ever tried, to be honest.
There's also the Signature Beef Curry which boasts of two types of beef curry - the short plate curry and the dry beef curry. It also comes with the same pickled and spiced side dishes meant to be palate cleansers and additional flavor if one so desired.
Comparing it to the aforementioned variety, this one has more depth in flavor and provides exciting texture brought about by the dry beef curry. It can be enjoyed as it is but the addition of the onsen egg it comes with is a welcome addition that's an equal treat to the palate.
I was also able to try the Butter Chicken Curry. which is said to be based on Indian Murg Makhani cooked using Japanese techniques. It has boneless meat for the karaage and the curry sauce is reminiscent of the Indian butter chicken dish some of us love, but with Japanese flavor flair to it.
If you are a long time blog reader, you probably know that I love Indian dishes. Honestly, I was a bit skeptical with this dish from Kumakuma in fear that they wouldn't be able to give this well-loved Indian dish justice. Luckily, while it reminds me of the origin of this dish, the Japanese touch is still very apparent and not lacking, which is a good thing.
I love the curry dishes I tried from Kumakuma Curry. Personally, the flavor profile of their curries, for me is like a marriage between Indian and Japanese variety. Japanese curries I have tried before had the distinct note of sweetness to it, while Kumakuma Curry's version has it, it also features spunk that makes other Japanese curry dishes I tried seems mediocre.
There are only few places that offers downright delicious curry dishes and I thank God Kumakuma Curry came into existence. It is something well worth checking out especially if you love curry or even if you're just curious about it. Currently, they do deliveries during Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays with minimum pre-order time of 12 hours.
For more information about Kumakuma Curry, you may visit their website, kumakumacurry.com and follow them on Facebook (@kumakumacurryph) and Instagram (@kumakumacurryph)
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