Monday, May 25, 2020

Chubu 2016 中部の旅 - Soup Curry Hanjiro スープカレーハンジロー

Visited 20.10.2016 (Thu)





Soup curry fan! Arrived at Azumino city 安曇野市 just in time for lunch. Followed a recommendation in Mappuru Shinshu まっぷる 信州 and took a taxi from Hotaka Station 穂高駅 to Hanjiro ハンジロー, a restaurant that specialises in soup curry スープカレー. I became a fan of soup curry after trying it for the very first time in Hokkaido. As the name implies, it is more soupy than the thicker, gravy like Japanese curry. Usually served together with chicken, a variety of vegetables or seafood, the flavour of the soup curry packs a punch and goes extremely well with rice. Hanjiro occupies a two storey, country style wooden house which stands right beside a stream and is located in the vicinity of a wasabi farm and salmon rearing farm. Though the restaurant was fully packed when we arrived, we were only separated from our lunch by another family standing in the queue. Looked through the menu and decided to have their set lunch which comes with appetiser, ice cream and drink. Ordered two sets of soup curry with assorted vegetables and three different types of mushroom (彩り野菜と3種類キノコのスープカレー), and one set of soup curry with their specialty hamburg steak made from pork and beef (牛と豚こだわり肉のハンバーグスープカレー). Each soup curry is also served with rice. The spiciness level ranges from 0 to 30 and we opted for level 2 spiciness, which is equivalent to medium spicy.





Delicious. Upon stepping into the restaurant, my nose was instantly captivated by the delicious aroma of soup curry that filled the air in the dining area. We were assigned to the window counter seats which face the clear water stream. Started the lunch with a small plate of salad as appetisier. When my soup curry (with assorted vegetables and mushrooms) was served, I was surprised how aesthetically pleasant the dish was. The hearty bowl of soup curry was decorated with colourful, seasonal vegetables such as cherry tomato, pumpkin, broccoli and asparagus and topped with a halved hard boiled egg. Tasted a scoop of the soup and was totally blown away by the multiple layers of flavours that unfolded on my tastebuds. The secret to their soup curry is its Bouillon soup base, created using ingredients such as beef, potherbs and fruits, which are cooked together for 12 hours and left to sit overnight; while the curry is made up of around 20 types of spices. Level 2 spiciness was just right for my palate, complementing the natural sweetness infused in the broth. As for the soup curry with hamburg steak, the meat patty was well seasoned and seared to the right level of doneness. Wrapped up our enjoyable lunch with a scoop of ice cream and hot milk tea.









Glad to discover a good soup curry restaurant outside of Hokkaido!

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Soup Curry Hanjiro スープカレーハンジロー 
長野県安曇野市穂高4857-1
Operating hours: 1100 - 1430 hrs (Lunch); 1730 - 2030 hrs (Dinner)
http://hanjiro.jp/

How to get there?
20 minutes walk from Hotaka Station 穂高駅.

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