Hello! I’m Hitapapa and I love grilled curry.
This time, we visited “Gari Honpo,” a baked curry specialty restaurant located in Mojiko Retro in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture!
Gari Honpo is a baked curry specialty store that has been making its speciality baked curry for over 40 years .
When he’s not satisfied with the taste, he makes it again from the beginning, and he has had to throw away entire pots of curry on many occasions.
Among the many grilled curry restaurants in Mojiko Retro , Gari Honpo is a very popular restaurant. Even on weekdays, there is always a line before the restaurant opens at 11:00, and it seems to be full as soon as the restaurant opens.
There is a line even after the store opens, so in order to get into Gari Honpo without having to wait too long, I recommend lining up before 11am.
A great thing about Gari Honpo is that you can choose the amount of rice and the spiciness of your curry.
Most grilled curry restaurants offer extra large servings, but there aren’t many that let you choose the level of spiciness.
It comes in 2x, 5x, and 10x spiciness, so if you can handle some spicy food, give it a try!
Now, let us introduce you to Gari Honpo, a long-established restaurant that has been making baked curry for over 40 years!
It’s a carefully made baked curry from a long-established restaurant.
Restaurant information for “Curry Honpo”
＜Curry Honpo＞
[Address] 2F Awaya Building, 9-2 Minatomachi, Moji-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka
[Business hours] 11:00-20:00 (OS19:30)
[Closed] Irregularly
[Seating] 25 seats (table: 20 seats, counter: 5 seats)
[Parking] None (there is a paid parking lot nearby)
[Phone number] 093-331-8839
[Official website] https://www.curry-honpo.com/mojikou-retro.html
The exterior of “Curry Honpo”
“Curry Honpo” is located about a one-minute walk from JR Mojiko Station (right in front of the station).
It’s on the second floor of this building on the sea side.
The entrance is on the right hand side of the building.
There is a promenade right next to “Curry Honpo” where you can stroll while looking out at the Kanmon Straits.
“Curry Honpo” is located right in front of JR Mojiko Station.
It’s conveniently located right in front of Mojiko Station.
The street in front of “Curry Honpo” looks like this.
This is a retro and stylish area lined with red brick buildings, such as the Former Osaka Shosen Building and Premier Hotel Mojiko.
The retro atmosphere of the street in front of the Restaurant.
There is a line at the entrance of the restaurant for customers to line up.
Even on weekdays, there is a line before 11am when the restaurant opens, and it is so popular that it is full as soon as it opens.
There is a line even after the store opens.
Take these stairs to the second floor.
The atmosphere inside “Curry Honpo”
The restaurant is bright with plenty of sunlight streaming in.
You can feel the warmth of wood on the floors and tables.
You can see the Kanmon Straits from the seats on the ocean side.
On a sunny day, the blue sky and sea are truly beautiful.
On the other side of the sea is Shimonoseki, Honshu.
The window seats offer a spectacular view of the Kanmon Straits.
There are also counter seats on the opposite side to the sea.
You can see Mojiko Station from the counter seats.
The interior of the restaurant is decorated with old photos of Mojiko Station, giving it a retro feel.
Menu of “Curry Honpo”
here are many different types of baked curry available, but the simplest and most orthodox is the “Double Cheese Baked Curry.”
Another great thing about “Curry Honpo” is that you can choose the amount of rice and the spiciness of your curry.
Yaki-curry restaurants may offer extra-large servings, but there aren’t many that allow you to choose the level of spiciness.
S size: 100g rice
M size: 180g rice
L size: 300g rice
A medium serving of 180g of rice is a standard size, so a large serving of 300g of rice will seem like a lot.
If you’re planning on trying a variety of gourmet foods and sweets while sightseeing around Mojiko Retro, the smaller S size might be a good choice!
Double spiciness: +20 yen
Five times spicier: +50 yen
10 times spicier: +100 yen
Sweet: +20 yen
f you don’t like spicy food, you can also make it mild.
For just 100 yen you can make it 10 times spicier, so if you can handle spicy food, give it a try!
I’ll have grilled curry!
Double cheese grilled curry (medium size, twice as spicy) 920 yen
This time I made the simplest and most conventional “Double Cheese Baked Curry.”
The amount of rice is medium (180g) and the spiciness can be customized to twice the normal level.
Introducing grilled curry from “Curry Honpo”!
It came in a large, thick, deep clay pot-like dish that appeared to be made of iron.
(Be careful not to get burned!)
It’s in a really thick pot and it’s boiling away!
The cheese is grilled nicely!
The crispy cheese is the best
The curry comes out boiling hot.
The air causes the curry to expand and crack like bubbling magma.
It’s like the curry is boiling!
Insert a spoon into the browned cheese.
Hot cheese stretches!
The curry roux is dark in color and has a thick, gooey texture.
I always start by checking the taste with just the curry roux.
It has a deep, rich flavor.
It also contains lots of chunky diced cheese.
It’s twice as spicy so it’s pretty spicy.
If you can handle spicy food, try it at 5 or 10 times the spiciness!
The curry roux is very rich and flavorful.
Next, mix the rice with the curry roux.
Both the rice and curry are piping hot so be careful not to get burned!
(I usually end up burning the inside of my mouth here lol)
The surface of the baked curry is covered with crispy grilled cheese, and when you peel back the cheese, a half-boiled egg appears.
It has a nice, creamy texture.
Mix the soft-boiled egg into the curry.
Eating the curry with an egg makes it so mild that you don’t even notice the spiciness.
Homemade flavoring oil
There is homemade aromatic oil on the table.
The thick aromatic oil, which is made from a variety of spices, gives off a wonderful aroma.
It has a scent that is more to Japanese tastes than authentic Indian spices.
First, eat a little or about half of the baked curry as is, and then mix in this homemade aromatic oil little by little to make the baked curry even more delicious!
It doesn’t change the taste, but rather enhances the richness and umami of the curry .
This homemade aromatic oil is so delicious that I put a lot of it in my curries.
By the end, the ratio of curry to aromatic oil was about 1:1.
This homemade flavored oil is so delicious!
Please try our homemade flavored oil.
Fukujinzuke with small sardines
Thank you for the meal!
This is a restaurant that sees queues every day and is a long-established establishment that has been making its carefully crafted baked curry for over 40 years , so the curry was truly delicious.
The curry roux is very rich and mellow, yet has a slight spicy kick to it, which gives the curry a nice firmness.
The grilled curry is served boiling away in a large clay pot-like iron pot .
It feels like magma is bubbling and curry is boiling .
This is how grilled curry should be!
There is homemade flavored oil on the table, which is packed with spices adjusted to suit Japanese tastes and is absolutely delicious!
As you eat your grilled curry, from the middle onwards, we recommend adding plenty of our homemade aromatic oil to the curry .
Rather than making it spicy or fragrant, mixing in the homemade flavored oil greatly enhances the richness and flavor of the curry .
This is a very popular restaurant, and even on weekdays there is a line before the opening time of 11am, and it is full as soon as it opens.
There is a line even after the store opens, so if you want to be sure to get in early, it’s best to line up before the store opens at 11:00 .
If you go at lunchtime, you’ll definitely have to queue!
Please come and visit Gari Honpo, which has been making its delicious baked curry for over 40 years.
I hope the above information is of some help.
See you soon!
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