Latest news with #Mr.Sato
SoraNews24
9 hours ago
- Business
- SoraNews24
Crazy-big 'Bam!' Hunk of Meat Curry returns to Japan's favorite curry rice chain, price still rising
This curry rice has so much meat it gets its own sound effect. Prices have been going up and up for just about everything in Japan, and that includes the food at Cocoichibanya, Japan's biggest curry rice restaurant chain. Cocoichi, as it's also known, has seen its customer numbers slipping after a series of recent price hikes, with those customers who are still showing up paying, on average, more for their meals than they used to. It's with that background that Cocoichi has brought back its Nikukai/'Hunk of Meat' curry. Released for the first time in April of 2023, the exact name of this massive meaty dish has changed a few times, but it's always something impactful. At one point it was called the 'Bam! Hearty Tender Meat Curry,' and its newest iteration, being served at Cocoichi right now, is the 'Bam! Tender Meat with Garlic and Pepper Curry' (or the Horoniku Dokan with Garlic and Pepper Curry). As with previous Nikukai curries, the newest version, which is the fifth generation, is available in a variety of 'levels,' each one upping the amount of meat you get, with prices ranging from 1,690 yen (US$11.65) to 3,280 yen. Even as our mouths watered, though, we couldn't help noticing that all of these prices are higher than the last time around. Cocoichi releases a new Nikukai Curry version roughly every six months on a limited-time basis, and the newest dish is 40 yen more expensive, for each level, than its predecessor from last November. As a matter of fact, every single time the Nikukai Curry comes back, it's gotten more expensive, with a Level 3 now costing 379 yen more than the first-gen dish of the same size did in spring of 2023. However, with our boss picking up the tab for this taste test, we were able to temporarily set aside any concerns about the cost, and bask in the beauty of the Bam! Tender Meat with Garlic and Pepper Curry. Our ace reporter Mr. Sato, who'd drawn taste-testing duties, opted for the 2,220-yen Level 2, and even though it's the second-smallest of the current Nikukai curry quartet, it was still a veritable meat mountain of steamed pork shoulder loin. With his expectations rising as high as the pork pile, Mr. Sato picked up a piece of meat in his spoon. Visually, it reminded him of a boulder, but the pork is incredibly tender, so much so that you can easily slice it with just the side of your spoon. The roux has rich soy sauce notes to it, and is seasoned with four different types of coarse-ground pepper (black, white, green, and pink), plus a sprinkling of fried garlic chips. This is a very aromatic plate of curry rice, and the pepper and garlic shine through stronger than any other flavors in the roux, for a result akin to what's sometimes called 'spice curry' (not to be confused with spicy curry) in Japan. It's an invigorating mix of flavors and juices, and Mr. Sato thinks it'd be a great plate to charge yourself up on an otherwise stamina-sapping hot summer's day, a sentiment you also get from the rocking-out promotional video Cocoichi has for the new Nikukai curry. However, we're not sure if the Bam! Tender Meat with Garlic and Pepper Curry will still be around when we get to the hottest part of the year, since it's a limited-time menu item with no specified end-of-availability date. Because of that, we'd advise finding a slot for it in your meal plans sooner rather than later…or maybe two slots, considering how huge it is. Related: Cocoichibanya location list Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
SoraNews24
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
Can Japan's favorite cheap chocolate also be a good craft beer? Taste-testing Black Thunder Stout
Black Thunder chocolate goes into every can, but does that mean this brew comes out tasty? No matter how old you are, visiting a chocolate factory will make you feel like a kid again. That was something our ace reporter Mr. Sato experienced first hand on his recent trip to the Black Thunder factory in the town of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, where they make Japan's favorite brand of incredibly cheap, but also incredibly delicious, chocolate. ▼ Black Thunder, the chocolate that delights taste buds even if it sometimes breaks hearts But while Mr. Sato's inner child was squealing with glee as he participated in the factory's souvenir shop activity that lets you stuff as many chocolate bars as you can inside a bag in three minutes, his inner adult couldn't help feeling drawn to… …the Black Thunder chocolate beer?!? Yes, they do sell beer at the Black Thunder factory, and yes, it's really made from Black Thunder. Specifically, it's made using the leftover pieces of chocolate that are broken off when the bars are formed, so as you crack open a can of Black Thunder Stout you can pat yourself on the back for doing your part to reduce food waste. Though Black Thunder is famous for its low price, Black Thunder Stout is just a tad on the expensive side at 755 yen (US$5.20) a can. That's still an affordable luxury, though, and not a shocking price for a craft beer in today's marketplace. The beer is produced by Kagawa Prefecture-based brewer Setouchi Beer for Toyohashi craft beer company THC Craft, with the blessing of Black Thunder maker Yuraku Confectionary Company, and uses barley malt imported from the U.K. and Germany. ▼ The label, with an illustrated redhead in a tiger-stripe outfit, is clearly taking some design cues from manga artist Rumiko Takahashi, creator of Inuyasha , Ranma 1/2 , and Urusei Yatsura , whose female lead is fond of tiger-print attire herself. But with Black Thunder being a chocolate with a pronounced sweetness, Mr. Sato wondered, and also sort of worried, that Black Thunder Stout would be a sugary-tasting beer. He felt a little better after asking the store staff about its flavor and a clerk told him that the beer, which has a five-percent alcohol content, isn't particularly sweet, and instead has an enjoyable bitterness to it. Convinced, Mr. Sato bought a can and took it home for taste-testing. As soon as he started pouring, Mr. Sato noticed the fine fizziness of the head, and since he likes his stouts to have this kind of creamy top, his expectations immediately rose like the foam in his glass. Mr. Sato wasn't just pouring the can into a glass for the visual inspection, though. During the brewing process, the sugars in the chocolate pieces play a role in the fermentation process, and the resulting beer retains some of that sweet aroma. It's most noticeable with a wide-brimmed drinking vessel, and the brewers recommend a wine glass, but since Mr. Sato doesn't have one he instead used the widest-opening cup he could find in his kitchen. Sure enough, he could detect a gentle, enticing sweetness as he took a sniff before he took a sip. And when he did take that sip? It was excellent. Gently pushing through the top layer of soft, creamy foam, he found a robust bitterness that gives the beer a sense of psychological weight. But the bitter notes weren't alone in the rich flavor profile, as they were accompanied by sensations of coffee. Surprisingly, there was no candy-like sweetness, but the flavor ends with a faint lingering chocolatey impression that tickles the nose and entices you into another sip. Flavorful but mellow, Mr. Sato likens the Black Thunder Stout to a glass of fine wine or whiskey, something to take your time with and thoroughly enjoy. Sadly, while Black Thunder is available in pretty much every convenience store in Japan, Black Thunder Stout is harder to find, though it's sometimes available for online order through local products e-shop Toyohashi Tsushin here. However, even Black Thunder chocolate wasn't an overnight success story, and at one point early in its history was even temporarily taken off the market because of low sales before word of mouth made it the phenomenal hit it is today, so maybe we'll see Black Thunder follow a similar path. Related: Black Thunder factory official website Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
