Kamalpur

Morning in Ikebukuro. Not the best view but being able to see above the tops of buildings in Tokyo, that is pretty nice.

So this adventure was back to a place I had been before. Once again I saw the Oyoko River

Why so out of the way to a place that in November doesn't have much to see? Because someone mentioned South Indian Curry. Which made me want to try it. A search came up with a place in Kiba. Not this place.

That place. That tiny sign up there. For Tandoor Bar Kamalpur. Although it sometimes gets translated into Kamarupool...

Which is actually on the first floor, with the front door at the corner of the building. Inside, you get to eat with Indian gods. Like many restaurants in Japan, it's a very small place.

I should explain a little. Because the wait staff does not speak English and there is not an English menu. The chefs do but don't usually converse with customers. But to make it easier for anyone wanted to try to eat here, I went for lunch. And there are only three items for lunch. Mild lentil curry, medium heat chicken curry, and if I remember correctly, spicy hot keema curry. I do think you can add items like naan bread with cheese, kulcha. If you go for lunch, just ask for lentil, chicken or the third hot curry. The third curry may be different at times since I see some people mentioning a dry curry in online reviews.

I went with the lentil curry lunch.

What an amazing taste! There was so much depth to the flavors. I was extremely pleased with this. I remember eating it so fast because it was great. Very happy that I went here.

Even though it was a cloudy day with the possibility of rain, I walked a bit through Kiba.

I keep seeing squirrel statues in Japan.

I will have a little more from Kiba in my next post.

Kamal Pool's address is 3 Chome-20-9, Toyo, Koto City, Tokyo. The closest train station is Kiba Station. It is a short walk from there, but you do have to look a little for the actual door for the restaurant.

And after I posted this I found their website https://kamal-pur.com/lunch.html
With the actual translation of the restaurant name. Google Maps has Kamarupool, in case anyone is trying to find this place.

Rained Out at Kappabashi

When I was a kid, we had candy called Pop Rocks. It sizzled and popped in your mouth. Of course parents were against it, but we loved it. So, after reading and seeing Mana's description of a certain food item only sold at Ministop, I had to check it out. Lucky for me, there was a Ministop only a few blocks from where I was staying. So I was able to try their grape Halo Halo. 

Halo Halo is a specialty sweet that is a combination of shaved ice, jelly and ice cream. It is only sold around summertime, and the flavors do sell out. This was really interesting to eat! There was the cool waves from the ice cream, a feeling of juicy grapes from the jelly, and the "pop pop" fizz mixed in with the shaved ice. I can say Mana's Kitchen Aristocracy description of this was accurate. I look forward to trying another flavor, since grape is now sold out.

I needed that refreshing Halo Halo because the lives the day before were a physical work out and I was feeling it. Still, I wanted to get out since I only had a few days left in Japan. So I headed over to a place I had not been to before. Kappabashi Street. On my walk there I came across this Inari Shinto shrine.

Unfortunately I can not find a name on Google maps so I will have to do a little research. For now, here are a few photos, taken in the rain.

Graceful looking kitsune here.

A smaller shrine at this location.

Just a few sights on my way to Kappabashi.

I reached Kappabashi street. Welcome to rainy season.

I wasn't aware that most of the stores would be closed since it was Sunday. So I contented myself by taking a few photos of the more amusing places.

Heading back to the station I was lucky enough to see this view of Sky Tree. If it had not been raining I would have walked over to see more. But I was worn out from all the fun the day before. And thinking of dinner.

Getting back to Ikebukuro, I was hungry. And wanting curry. Luckily I had discovered a really small place that offered a lot of selections. I decided to go for the "Fish Butter Masala".

They offered me an extremely cold glass of Kirin beer. Seriously the coldest glass of beer I have ever had. And really good.

Papadum anyone?

Really big plate of rice pilaf. Which I did not finish.

It went really well with the "Fish Butter Masala". The curry was delicious. I may stop in here again in the future. I will have to think about what I want to order since they have so many items.

The place is Great India in Ikebukuro. Really small, and the guys working there, when not cooking, spend their time watching everyone on the street. But the food was good.

Sitaara Curry at Ueno Station

 I've been looking forward to writing about Sitaara Diner. Still the same day I was walking around Ueno Park in the rain, ice and snow. I was cold and a little drenched so I headed to Ueno Station looking for a place to eat lunch. When I saw this little Indian diner.

Outside they had colorful samosas, naan bread and more displayed. Checking their signs I saw they had vegetable curry. I figure it would be just the thing to warm me up.

Like a lot of places at train stations, inside the diner was really small. I ordered at the counter. The staff spoke English, Japanese and probably a few other languages. 

Very small seating area, maybe twenty people could squeeze in here? Maybe less? 

My receipt as I waited for my food. If you can read Japanese you will know what all I ordered. 

If not, here is my lunch. Cabbage salad that seems to be standard in Japan, spiced vegetables, gelatin, vegetable curry and a giant garlic naan bread. 

Did I mention that because the Ueno Zoo has panda bears there are panda bears in many places in Ueno? Sitaara branded their naan bread with a panda bear image. 

As to the food, I could have just eaten that vegetable curry with the garlic naan and been happy. This was one delicious bowl of spices and pieces of different vegetables including lotus root. I was impressed by how well made it was. If I ever get a chance to stop in again, I will. And they also have a place in Shinagawa Station. I was happy to get my curry fix and even more so that it was so delicious.