KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — The first thing that strikes you about the newly opened 100 Hours Curry is how different their Japanese curry looks; it’s mahogany brown versus the usual golden brown colour.
Their special recipe combines an assortment of 20 spices, selected for their medicinal effects together with a roux (oil or butter with flour) that is added with beef stock and a jumble of sauteed onions, carrots, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, apples, bananas. mangoes and other vegetables and fruits.
Once the curry simmers until it thickens, it’s kept chilled to mature for a few days, achieving its rich and deep flavour, hence the reference to 100 hours.
This special care and prolonged time with their recipe earned them the Grand Champion title twice at the annual Kanda Curry Grand Prix as selected by attendees.
With those bragging rights, the Japanese curry house chain is expanding in Asia with outlets in Indonesia and now, Malaysia.
In Japan, curry is an everyday meal, filling stomachs with that irresistible combination of curry heaped on rice to form the iconic kare raisu.
Once rations for the Japanese navy, mimicking the ones served in the British navy (which had whipped up their own version of Indian curries with roux to thicken), it’s now spread all over Japan as a popular comfort food.
The British influence led to root vegetables like carrots, potatoes and onions being added to bulk up the curry, but the Japanese added fruits like apples or even honey to sweeten it to suit their palates.
100 Hours Curry offers its signature curry rice paired with chicken, beef and seafood.
Diners can choose their original curry or a creamier butter curry featuring a milder flavour profile.
Portions can be half or regular size, which I personally appreciate since the curry rice is quite a heavy dish for me.
Bigger appetites can even upsize the rice portion for an extra RM2 (100 grams) or RM3.80 (200 grams) too.
You cannot go wrong with their Chicken Katsu with Omelette Curry Rice (RM31.90 for regular, RM19 for half) as this pairing of a crunchy crumbled protein, a soft creamy omelette, and rice, is iconic with its textures and that deep curry.
The menu allows for high customisation, fitting your preferences, such as choosing a creamier curry.
For a sweeter, milder flavour with more tomatoes, select the butter curry paired with the Creamy Tomato Shrimp with Omelette Curry Rice (RM31.90 for regular, RM19 for half).
There’s also a creamy mushroom version too.
Even the protein options go beyond the popular katsu, as they offer a boned-in fried chicken minus the crumb coating.
Some dishes use iconic preparations like sukiyaki beef or garlic beef, paired with curry rice.
Beef and chicken stew can also be combined with curry, including a more luxurious Wagyu beef stew version.
The regular beef stew uses thinly sliced beef but the Wagyu beef is cut into chunks that tear apart easily.
For that price of RM23.90 (half portion), you get two small pieces of Wagyu beef with onions, making it rather dismal compared to the more satisfying Chicken Katsu and Omelette Curry Rice at RM19 for a half portion.
Their hotplate series reminds me of Pepper Lunch, a similar concept that uses a sizzling hot plate to heat the rice and sauce.
Here, however, they pair a mild cheese sauce with rice, and one option includes avocado.
The combination of avocado, creamy cheese and rice is tempting, but the avocados we tested weren’t at their peak creaminess.
They also offer a Beef Taco Rice, an Okinawan dish influenced by the US military where seasoned ground meat combines with tomatoes and cheese. Their version is served on a hot plate.
100 Hours Curry takes customisation to another level here though, borrowing an idea from Thai cuisine as you see that familiar four-condiment set on your table.
Adjusting your curry — from textures to spiciness — makes it fun and befitting your palate.
Spicy lovers can layer on more curry powder for extra heat but be careful as you may end up sweating.
Chilli oil is quite common in Chinese places, but this version includes crispy garlic chips, layering a harder crunch onto your dish.
For me, this version just didn’t work as the chilli oil wasn’t fragrant or spicy enough to make a difference to my curry.
The winner is the garlic crispy crumbs, where fluffy nuggets add texture and just a touch of garlic to the curry.
Pair it with the traditional Fukujinzuke, the reddish daikon pickle that cuts through the curry’s richness with its slight tangy taste.
Various add-ons can also be ordered, such as creamy cheese sauce, fries, salad, coleslaw or even a crispy Karaage (RM9.50) and Avocado (RM4).
Once you clean your plate of rice and every bit of that dark brown curry, you will find a surprise on your plate: the words “amazing curry”, which is what 100 Hours Curry is all about.
100 Hours Curry
L1-035, MyTown Shopping Centre,
Jalan Cochrane, Kuala Lumpur
Open daily: 10am to 10pm
Instagram: @100hourscurrymy
Facebook: @100hourscurrymalaysia
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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