soleil_5791
Aarti Izumi-cho store, an Indian curry restaurant that opened on March 1st, was located where Aarti used to be. Aarti opened in 2020, and I had been meaning to go there someday, but due to the state of emergency caused by the coronavirus, I couldn't see if they were open for lunch. I thought, "I'll just wait until the coronavirus situation calms down before going," but then they closed, and this new restaurant opened instead. The location is on Showa Street, next to Takenaka-an Okano Akihabara store, and if you walk towards Mitsui Memorial Hospital, you will find it. When I arrived at the restaurant, I checked the menu outside. I'm the type of person who is satisfied with just one curry, and if they have mutton curry, that's perfect for me. And they did have it! Mutton curry (900 yen) with a choice of rice and spice level. When I entered the restaurant, there were three groups of customers already there. Considering the distance from Showa Street and the time being close to 2 pm, I thought it was quite busy. We were guided to a table for two and I ordered "Mutton, SUPER HOT, rice, mango lassi." First, the mango lassi arrived. It had a color similar to banana juice. When I tasted it, the mango flavor was quite subtle. I was surprised that they served the salad along with the curry. The first thing that surprised me was that instead of the stainless steel plate that is commonly used in Indian curry restaurants, they used a black plastic plate! I couldn't help but stare at it. The rice, curry, and salad were served on separate plates. I started with the salad. It mainly consisted of cabbage and lettuce with tomatoes and cucumbers as garnish. The dressing was the usual carrot dressing. The rice was white rice. When I tried the curry with the rice, I had ordered it extra spicy, but it was surprisingly mild. The mutton was tender and delicious, with no gamey taste. The white rice was too soft and moist, not the ideal texture for Indian curry. Japanese people may eat this kind of rice with miso soup, but it's different when it comes to curry. I would prefer a drier texture for the rice. Lunch comes with free refills of rice or naan, but the default serving of rice is already large, so I didn't need a refill. The curry was decent. Considering the rice texture and the taste of the mango lassi, it felt a bit overpriced. However, since they just opened, I hope they will continue to improve. Thank you for the meal.