A week or so after my Japan trip, I suddenly found Coco Ichibanya's name appeared on Openrice.com! I immediately clicked into the link and read a few reviews before ensuring it was the same Coco Ichibanya that I had in Japan. Since I had this sudden mood in trying my mum's new car out, I suggested driving there for lunch.
We parked our car in APM, and went a long way through the MTR to find out we could literally walked to the Crocodile Center through APM. By the time we arrived, there wasn't a lot of people in Coco Ichibanya, (which was already 4pm.) so there was no queue outside the restaurant. The setting was a bit different from the ones in Japan. I guess it was because the restaurants in Kwun Tong was more spaceous, so bar seating which could be found in most Coco Ichibanya Japan, was unnecessary . The colour theme was still the same vivid yellow and black. The menu was also exactly the same as the one in Japan, except every word is now in a more familar language, Chinese and English.
The Omelette was half fried in a state between solid and liquid, which created this extremely smooth, light and silky texture that could literally slide through your throat. The omelette had a strong taste of egg and a bit of cream taste. However I was a bit disappointed by the fact that the omelette was laid on top of the rice instead of wrapping around it.
The pork cutlet was scrumptious and tasted like the ones I had in Japan! It was encased in breadcrumbs and was well deep-fried. The breadcrumbs coating was very flaky and the pork flesh was soft and tender. The pork was at the right portions but I do not mind a bigger one.
Coco Ichibanya
We parked our car in APM, and went a long way through the MTR to find out we could literally walked to the Crocodile Center through APM. By the time we arrived, there wasn't a lot of people in Coco Ichibanya, (which was already 4pm.) so there was no queue outside the restaurant. The setting was a bit different from the ones in Japan. I guess it was because the restaurants in Kwun Tong was more spaceous, so bar seating which could be found in most Coco Ichibanya Japan, was unnecessary . The colour theme was still the same vivid yellow and black. The menu was also exactly the same as the one in Japan, except every word is now in a more familar language, Chinese and English.
Pork Cutlet Omelette Curry $70
I had no memory of omelette curry in Japan, but the photos uploaded online looked appetizing, so I decided to try one out. The dish looked exactly the same as the menu, or even more appetizing. For omelette dish, you could not choose the level of spiciness nor the portion of the rice. The curry taste was not strong, and was rather flat when compared to the original curry they offers.
The Omelette was half fried in a state between solid and liquid, which created this extremely smooth, light and silky texture that could literally slide through your throat. The omelette had a strong taste of egg and a bit of cream taste. However I was a bit disappointed by the fact that the omelette was laid on top of the rice instead of wrapping around it.
The pork cutlet was scrumptious and tasted like the ones I had in Japan! It was encased in breadcrumbs and was well deep-fried. The breadcrumbs coating was very flaky and the pork flesh was soft and tender. The pork was at the right portions but I do not mind a bigger one.
Hamburger Curry $65, Spiciness Lv. 2
When the dish arrived, we were amazed by the portion of the beef patty. It was extremely small, around 8cm in diameter! It wasn't at all thick either. Fortunately the patty were delicious. The patty was very soft and tender, it was quite juicy and the juice was withhold by the crispy coating at the outside. The patty also had a strong and lovely beef taste which paired so well with the spicy curry. In Coco Ichibanya, if you do not specify the level of spiciness for your curry, it was presumably a bit spicy. Adding on the spiciness put on a richer taste to your curry and made your dish even more delicious than ever! I love eating spicy and Lv.2 to me is at medium spiciness. I would like to challenge Lv.3 or higher next time!
Cream Croquettes $20
In Japan, there were two cream croquettes available, one was Crab Croquettes, the other one was potato croquettes. I tried both in Japan and I personally prefer crab croquettes than potato croquettes. The cream croquettes in Hong Kong did not specify what kind of croquettes it was in. I am not 100% sure but I think the one that I had was potato croquettes. The filling should be mashed potatoes, cheese and milk, encased in breadcrumbs then deep-fried to give a golden brown crusting. When it was served hot, the inside melted and gave a soft and creamy texture. The taste was not strong, just like eating melted cheese, but less rich in texture,
Salad & Coffee in a Combo
The salad came with 2 choices of dressings, and I chose Sesame sauce. When the salad was delivered to table, the little bowl was covered with several large salad leaves. The simply green made me lose interest in the bowl, but I tried it anyway. Upon mixing the bowl, I found sweet corns and tomatoes at the bottom of the bowl. Who on earth would put this embellishing at the bottom?
The regular coffee from the set were really nice! Once again, I have no expertise in coffee, but the aroma and the coffee taste were both nice. The coffee was freshly brewed and the taste was neither bitter or sour. There wasn't need to add any cream or sugar to the coffee to give any unnecessary taste. Nice coffee.
One criticism I want to make was about the pickles. It was very moist and soft which did not give the sense of freshness at all. The taste was bad as well. It was so bad that it was not even worth to be compared with the fresh, chewy pink pickles in Japan. I was solely disappointed in the pickles, it partially ruins my experience with Coco Ichibanya's curry.
Shop 8,1/F, Crocodile Center
79 Hoi Yuen Road, Kwun Tong
☏ 3572-0773
11:00-22:30(Mon-Sun)
Date of Dinning: 31 July 2010
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