Not many people go Japan to eat curry, but if you happen to be there
and find yourself running out of food options, Coco Ichibanya might save the day!
While they are a non-veg restaurant, they offer a vegan-friendly menu. Their "Vegetarian" menu is vegan-friendly as it does not contain animal derived ingredients (as stated in the menu).
Their curry roux is plant-based and you can request for additional vegetable toppings (chargeable).
- Spinach
- Mushrooms (a mix of button mushrooms and Shimeji)
- Brinjal (eggplant / aubergine)
- Tomatoes
- Mixed vegetables (potatoes, carrots and long beans)
- Lady's finger (Okra) and Mountain Yam (Yamaimo / Huai Shan)
Found this menu at the Rinku Town (near Osaka Kansai airport) outlet, came across a similar menu at one outlet in Tsuyama city (Okayama), but one of the outlets I went to in Kagoshima city (Kagoshima) told me they don't have this menu, so it seems like this is not a standard menu across all the Coco Ichibanya outlets in Japan. I've wrote in to check and will update if they reply.
I ordered the Vegetarian Curry with eggplant, spinach and ripe tomatoes, and added the "mixed vegetables" topping.
The spinach, potatoes, carrots and long beans went very well with the curry. The eggplants are lightly fried but not too oily. The tomatoes were served cold and came in a separate dish, and gave a dish a refreshing, zesty sour taste. This curry was totally delicious!
Besides the vegan-friendly menu, their main menu is packed full of cruelty and the only available options for grass-eaters are white rice, pickles, and fries.
