Our First Taste of Sapporo's Famous Soup Curry

For our dinner on 11 July, we decided to try Soup Curry King Central (Soup Curry King Sentoraru), which is located in the heart of Sapporo's city centre, just a short walk from the popular Tanukikoji Shopping Street.

Soup Curry King is one of Sapporo's best-known restaurants specialising in Hokkaido-style soup curry, a local delicacy that has become one of the city's signature dishes. Unlike the thick Japanese curry that is typically served over rice, soup curry consists of a light yet richly flavoured broth infused with a fragrant blend of aromatic spices. The rice is served separately, allowing diners to enjoy the soup and rice together, one spoonful at a time.

That evening, among the dishes we ordered were three different soup curries: Pork Kakuni Soup Curry, Beef Belly Yakiniku Soup Curry, and Pork Kakuni Vegetable Soup Curry.

The Pork Kakuni Soup Curry featured succulent, slow-braised tender pork belly. It was served in the restaurant's signature curry broth together with cabbage, carrot, green pepper, potato and a quail egg.

The Beef Belly Yakiniku Soup Curry contained thinly sliced beef belly marinated in a savoury garlic and soy sauce mixture before being added to the fragrant curry broth, giving the soup a richer and more robust flavour.

The Pork Kakuni Vegetable Soup Curry was colourful, featuring tender braised pork belly accompanied by an assortment of fresh Hokkaido vegetables, including broccoli, okra, baby corn, lotus root, eggplant, pumpkin, carrot, green pepper, cabbage, potato and mushrooms, together with a quail egg.

All three dishes were served with a separate plate of lightly seasoned turmeric rice. The soup was fragrant and packed with flavour, while the generous portions of meat and vegetables made for a hearty and satisfying meal. It was an excellent introduction to Sapporo's famous soup curry and a memorable way to end our first evening in the city.

One of the unique features at Soup Curry King is that diners can customise the spiciness of their curry broth, with spice levels ranging from 0 to 10. Being a person not fond of spicy food, I opted for Level 1, while the younger members of our group chose Level 3. Even at these relatively mild levels, the broth was wonderfully aromatic and pleasantly warming without overwhelming the palate. As for Level 10, I can only imagine how fiery it must be - it is probably a challenge reserved for those with a serious love of spicy food!

With our stomachs full, we decided to take a leisurely stroll along Tanukikoji Shopping Street and the surrounding streets before returning to our Airbnb to call it a day.