The sign of any good restaurant is the abundance of people eating there, and using a bit of a line before your seated. Tsubara Tsubara is no exception, even though it’s in a highly tourist area for foreigners, there are several Japanese who catch shuttle bus number 1, just to eat here. You need to get off at the East village at stop 24 (Izumikyo) and the restaurant should be within walking distance. As we were staying in the East Village anyway, the restaurant was only a 5 minute walk from our doorstep. We were lucky enough to be able to be seated straight away at one of counter seats. I had heard from the receptionist at our lodge that he tried a heat level 10 once and it was out of his world.
We took a look at the menu and you order in a few steps: 1st you select the type of curry you want, they have curry with seafood, chicken, seasonal vegetables or a mixture of the above. All the curries use the same curry base though. Next you choose the heat level, now this is what confuses people, most of the menu is in English, but the heat level goes from 0-20 and is not translated into English. I know if I didn’t have anyone who could read Japanese (which is the situation for most of the foreign skiers in Niseko) that I would go for around a 10 because I like spicy food. A 10 in my thoughts thinking that it would be medium spicy. Little do these tourists know is that the translation for 10 is already maniac – meaning very spicy. Just for your information the rating 20’s translation is “Tastes good but in a different way” – in English? EXTREMELY SPICY. A safe bet is the recommend 5 which is spicy but not to the point of death. Again the menu doesn’t have these translations in English. Which is such a shame for all those vulnerable tourists who go for a 10 and end up with food that would of tasted much better if only it was slightly less spicy. Anyway after choosing your heat level, you choose if you want anything extra added, eg. more chicken, more vegetables etcetera. After this you can select from a rice amount, small and medium are free at no charge, and a large you pay a little bit extra.
I ordered a Chicken curry, heat level five, with fried wonton and medium rice. After waiting a while and secretly laughing at the tourists around us who were thinking of ordering a 7 or more, I ended up helping a lot of tourists and guiding them to the more human-like realms of a five. I didn’t get to stick around to see if it was spicy for them or not, but I’m sure they are secretly thanking me to this day. Our food finally came with a healthy pint of Sapporo Draft beer, and I started eating. First Impressions? Delicious, the soup had the perfect taste, the chicken fell off the bone, and the vegetables were soft and tender. However after continuously eating my level 5 curry, my mouth began to burn and my head heated up. Not to say it wasn’t delicious, but I like spicy food and a five was pretty heavy for me, can you imagine someone who barely likes spicy food? Anyway to finish off my meal and curry I had to order a couple more plates of rice to balance out the heat and another beer or so to wash down its lasting effects. The heat stayed in my mouth for a good 20 minutes after eating this curry. As a joke one time I would love to try the level 20. All in all the food here is absolutely delicious and I would recommend it to anyone staying in Niseko. Just remember – Go over a five at your own will, and taste buds for that matter.
Website: http://www.tsubaratsubara.com
Tel:0136-23-1116
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