Also known as Alba Curry, Curry-no-Shimin Alba was originally from Ishikawa prefecture in north-western Hokuriku region of Japan’s main island. Their signature dish is the thick and rich “Kaga Curry”.

Chock full of onions, vegetables, and beef, the ingredients are simmered for more than six hours, creating the flavorful and fragrant curry. The curry sauce is rich and thick, but not too salty. Enjoy the mild flavor!

One of their recommended menu items is the “Homerun Curry”, an extra-large sized curry topped with pork cutlet, fried prawn, sausages, and a sunny side up. Served with 350g of rice, this is one dish that is sure to fill you up completely.

The Homerun Curry is also a favorite dish of the former major league baseball player of the New York Yankees, Matsui Hideki!

As there are many collaboration menu items with anime and games as well, we also recommend it for people looking out for limited edition goods.

Curry-no-Shimin Alba Akihabara Store
3-2-9, Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo-to

First opened in 1973, Bengal is an old curry shop in Akihabara that has been operating for over 40 years. Having been featured on television programs and magazines numerous times, this is one of the first places to come to mind when you think of the curry shops of Akihabara.

Going through both repeated roasting and ageing, the shop uses its own fragrant smelling original curry powder for its curries, and it’s a definite must-try. The spices are imported from Bengal, and this original curry came about as a result of the shop’s connections with its namesake.

If you don't know what to try, the signboard menu recommends the “Diced Beef Curry”, for 1,100 yen (with tax) (about 10 dollars). With a smooth and thick curry sauce, the rich umami flavour of the tender beef has a great impact! The combination of the delicious curry with roasted and juicy beef cubes is nothing but pure bliss in your mouth.

There are three levels of spiciness to choose from, “spicy”, “mild”, and “sweet”. But for those who really want to taste the real flavor of this curry, do opt for “spicy”. You can taste the full flavor and smells of the spices. Though the rice and curry are served separately, you’re free to eat it how you’d life. If you’re really at a loss, you can just pour the curry on your rice.

They have staff who speak both English and Chinese, and a menu with English as well. Various credit cards and electronic payment methods such as Apple Pay are also accepted.

Bengal
Maruyama Building 1F, 3-6-1, Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo-to

Born out of a whirlwind of craving and desire from the junk street in Akihabara, is the junk food of the new generation, nikujumen, or noodles with meat broth. In these times when healthy eating is thrown out the window, a desire to let loose our inner greed is born, as we aim for a stress-free life in pursuit of world peace (?); through this unique concept was this shop born.

The first thing to catch our eyes is the shockingly generous portions of pork. The meat is fried in lard, and lightly sautéed with sweet soy sauce. You can choose the amount of meat you want from levels 1 to 3 (130 to 300g, starting from 780 yen (with tax) (about 7.20 dollars), and you can even have the “Max” level, with 800g of meat! The combination with the herb-flavored green onion is unbeatable.

The important point to note when eating it is to have it together with rice (+100 yen (about 0.90 dollars)). Stuffing yourself with the noodles, meat, and rice is one type of happiness all on its own; it’s the taste of forgetting yourself and your inhibitions. We recommend ordering a plate of egg yolk to add to the meat, for a flavor similar to that of sukiyaki, and following it up with rice!

Noodles, meat, meat broth, rice… this combination of foods in a fleeting instance of gluttony, giving you a feeling of joy beyond what a normal meal does. This dish can no longer be called ramen, but is an entirely new genre of its own, the nikujumen. As the shop also provides detailed instructions on how best to enjoy this dish, why not give nikujumen a try?

Nikujumen Susumu Akihabara Main Shop
3-7-12 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo-to

“Hyakunen Honpo” means “hundred-year main shop”, and from the name you can see that its customers have continued to love it for a hundred years. The reason for this is its nikuju chūkasoba, or meat broth with Chinese style noodles, with thin noodles in clear soup topped with pink pork char siu, or braised pork.

The soup is made with chicken bones, pork bones, maple, and vegetables among other ingredients, bringing out the rich umami taste of meat in the soup. The soup comes in 3 flavors, soy sauce, spicy, and salt. For those visiting the first time, we recommend the standard soy sauce version. The secret sauce used brings the flavors together, resulting in a thick and enjoyable soup.

Pictured above is the “nikuju chūkasoba”, which costs 780 yen (with tax) (about 7.20 dollars). The noodles are straight and made from 4 different types of wheat flour, and it holds the meat broth well. The sous-vide pork chashu is a fine delicacy in and of itself, with many loyal fans. The braising of the pork is finely tuned according to the condition of the meat, and the slow heating process can last anywhere from 4 to 12 hours.

The shop does not have only excellent ramen dishes, the side dishes are equally delicious. From their sous-vide style nanban chicken rice, or fried chicken with tartar sauce, to their noodle sweets, made of their original flat noodles kneaded with millet, do try out the rest of their menu.

Hyakunen Honpo Akihabara Main Shop
Shotoku Building 1F, 3-8-9, Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo-to

Canned oden, as its name suggests, is literally traditional Japanese hotpot ingredients sold in a can, and has been a much-loved product of Akihabara for a long while. It can easily be bought from vending machines, and opening the can reveals piping hot oden, perfect for snacking on while walking the streets.

For canned foods, taste is key. Having been stewed in the dashi soup for so long, be it the beef tendon, radish, or egg, all of the oden pieces taste delicious. As the can really is quite hot, do be careful of burns when eating it!

This time, we tried out the oden from the vending machine in front of the crane game shop, “Kirakira Asobox Akihabara Crane Game Shop”. It’s great that you can buy from the machine any time of the day!

As there are collaboration cans that change with the seasons as well, do check it out the next time you’re in Akihabara!

Canned oden vending machine
Chichibu Denki Building, 3-12-15, Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo-to

Amidst the stiff competition of the food and beverage scene of Akihabara, “BLAISE” is a small, privately owned shop that has been loved by many for a long time.

This is the only shop in Akihabara that specializes in tacos, one of Mexico’s famous foods. As the food is made with milder flavors, regardless of age or gender, anyone can eat it. As the shop offers take out too, you can also eat your taco while strolling the streets.

This time, we chose the meat tacos, which cost 450 yen (with tax) (about 4.15 dollars). BLAISE’s tacos have cheese, meat, vegetables, and salsa, which are stuffed into a tortilla base, all of which are seasoned with a generous helping of spices.

For those that prefer rice, we recommend the taco rice at 600 yen (with tax) (about 5.55 dollars). These tacos have local Okinawan cuisine layered on top of the rice, and is a delicacy that blends the flavours of Mexico and Japan.

Blaise
3-7-9, Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo-to

Akihabara, with streets lined with subculture, and a battle ground for gourmet food too. Besides the eateries we introduced this time, there are many other shops around too. Do try going down yourself to try out a new place that catches your eye!