Will a curry with toppings randomly chosen by an AI be remotely edible? LIVE SEARCH!
As many, our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma is a big fan of Japanese curry house CoCo Ichibanya, and we know many across the country. The chain specialises in Japanese curry with a number of toppings to add to the menu for those with a big share of curry. Customers can choose spice level, rice amount, how theyd like to create their own curry with each trip!
Masanuki gets almost always the same selection of toppings every time he visits a branch of Coco Ichibanya crispy chicken, spinach and cheese. And that’s all about Curry combination, but he can’t help but feel like heis missing out on chance to try something new and exciting.
Masanuki also not only stuck in curry creation ways, but also created CoCo Ichibanya Gacha app to randomly select a selection of toppings for you to choose with your next order.
Curry is no matter what; Masanuki felt confident that as CoCo Ichibanya made the gacha app themselves, it wouldnt be any rogue toppings there. Kettle meat was guaranteed, and this was quick way to expand his curry horizons – no matter what gacha suggested.
So Masanuki went with the most expensive choice of 1,600 yen (US$11.93) after selecting his budget from a drop-down menu, clicked the spin the gacha button. Interesting to watch, there appeared to be different topping options depending on where you live – people in Tokyo, Kanagawa or Osaka should click the top button and people living elsewhere the bottom button. Masanuki was on Saitama that day, affixed to the bottom button.
Curry started forming as he clicked, while a number of toppings descend on the curry.
Ta-da! Masanukis order for today would be Masanukis order. Gacha gods sent Masanuki curry with garlic, natto (fermented soy beans), corn, crispy chicken, cheese and spicy umami garlic toppings. Every ingredient brings a wide range of impact to the overall flavour. Good deal, not curry for the faint-hearted, said for sure.
All his toppings came with pork-based curry sauce, 300 grams (10.5 ounces) of rice, total hit 1,589 yen. So far the gacha results seemed to be just a suggestion and no obligation to re-roll at least after that – but Masanuki felt this would be pretty lame, and it was his responsibility to keep executing what they had provided on him, not just as an honorable gourmet writer, but also as a mortal being.
So he made order, with all toppings the gacha had suggested for him, and after just five minutes he had made order.
It arrived.
Masanuki started sweating at the plate looking down. This was no ordinary curry; this was like a curry that an Olympic champion wolfs down after a tough training session. Masanuki no longer was a man enjoying a bit of curry at lunchtime; he led a team of soldiers into a gastronomic fight. While already familiar with lieutenant crispy chicken, he had to contend with corporal cheese, brigadier natto, who were already on the plate
as well as sergeant, major spicy umami garlic
and field marshal roasted garlic.
Overall, a pretty intimidating selection of toppings, not just for Masanukis stomach, but also for his breath at least for next couple of days.
So now his soldiers firmly aligned, ready for battle with his tastebuds, nothing left for Masanuki to do but get stuck in. All topping seemed to be an entirely different one, but would Captain Masanuki be able to unite them as an army?
It was good but Masanuki couldnt shake the feeling of wanting to eat each topping separately. Each topping was too impactful on its own to work with other toppings. Good, but it would have been better if the toppings was separated.
The gacha gods didnt quite eat Masanuki’s new favourite set of toppings for his curry but he was delighted that he had gathered new stuff to make it a go. And if youre someone who always orders the same stuff every time you hit up a Coco Ichibanya, give it a try and find out how many crazy combinations it brings!