[Taiwanese Editor Kuma's Walk in Kanazawa] My very first "Chan-kare" Experience: the legendary gourmet of Kanazawa

Hi there! I'm Kuma from Taiwan, and I joined the Kanazawabiyori Editorial Department in October 2023. This time, I will be in charge of a series with the aim of discovering the charms of Kanazawa, where I live for the first time. Thank you for your interest in "Kuma’s Walk in Kanazawa", and I hope you enjoy it.

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Kanazawa is commonly known as a city with a glamorous and elegant atmosphere famous for its seafood, oden, traditional Japanese sweets, and gold leaf. But these alone are never enough to describe all of its charms. The other day, I encountered one of the Kanazawa's specialties, which is delicate yet hearty. Although without an eye-catching gorgeous appearance, once you know its true nature, it will never fade from your memory. It was my very first experience of Kanazawa's local gourmet dish, the Kanazawa Curry by "Champion Curry", usually known as "Chan-kare".

The other day, the company president said "let's get you to try some local gourmet of Kanazawa," and where we arrived at was the "Curry Champion Nonoichi Main Store". To be honest, I felt a little worried when I was told that maybe a smaller size would be better on our way there. The store's building has a bright yellow and red color scheme, and a giant panel of its mascot character was set up right in front as a photo spot, giving me the first impression that it looked like a dynamic store. Once inside, I was shocked one after another.

The variety of menu items on the ticket machine got me confused, while the president, with no hesitation,  recommended the classic "L Cutlet Curry (Lカツ, L Katsu Curry)" which is the most popular dish here. By the way, he kindly bought me the mini size ticket. If I had known that the mini size was this much, I wouldn't have been surprised by the size of the container of Fukujinzuke on the counter.

The dish had a gorgeous arrangement of a large piece of pork cutlet and shredded cabbage floating in thick curry with a dark color on a stainless steel boat-shaped plate that I had never seen before in Japan. As I was busy taking photos of my very first Kanazawa curry dish, the president lifted up the cutlery that had been buried in the curry, "And we eat it with a fork," he said, "like this". A fork for curry? Being curious yet skeptical, I was surprised that the freshly fried cutlet was easy to eat, and thanks to the thick texture of the curry, it was easy to scoop up the curry and rice with a fork. Turns out that Kanazawa curry's thick texture, almost black color and rich aroma of spices have made it an addictive local dish.

Although to overseas visitors to Kanazawa, it may not be as famous as the seafoods, the Kanazawa's specialty curry is definitely worth giving a try during your visit here.

■Champion Curry Nonoichi Main Store

Address: 20-17 Takahashicho, Nonoichi City, Ishikawa Prefecture
TEL: 076-248-1497
Open: 11:00-23:00 (L.O. 22:45)
Closed: Summer and New Year Holidays
Link to the Official Website

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[Kuma: Editor from Taiwan]

Born in Taiwan, raised in China. A trilingual talented in not only Chinese (traditional and simplified), but also Japanese (perfect score on JLPT N1) and English (106 on TOEFL). Enjoys photography and observing stars in various places.

■Overseas SNS accounts I am in charge of☆
Xiao Hongshu (RED) | Simplified Chinese (China)
Facebook in Chinese｜Traditional Chinese (Taiwan/Hong Kong)
Facebook in English