Taste Test: 7-Eleven's New Japanese Curry Rice Meals
Two's a crowd; three's a (curry) party.
(SPOT.ph) Ending the day at a konbini or convenience store is a rite of passage for those exploring Japan. It doesn't matter if it's your first or your tenth time in the country—you will always find yourself drawn by the bright light of 24/7 convenience stores in every corner, like a moth to a flame. Before you know it, you'll come out of the store with a heavy bag of onigiri, sando, ice cream, and a can of shōchū or beer—and for those who are hangry, there's likely a heated Japanese curry rice meal in there too.
As much as we'd want to be in Japan all the time—or live inside a konbini for the rest of our lives—our wallet disagrees. Thankfully, our local 7-Eleven stores have somewhat lessened the konbini sepanx and FOMO as they keep bringing in Japanese convenience store staples. If you have good timing (or you know the delivery schedule of you're go-to 7-Eleven branch), you will likely see onigiri, sando, and now, the new Chef Creations: Curry Party. In this week's Taste Test, we try out 7-Eleven's new Japanese curry rice meals to see if you still need to book that trip to Japan or not.
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A review of 7-Eleven's Japanese curry rice meals:
Last July 4, 7-Eleven Philippines announced the launch of their new Chef's Creation line called the Curry Party. This has three variants covering different kinds of protein, there's the Hamburg Steak Curry (P139), Chicken Karaage Curry (P129), and the classic Pork Katsu Curry (P139).
All variants use the same Japanese curry and are served with white rice—the only difference is the meat and the garnishes it comes with. The Hamburg Steak Curry has a juicy beef steak patty that's topped with melted cheese; the Chicken Karaage Curry has crunchy, golden brown, deep-fried boneless chicken and a side of pickled yellow radish; the Pork Katsu Curry has a breaded pork cutlet and is also served with the pickled yellow radish as a palate cleanser.
For the sake of those who have never tried Japanese curry before, this is very different—continents apart, literally and figuratively—from Indian curry or the curry one typically finds in carinderias. Japanese curry has a distinct sweetness to it coming from the onions, carrots, and other additions like honey and apple. If you've ever tried cooking with Japanese curry roux, there are spicier versions but it's still different from heavily spiced Indian curries.
What do 7-Eleven's new Japanese curry rice meals taste like?
We'll start with the Japanese curry. As expected, it is on the sweeter with a strong onion taste, and for those cautious about the spice level, this doesn't have any heat to it, albeit a little peppery. It's the classic Japanese curry taste through and through, but we do think the consistency is runny or is on the thinner side than what we're used to, be it from Japanese restaurants or Japanese convenience stores.
Our faves among the three are the Chicken Karaage and the Hamburg Cheese. The chicken portions are big (just enough for the rice!) and have just the right amount of breading without being heavy. It was also tasty enough even without the curry—but of course, it's still better with it. As for the hamburger patty, we love how thick the patty was—it even feels like there isn't enough rice for it—and even though the melted cheese isn't as salty as we'd liked, it still went well with everything else. Unfortunately, we can't say the same about the Pork Katsu Curry as it's underseasoned and has too much breading that could be crunchier.
It needs to be pointed out that the packaging is a major issue, too. The container is divided into two sections, with the curry having its own space. The thing is, almost all the curry transferred to the side of the meat and rice in the container, so we weren't able to control how much of the curry we wanted in every bite.
Comparing it to how konbini usually package Japanese curry rice meals, these often come in a container with two tiers and a lid. The container would also have a stackable or detachable plastic plate where the meat and curry are placed, which helps limit the possibility of the sauce transferring to the rice below—at least, not with minimal movement. 7-Eleven Philippines uses that same packaging for their Beef Gyudon (another 7-Eleven favorite, hidden gem, underrated item!), so we're crossing our fingers that the Curry Party meals will also come in the same container in the nearest future.
The Final Verdict: Are 7-Eleven's Curry Rice Meals Worth It?
7-Eleven rarely disappoints whenever they come out with new rice meals, and with the added approved seal of Let's Eat Pare plastered on the Chef's Creations: Curry Party, we couldn't help but feel overconfident that these new dishes were going to be bangers. And you know what? The Hamburg Steak Curry and Chicken Karaage Curry definitely are. For now, we'll hit the pause button on booking that Japan trip... until the next Piso sale comes along.
7-Eleven's Chef Creations: Curry Party line is available in select Luzon branches only. Here's to hoping it reaches the other archipelagoes.
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