Maruyama Picante Soup Curry, in Chuo-ku, Sapporo

We have already written some reviews of the most well-known soup curry shops in Sapporo.  In part to add a little variety to our list, and to expand beyond some of the more popular shops, we bring you this review of Maruyama Picante Soup Curry, near Maruyama Koen.

There is another Picante Soup Curry near Hokkaido Diakaku, but this one is just a few minutes walk from Maruyama Koen Station; as you exit the station, and head west toward Maruyama Park, the Picante Soup Curry in Maruyama is on your right (across the street from KFC).

While they make a very good soup, this shop has fewer tourists than many of the big brand shops like Garaku Sitatte or Okushiba Ekimae.  It’s a simple shop, with very good soup curry.

Just look at that. Picante in Maruyama is a fine example of Hokkaido soup curry.

Let’s take a look at the menu:

The picture above is one of the menus you’ll find as you sit down; laminated plastic, lots of choices, all written in Japanese.  Some of those choices include Chicken Leg Soup Curry, Maitake Mushroom Soup Curry, Vegetable Soup Curry, Hamburger Soup Curry, Fried Chicken Soup Curry, Pork Belly Soup Curry, Grilled Lamb Soup Curry, Beef Tendon Soup Curry, and some boneless chicken varieties.

Separately you’ll see notices featuring specials like the Hokkaido Shrimp Soup Curry and Lamb Vegetable Soup Curry. There is even a Genghis Khan Soup Curry (a second lamb soup curry, in a different style).

While you can review the choices on the menu, you have to order via the tablet-kiosk menu ordering system installed at each table.

Like all of these technology-based systems at restaurants, the tablets are ugly, greasy, and impersonal.  They feel cheap, and are awkward to use.  You can’t ask the staff any questions, you can’t get a recommendation.  The menus are, however, available in both English and Japanese.

Soup curry is perhaps the “most Hokkaido” food.  It is also true that in Hokkaido we love lamb.  When I saw I could have some lamb soup curry, I was eager to give it a try.

Grilled Lamb Soup Curry: Garlic, Renkon, Carrot, Pimon, Kabucha, Potato, Eggplant, Edamame

Choose your type of soup curry. Then choose the type of “soup” (broth). Then choose spice level. Then choose how much rice. That is the soup curry way.

The food at Picante is good (much better than the ambiance). While it may take a few minutes, each order of soup curry comes out super hot, with a warm, spicy smell.

The roasted lamb was indeed garlic-y and generally delicious.  The vegetables play a nice supporting role.  The edamame beans were a surprise; I’ve never seen soy beans in soup curry before.

In addition to the Lamb Soup Curry, we also tried the Beef Tendon Soup Curry – which I have never seen on the menu anywhere else.

I had a bite of the beef tendon – it was spongy-springy, with a very rich beef flavor. Wonderful.

As we mentioned above; part of the process of ordering is choosing what kind of broth you want. Your choices are a light broth or a rich broth.

The “light broth” was great. The rich broth had a lot of oil floating on the surface, was indeed rich, but was tasty, spicier than the light broth, and had a more Indian flavor.

Overall, the soup curry is great, but the experience is “mah mah.” With the cheap materials, the plastic barriers between seats, and the no-service table kiosks, they have nailed the “fast, busy office worker that doesn’t want to interact with people” vibe. Picante does have a personality, but it’s not a warm or charming place. If I was a restaurant entrepreneur, I can’t imagine designing a restaurant to feel like this on purpose.

Picante is a simple soup curry spot, and does show a more “local” style of how soup curry is sometimes served in Hokkaido.  It’s not particularly nice inside, it’s not a great experience, but the food is tasty.

For a better experience, soup curry restaurants like Okushiba-chan Soup Curry (on the other side of the park) give you a much more “human” and friendly interaction. But as for flavor of the soup alone, Picante’s grilled lamb was excellent.

For more Sapporo Soup Curry see:

— Soup Curry Garaku Main Store
— Soup Curry Garaku Sitatte in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— Okushiba Ekimae Soseiji Soup Curry in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— A wonderful experience at Okushiba-chan Grandma’s Soup Curry in Miyanomori, Sapporo
— Soup Curry Treasure
— Okushiba Soup Curry, Ekimae Soseigi shop in Chuo-ku, Sapporo
— Dehli Soup Curry (Indian flavors)
— Miredo Suage4 Soup Curry shop in Chuo-ku, Sapporo