When Japanese people think of Nemuro in terms of food, usually what comes to mind is Hanasaki crab. Others would mention the rich seafood that comes from all of Hokkaido. So what if I told you I ate one of the best Japanese curries I have ever had in Japan in a restaurant called “My Wing”?

When I say this to most people, especially the Japanese, they are shocked. “you went all that way and had curry? Why?”

The first reason is that I dislike seafood, apart from fish. However, the main reason for this review is how restaurants sometimes operate; they close between lunch and dinner. So, after a trip around the Nemuro Peninsula, I found myself hungry and without many options. One of those options available was My Wing.

My Wing: What’s it like?

The restaurant is interesting without even getting to the food. The building sits sideways to the road, and much of the space is in a parking lot. At first, I was not even sure if it was open. I did not see n light coming from inside and it was difficult to tell whether it was operating. Only by trying the door did I find out it was open – although I was the only customer there.

The inside is a very cosy space. My Wing is a combination of a café, curry house and also offers chicken wings (hence the name). The decoration on the inside was more like a hipster’s café than a restaurant. There was even a counter/bar space. The only thing that gave it away as a place for meals as well were a couple of tables that could fit 4 or 5 people.

The inside is mostly wooden, including wooden floor, wooden tables and wooden panelling on the walls. There are also several plants, lots of wall/ceiling hangings and posters and photos on the walls. I could easily seeing this being an excellent retreat from the cold Hokkaido winter!

The Food

I order the pork katsu (cutlet) curry set, which comes with salad and ice cream. The curry and salad come on the same plate – which was more of a serving dish than a dinner plate. This was the curry roux (more on that below), a large helping of rice, and the salad with an excellent dressing on top.

For a typical Japanese curry, you have rice with this thick-stew like curry that is made from a roux. The roux is typically pork or beef based; you can customise it to your individual tastes but those are the basic components.

When you order curries at the many curry houses around Japan, you usually get bite-sized chunks of some kind of meat (usually pork or chicken), onions and carrots. Sometimes you can add more things for a cost.

The curry at My Wing had a lot of vegetables as well as potatoes in it. This takes advantage of being in an agricultural area of the country – Hokkaido is one of the bread baskets of Japan and is known for producing so many fruits and vegetables, including potatoes and sweet potatoes.

The katsu was cooked to perfection and drizzled with a katsu sauce (ketchup, soy sauce, and mirin – a sweet rice wine vinegar).

Another surprise was the salad. Typcially in Japan when you get a side salad, it is just lettuce or cabbage. On ocassion you might have a couple of bits in it, like onions, but it is not common. This salad was much more like a side salad you would get in Western countries. It had tomatoes, corn and bits of pepper in it too. It was topped with a vinegarette as well instead of the more usual creamy sesame dressing that comes standard and I was expecting.

To finish, I asked for the peach ice cream that came as part of the set. It was the perfect ending!

The proprietor

The guy who runs My Wing is also friendly without being too imposing. It would be impossible as he is the only one who runs My Wing; he takes orders, cooks and waits on every table.

If he has time, he will also chat with you if you are up for it. He gave me a couple of tips for visiting Nemuro next time.

Verdict

If I had had more space in my stomach, I would have eaten a lot more! If you are even in Nemuro – perhaps following my one-day itinerary to the peninsula, I highly recommend you visit My Wing.

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