AKIHABARA: Siddique Akiba Shop.... Thai Curry, Viet Pho and Indian!?

An off day wandering Akihabara for a bit of lunch and noticed a sign for 500yen Vietnamese Pho... hmm... I've recently been hooked on Pho24 and the craving kicked in.  BUTT... this is the most common Indian Curry chain in Tokyo (you can read my Chicken Skin Curry experience here). 

What caught my eye at the entrance was their one coin 500yen Pho... So had to give it a try.  Menu included Vietnamese and Thai foods.

My Chicken Pho arrived... hmm... very strong black pepper taste... got bored after a few bites but it was just weird eating Pho in an Indian restaurant.  I didn't finish this.  But if you are on a budget visiting Tokyo then this will definitely fill you up.

Friend went with the Gapao Rice... she couldn't finish it because it was extremely spicy.  The beef reminded me of the mushy stuff used in Taco-Bell... didn't really look like ground beef.  Think they heavily used red pepper for this... also odd eating Thai food at an Indian place.

Lunch menu comes with a salad with orange colored dressing... this shop isn't very clean and the 1st floor door is wide open so you sweat during your meal... and this salad, it just didn't seem very clean, like there were germs hidden inside ready to get you sick.  I may be wrong but cleanliness just didn't seem a part of this shops atmosphere.

Here is the Indian Curry menu and prominently on the very bottom is the famous 500yen soft mushy chicken skin curry (Tori-Gawa-Curry)!  Now if you visit any of the Siddique shops please try the chicken skin... its freaky but addictive.

Shop: Siddique Akiba Shop

Foodie Website: http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1311/A131101/13037323/

Shop Website: http://www.siddique.co.jp/

Address J:  東京都千代田区外神田3-16-14

Address E:  Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku, SotoKanda 3-16-14

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SHINJUKU: Shiddique Indian Restaurant.... Shocking 500yen Curry!

You just can't miss the Huge 500yen Curry sign of Siddique Indian Curry in Shinjuku.  But my lure into this establishment was the strategically placed Indian fellow down the street at the major crossing... he handed me a tiny coupon for 500yen Curry plus a free drink of my choice.  Hmm.... It was dinner time and why not?

With coupon in Hand I entered Siddique... 

Asked the giant waiter what Curries were for 500yen... It was the Chicken "Kawa" Curry and Butter Dal Curry... the other choices ranged up to 1,000yen+ from what I remember.  

The Photo of the chicken looked pretty good... seemed a bit stir fried in Curry and I expected something very flavorful.  But the interesting part was yet to come... Does anyone know what the word "Kawa" or kanji "皮" means in Japanese... I mean you shouldn't even have to know this in an INDIAN Restaurant right?!?

My free Mango Lassi arrived... perfect thickness and veeeery good.

And so arrives my soupy curry... hmm... ok, maybe its tasty.  I dug around a bit for the chicken but I couldn't find it.... not even one piece!  Wait... when I order "Kawa" at a yakitori spot its usually chicken skin... CHICKEN SKIN CURRY!?  Really, is this for real?  This was so wacky to me... 

Notice the wonderful mushy pieces of chicken skin... yup, nicely boiled and all mushy.  Anyways while I was trying to enjoy my meal I heard alot of other Japanese people ordering the same thing.  Chicken skin here, Chicken skin there, the stuff was a huge hit... cause its hella cheap right?  YES!  Anyways the Nan bread sucked monkey balls... I don't know what kind of wheat/flour they used but it was like a loaf of bread that was microwaved and that quickly hardened... hmm... loved the square cubes of butter slowly melting on my Nan.

Honestly the strange chicken skin was freakishly addictive... it was like eating something gross but you just couldn't stop yourself from trying just a little more.  Anyways I highly suggest you run far away from the Chicken Skin Curry as you can and use that 500yen for a nice bowl of ramen at Hakata Tenjin Ramen in Shinjuku.  I won't be back!

Restaurant: Shiddique Indian Restaurant in Shinjuku

Main Website:  http://www.siddique.co.jp/

Shinjuku Shop Website: http://www.siddique.co.jp/shop/shinjyuku_east.html

Foodie Website:  http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1304/A130401/13022806/

Address J: 東京都新宿区西新宿7-10-20

Address E: Tokyo, Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 7-10-20

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