A labour of love: Garaku brings Hokkaido-style soup curry to Canada

Marco Ovies/Dished

Japan’s Garaku Soup Curry is set to open its first-ever Canadian location in Metro Vancouver, and Dished was able to get a sneak peek.

Since it was founded in 2007, Garaku has opened several locations around Japan, as well as an outpost in Bangkok, Thailand. Now, the chain is in Canada and is hoping to open more locations in the near future.

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What is soup curry?

Soup curry is an iconic soul food from Sapporo. While these restaurants can be found all over Japan serving up different variations of the dish, Garaku is one of the few places to serve this coveted dish in Metro Vancouver at the moment.

Soup curry is essentially a spicy soup served with rice. However, don’t get it confused with thick Japanese-style curry, which is a totally different dish.

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

One of the signature characteristics of soup curry is the large, roughly cut vegetables and meat. These are typically too large to be eaten in one bite but are stewed so long that you’re able to break them apart with just a spoon.

Garaku uses 30 different ingredients in its soup curry, with 21 of those being just spices. The soup is a labour of love and takes so long to make that Garaku only offers a limited number of servings each day. This means you’ll want to get here quickly to secure your bowl.

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

The space

The interior feels very alive, with wood all over the place and a small tree in the centre of the restaurant. There are numerous booths where customers can enjoy some privacy while they eat their soup curry. There is also a long bar-style table as well as individual tables.

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

This location is inside the Aberdeen Centre, and during our visit, the windows were still covered up. However, we can imagine how much brighter the space will be once the glass front of the store opens up. You’ll be able to watch the line of people waiting to get in while you eat your soup curry.

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

The food

This is the real star of the show. The soup curry was honestly special, and we initially had no idea what to expect. We were blown away by the amount of care that went into every single bowl.

For its opening, the chef and founder of Garaku came out to Canada from Japan to make sure everything was up to their standards. Dished was told that the soup curry tastes almost exactly like it does in Hokkaido.

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

We can’t stress how good this soup ended up tasting. Everything from the broth to the veggies and the meat was fantastic. During our visit, we got to try both the chicken and pork belly soup curries. We were surprised when we weren’t given a knife to cut up our meat, but we quickly realized we wouldn’t need it as it fell apart with a spoon.

This is because all the meat is cooked the day before, which is why there are only a limited number of servings. Garaku told us that they’re currently experimenting with having 150 servings each day and, depending on demand, will increase to more in the future.

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

The toppings for the soup are prepared separately to add a different flavour. We particularly enjoyed the deep-fried broccoli which added a great crunchy texture. Each of these soup curries is served with a side of rice.

For those who order extra spicy soup, we’d recommend getting a side of lassi. This yogurt drink is the perfect way to alleviate the heat from the spice in case it gets too much to handle.

Marco Ovies/Daily Hive

This all goes to say that this soup is definitely something special. The time and attention to detail are reflected in every bite. We promise it’ll be worth the line that will inevitably form in front of the restaurant when it opens. Do yourself a favour and try this soup.

Garaku Soup Curry soft opens on December 16 and will officially open on December 18.

Garaku Soup Curry Richmond

Address: Aberdeen Centre – Unit 1360, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond

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