A Singaporean friend introduced me to this place after I asked her about Japanese curry in Singapore. Been on the road a bit so kinda miss mum's weekly curry cook out. I won't be home for a while so was lookin for some substitute to tide me over. =)

This place serves some of the best Japanese curry I've ever had period. Authentic stuff man. Even mum can't cook this. My work had taken me to enough cities for me to say this is one of the best Japanese curry outside Japan.

Who would have thought in Singapore? I like Singapore and the people I meet here are fantastic but not exactly somewhere I expect to find authentic Japanese curry.

I particularly enjoyed the Hire Katsu and the Beef curry. If you are a fan of Japanese curry this is good stuff. Good food and great company makes a magnificent evening. Will be back when I come back to Singapore next trip.

The last time I visited Curry Favor, it was the outlet at Stamford House but as I was late, I did not have the opportunity to order items from the menu, coz I missed the Last Order call. The next time I tasted Japanese curry, it was cooked for me by a Japanese friend in Indonesia, so effectively I have never tasted Japanese curry in a Japanese restaurant in Singapore.

My friends and me were spying on the ‘4-for-the-price-of-3 Set Lunch’ promotion on a Saturday afternoon, hoping to jump on it, but unfortunately it was only valid for weekday lunch hour. =( However, we qualified for the ‘ERP Deduction’ promotion, whereby $2 is deducted from your total bill upon flashing of your car keys!! Definitely not valid on Sundays and Public Holidays. =D

I got myself a Chicken Katsu Curry, which was basically a fried chicken fillet with rice. Initially I was worried that the rice portion would be too much to finish, but my worries were unfounded. Thankfully I did not order a Half-Curry, otherwise, would have ended up being neither full nor hungry.

Japanese curry is never spicy (unlike our potent Asian Chinese curry) and despite drowning the chicken fillet in the curry sauce, the fillet never lost its crispiness. In general, it was a really well-done dish!! Perhaps as it is a sufficiently simple dish, but the simpler a dish gets, the harder it is to be done well. This curry rice is getting a thumbs-up from me!!

Really attentive service and ever ready to refill water cups or to clear the finished plates away, which helped to minimize the clatter on the table, especially the saucer used for the curry sauce.

I can’t remember much of the interiors over at the outlet at Stamford House but I definitely love the interiors for this Novena outlet. Comfy couches and sofas really help to relax oneself for the meal and definitely a good place for some conversation making with friends. The restaurant is situated slightly away from the shopping crowd, thus it helps to keep the main crowd away.

A definite must-return for me, but perhaps not to Novena, as it is too far for me. Definitely will want to visit the outlet at Stamford House, to taste what I missed out years ago!! =D

That's what Japanese curry is to me.. a source of needed comfort especially whilst the midst of a string of exams. Up to my neck in catching up games, I was elated when I recieved the invitation from Hoongy to attend my 2nd HGW food tasting session at curry favor.

I had previously visited the stamford branch at least thrice and had always found their curry to be of a certain standard. Good of course except for the dwindling then diminished carrot chunks in the curry served in the pouring cups. *groanz*

Between the 2 branches, I much prefer the atmosphere exuded in stamford, mainly because of the darker decor, high rise walls and location.. (i sound like some sort of fashionista.. argh). But I guess, with it's functionality towards attracting the family oriented crowds in on weekends, the more friendly, less chic atmosphere was called for.

So let's go on to the food! We ordered 3 starters to share amongst us. The stuffed mushroom with prawn and scallop was gorgeous! fried to a crisp, the creamy innards burst out with much intensity and heat as soon as you bit through the crispy shells. The beef yaki was mediocre... don't count on me ever giving good reviews on beef. I'm no beef expert. Unless you're talking about the $300 wagyu beef steak we had the last time..*thoughts drifting*. Dammit. FOCUS! the soft shell crab was a tad too oily for my liking too.

Moving on, we came to the mains. Each ordering our preferred course. I had the cheese katsu curry with slightly spicy curry. The katsu portions were rather big but the rice portion was even LARGER. no way i could ever finish that! So to all the petite eaters out there, be relieved to know that they now serve a half-portion. No more bursting seams! The made to scratch curry was indeed one of a kind, incomparable with any that I've eaten before here in Singapore. Every bit reminiscnent of the truck loads full of veges and love poured into it.

We ended the meal with some having desserts. Then again, that wasn;t on my agenda so i gave it a miss. Otherwise the coffee was delightful and gave a perfect round-up to the delightful meal we indulged in.

Certainly enjoyed my experience with the HGW groupies and the meal of course! If you haven't try Japanese curry yet, put away your inhibitions and whatever preconceptions of it, and hurry down to try a bowl of Curry Favor's made from scratch curry! Trust me, once you've sampled it, you'll be hooked, just like I am. *=)*

my second food tasting session with DG. hoongy. tiong bahru gal. ji lian's sister. sihan lee and dawn. at curry favor at novena square.

i have ever tried curry favor. but was only at their flagship at stamford house. wasn't too bad. but somehow i felt that this outlet at novena is better even though it is more inconvenient for me.

i like the atmosphere of the place. although like what tiong bahru gal mentioned. the music was a bit off. jap restaurant with english pop music. not that i mind coz it made me think back on my school days. =) but it was not as crowded and the place was more spacious and brightly lit as compared to the one at stamford house. =D

service was alright. very polite and attentive. =)

we ordered a 3 starters to share. namely the stuffed mushroom (prawn and scallop). beef yaki (tenderloin) and deep fried soft shell crab.

the stuffed mushrooms were actually very good. the prawn and scallop in the mushroom was really fresh and when you cut open/bite into the mushroom you can actually feel the juices oozing out. delicious! =D

the beef yaki was very tender and a bit still undone. my favourite kinda beef! =D

the soft shell crab was ok. nothing fantastic. =)

next were the mains. we ordered different mains. like the ebi (prawn) fry curry. cheese katsu (pork filet) curry. tenderloin beef and mushroom curry. beef curry (tenderloin beef) and hire (pork filet) katsu curry.

took a bite of ji lian's sister's hire (pork filet) katsu curry. not too bad. it was crispy and maintained that way till it ended up in my mouth. =)

tried a bit of tiong bahru gal's ebi (prawn) fry curry. i like the prawn actually. (or rather all seafood =D) the batter was good and the prawn fresh. =)

the tenderloin beef and mushroom curry was my favourite. i think i made the right choice of going for that. =) the beef was like the beef yaki. a bit medium done. tender. juicy. but the mushrooms were a dream in itself. wah! big. succulent. juicy. tender. and full of freshness. i like! =D and imagine it all dripping with homemade-made-from-scratch curry. heavenly! =D

ordered desserts and some drinks too. tiong bahru gal. dawn and si han lee had tea and coffee while ji lian's sister. DG. hoongy and i went for desserts. =D and tiong bahru gal said the coffee was really good. =)

the matcha (green tea) ice cream seemed ok. i don't take green tea. but that was what ji lian's sister had. =)

DG and hoongy had death by chocolate which is somewhat like brownie served with a scoop of ice cream with chocolate chips and chocolate sauce. knowing me. i seldom go near chocolate. but it looks yummy. =D

there are 3 flavours of the mochi ice cream. peach. sesame and cappucino. and guess what? i had the peach one. i like it. chewy with a bit of softness for the outer layer while the insides were hard. =D and the peach frangrace hits you once the mochi lands in front of you. =D

overall i thought it was a good place to go for dinner and to catch up with friends over food. will be back again soon! =D

Disclaimer: I was here for a sponsored HGW thing, so am not going to comment on value and service because I can't guarantee that either was representative of the average dining experience.

I feel rather more confident to comment on the food, though, because I'd been to Curry Favour before as a regular diner and enjoyed my meal there. It's very rare to find genuinely tasty Japanese curry in Singapore, and Curry Favour is the only place I can think of that fills this niche. The non-spicy curry is, as the title suggests, not spicy, but my theory is that you have to think of Japanese curry as a stew rather than a curry, then your Asian-acclimatised taste buds won't be confused.

I had the hire katsu curry, and what I liked most about it was that the crispy layer of batter didn't get soggy, despite the curry gravy having been poured on top for a good few minutes. I also tried the beef and mushroom curry, and was impressed by the succulence of the mushrooms and how well they had absorbed the curry flavour.

My only other comment is that after a while, there was an oily film on top of the gravy (it's served separately in its own gravy boat) which I'm guessing is testament to the richness of the sauce. But ah well, Japanese curry probably isn't the best option for dieters anyway, and heck, it was sure worth the calories.