In Indonesia, there is "goat curry. As the name suggests, this curry is made with goat meat. Naturally, one would expect it to be fiercely peculiar, but it is surprisingly easy to eat. The mild flavor, like that of lamb, is elegant. I tasted it at "cabe Meguro Indonesian Restaurant" in Tokyo.
cabe Meguro Indonesian Restaurant
Cabe is located on the second floor of a building at the Kami-Osaki intersection under the Metropolitan Expressway, heading toward Shirokanedai on Meguro Street from Meguro Station. With office buildings, residential areas, art museums, and parks nearby, the restaurant attracts a wide variety of customers during weekday lunch hours.
I ordered the Goat Curry!
The Goat Curry is 950 yen (tax included). It comes with rice, soup, a serving of shrimp sembei and a drink.
It comes with a lot of things.
Spicy Soup
Chicken and halsame soup. Lemongrass in it too.
The soup was composed of chicken, vermicelli, and green onion. You might imagine it to be Chinese style, but in fact, it was spicy and tangy with many spices. It has a refreshing aroma with a hint of lemongrass, which is often used in Southeast Asian cuisine.
The saltiness is strong, but the more you spoon, the more the complex spices and chicken broth blend with your tongue, making you want to drink more and more. The dish is quite filling, and the smoothness of the vermicelli and crunchy texture of the green onions are well put together, which is also to my liking.
Big shrimp sembei
Thicker and harder than Japanese shrimp crackers. But you can bite it crispy.
The Indonesian shrimp sembei, which is served upon request, is similar to the Japanese snack food "ebisen," but each piece is very large. It is hard, firm, and chewy, but not so much so that you have trouble biting into it.
The deep-fried shrimp flavor is strong and filling, so be careful if you have a small appetite. It also tastes like something you would want to drink with a refreshing beer or other beverage.
Goat Curry
Goat curry is surprisingly not bad.
Finally, the goat curry. A deep dish of meat and a thin roux or broth. A heaping bowl of rice with fried onions on the side is served on a separate plate.
More fried onions. They were short grain.
To my surprise, the meat was not as bad as mutton, and when I bit into it, I could smell a nice lamb-like aroma. The spiciness of the dish was what one would call "sweet," and if you were expecting an ethnic dish that would burn your tongue, you were in for a disappointment.
Goat meat was jelly-like and plump.
The meat was jelly-like and plump, and I was happy when I bit into it with rice. The spiced soup soaks into the rice well. Incidentally, the rice was not long-grain like Thai rice, but short-grain, which is common in Japan. Although I ordered an eccentric dish at an Indonesian restaurant, I felt nostalgic.
Dark and bitter Toraja coffee
Dark and bitter Toraja coffee
For my drink, I ordered an iced coffee. The store staff recommended milk and syrup. I gratefully accepted, but took a sip black first. It was very bitter. It was brewed very thick.
It was like an iced espresso. I added plenty of milk and a little syrup, and stirred it well before drinking. The aroma of the coffee, however, is not lost. Even those who prefer their coffee black should give it a try.
Even if you are a black person, by all means!
This way it's easier to drink.
Chave also offers several other types of lunch. All of them are as unusual as the goat curry, and now that I have confirmed the good taste, I would like to visit the restaurant several times to try all the dishes on the menu.
CABE Meguro
Tanaka Bldg. 2F, 3-5-4 Kami-Osaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo