There are many amazing Japanese restaurants in Portland and Kale Japanese Restaurant is one of them. Unlike other Japanese restaurants, Kale does not sells sushi or ramen. The only thing that Kale sells is curry! As a Japanese curry lover, this is a must try restaurant to me. If you love Indian curry, then this may not be the right place for you. Unlike Indian curry, Japanese curry is not as spicy. Instead of being spicy, it has some kind of sweetness in it. I am not a big fan of spicy curry, so I enjoy Japanese curry more than Indian curry.
Kale is located downtown Portland. It is at the intersection of 9th Street and Morrison Street. We took MAX train down to Pioneer Square first and walked to there. It was a sunny and freezing day. We were really hungry from the hike we did in the morning. When we walked to the address of the restaurant, we did not find it at first. The front door of the restaurant is difficult to spot if you are walking on Morrison street because the restaurant is blocked by a column. It is easier to spot the restaurant on 9th Street.
The restaurant itself only has 1 person at the desk, but the restaurant itself is quite large and has a lot of tables of customers. When we entered the restaurant, we ordered first before we find a table to sit down. As I mentioned before, the only thing on the menu is curry. First we ordered the type of Katsu we want first (chicken or pork), then we select the type of curry we want. It has various curry options such as beef, chicken, or vegetable. After we placed our orders, we went to find a table. I was surprised to see few traditional Japanese Tatami like seating area. This is refreshing and new for us. There are also many Japanese books on the side for customers to read or just to flip through it. The water is also self-served in front of the kitchen counter.
After 5-10 minutes, the server called our them to pick up our order from the kitchen. The curry smells really nice and it is just how I imagined it. The rice is a bit different from what I expected however. The rice tasted more like sticky rice to me. It is small, round, and a bit sticky. The dish also has Kale leafs bit placed on top of the ride and Katsu. I am guessing the is where the restaurant got the name from. The smell of Kale is rather refreshing. The Katsu on the dish is also juicy and tender. When mixing the Katsu with curry, it is just magnificent.
After we finished our dish, we brought the tray and the dish to the dish collecting area for the restaurant to clean. Overall, the restaurant offers magnificent Japanese curry. The only down side is that the meal is a bit expensive. Each dish is around $13.
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