She left Tokyo to make the most authentic curry in Australia

We go behind the scenes of one of Melbourne's most special restaurants — and honestly, we didn't want to leave.

Akiko Asano is the chef and owner of Kare Melbourne, a West Melbourne restaurant dedicated entirely to the art of Japanese curry. Born and raised in Tokyo, Akiko grew up eating curry every week at school and at home — her mum's beef curry being the one she still can't quite beat (her words, not ours). Now she's on a mission to give Melbourne the same experience.

And this is not your instant roux curry. Akiko slow-cooks caramelised onions for hours, builds a rich chicken stock from scratch, and lets the curry rest for days to develop that deep umami flavour. In Japan, there are thousands of curry-only shops. In Melbourne? Kare is blazing that trail.

We got hands-on making her signature curry pan — spicy beef curry wrapped in a pumpkin brioche dough — and tried the katsu curry, the hambagu steak with Wagyu brisket, and the half-half option that lets you taste two curries in one sitting. Every single thing was incredible.
Akiko's journey is just as remarkable as her food. She arrived in Australia on a working holiday visa as an interior designer, fell in love, stayed, and during COVID started cooking curry pan at home. The rest, as they say, is history.

If you've never thought of curry as Japanese food, this video will change that.

???? Kare, 173 Victoria St, West Melbourne VIC 3003. Open Monday to Friday 10am-3pm and 5pm-9pm and Saturday and Sunday 9:30am-4pm and 5pm-9pm.

Signature beef curry pan $8.50
Signature beef curry $25
Hambagu beef steak curry $26.90
Half and half curry $26.50

Vegan options available.

#melbournefood #JapaneseFood #MelbourneEats #FoodMelbourne #AuthenticJapanese #CurryLovers #MelbourneFoodie #HiddenGemsMelbourne #JapaneseCuisine #Melbourne #KatsuCurry #Foodie #JapaneseCurry
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We’re Thomas and Sheena. We celebrate great food and the people who make it. We travelled full time around the world for 5 years hunting down street eats, mom and pop shops and market food all around the world but our home base is now Melbourne, Australia.

#melbournefood #australia #melbourne #australianfood

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