Japanese Curry Rice at COCO Park Shenzhen: Charcoal-Grilled Beef & Crispy Chicken

The B1 floor of COCO Park in Shenzhen is full of hidden gems, with all kinds of food spots lining the corridor and plenty of them attracting long queues. One thing I’ve noticed is that Shenzhen doesn’t have that many restaurants dedicated specifically to curry rice, so I actually admire Curry Ya for taking the leap and building its business around this one dish. Rather than offering curry as just another item on a huge menu, it focuses on making curry rice its specialty. That made me curious to see what it had to offer! 🍛

📍 Practical Information

• Restaurant Name: Curry Ya (Curry Ya 熟成咖喱专门店)

• Location: Shop S-110, B1, COCO Park Phase 1, Futian District, Shenzhen

• Nearest Metro Station: Shopping Park Station (Line 3), Exit F, approximately a 200-meter walk

• Price: Around ¥80 per person

• Opening Hours: 11:00 AM–9:30 PM

🌲 Restaurant Atmosphere

The restaurant has a simple Japanese-style interior. Its oversized traditional Japanese windows immediately create a subtle, cozy atmosphere that makes you feel immersed in a different world.

The restaurant is also very clean and tidy. Each table has a small potted plant 🎍 illuminated by the lighting, adding a lively, thoughtful touch to the space.

🍛 Food Experience

I tried one of the restaurant’s individual Japanese curry rice set meals, and surprisingly, it was pretty good! 👍

🏆 Crispy Chicken Legs 🍗💖

We ordered these as an extra snack, and they turned out to be unexpectedly delicious! ❗️ Four chicken legs cost ¥35. The skin was fried to just the right level of crispiness, and they came with a house-made tartar sauce with a sweet-and-sour flavor and a creamy, milky aroma. The combination was rich, fragrant, and wonderfully crunchy.

🏆 Charcoal-Grilled Grain-Fed Beef Belly Curry Rice

I heard that the version with grilled skewers was supposed to taste better, so I decided to try the beef belly.

The portion looked very generous, with plenty of curry sauce, five grilled skewers, and a soft-boiled egg. The skewers had a variety of flavors and included grilled pineapple and green peppers, seemingly paired with lemongrass as well.

The natural sweetness of the vegetables blended nicely with the grilled meat, while the curry had a slight kick of spice. It was especially good mixed with the rice.

🏆 Japanese Clam Soup and Calpis Sparkling Water

The clam soup reminded me a little of the chawanmushi-style dishes I’ve had at other Japanese restaurants, although this one was a soup with three slices of clam. It was quite savory and fresh-tasting, making it a good way to balance out the richness of the meal.

The Calpis sparkling water was also refreshing and not overly sweet.

✅ Appetizers

The appetizers included sweetened beans 🫘, kimchi, and bean sprouts. Together, they offered a mix of sweet, spicy, sour, and salty flavors. The variety of tastes slightly distracted from the flavor of the curry itself, but the appetizers were still pretty decent.

📚 Overall Experience

Overall, I had a really good experience here! Before visiting, I came across quite a few mixed reviews, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. However, based on my own experience, I was quite satisfied with the meal I tried. The set meal came with meat, vegetables, and soup, making it filling and offering a nice variety of flavors.

Of course, everyone’s tastes are different, but at least for this visit, Curry Ya left me with a positive impression. I think it’s a nice option for a casual meal with friends or family. 🍽️