In its bid to revamp its brand image, Iluma has been renamed Bugis+. It's rapidly becoming the home of many food joints that never fail to capture my attention as I walked past the newly renovated building. Catching a whiff of the curry that spread through the next few units as I walked through the ground level of the mall, it triggered my cravings for Japanese curry.

The menu offers quite a variety of choices, and there are many aspects to customise your dish. You can opt for lesser rice (for $1 less), or different amounts of additional rice at different rates. Then there's the various ingredients you can add on, and the level of spiciness. Thinking that it's just like any curry house in Singapore, with sweet and harmless curry, I was rather taken aback by the spiciness that greeted us.  

Hashed beef, less rice(-$1) and add-on: combo of bacon, corn and spinach (+$3.50)

Spiciness: Level 3 out of 5

We were expecting a much smaller portion of rice so this came as a surprise. Their portions were all very generous and well, the curry was in fact the spiciest Japanese curry I've ever tried so far. First taste of it, I thought it was still alright and thought that the service staff was scamming us with her warning. Subsequently, the spicy effect seemed to multiply and you could see all of us gurgling water and taking cooling down breaks. Thankfully, the staff was very attentive and refilled our glasses very promptly without any cues at all. 

The beef was sliced thinly and was very tender, making it an ease for chewing. I would have preferred the bacon pieces to be crispier, as it sort of tasted the same as the hashed beef after a while. The corn was a good complement, adding to the crunch and sweetness of the dish to curb abit of the spiciness. But then again, I'm biased with my love for corn. 

At level 3, I thought it was quite a mission to finish the dish. So if you're after a spicy dish but can't really take spicy food like me, perhaps you might want to opt for level 2 instead. Or try out level 3 for that extra kick! 

Nom Factor: 7.5/10

Pork Katsu Curry

Spiciness: Level 4 out of 5

Just like the hashed beef, the first taste left me thinking that the spiciness level was a lie. After the third mouthful, I was almost breaking out in sweat and couldn't really taste anything anymore. Even my friend who loves spicy food (i.e. adds a whole plate of chilli padi to her meals), was numb with spiciness. We were kinda glad we didn't try to challenge ourselves by taking level 5, else the meal could have been a rather challenging one. 

That said, I thought the pork katsu was a much better complement to the curry rice, adding that extra crisp to it and it somewhat distracted me from the spicy curry initially. It was, however, a little tough so it required abit more effort in chewing. This is the normal portion of rice, which I thought looked about the same as opting for less rice, just slightly thicker layer. A rather big portion for ladies, but good for sharing! 

Nom factor: 8.0/10

This is definitely a must-try for those serious spicy curry fans. We left with numbed tastebuds and burning stomachs, making us crave for ice-cream or just any cold desserts after that. Take up the challenge to experience that burning shiok-ness! 

Overall Nom Factor: 8.0/10 

201 Victoria Street #01-10

Bugis+ Shopping Mall (formerly Iluma)

Singapore 188067