Traditional Curry from Former Oriental Hotel in Kobe Reissued and Served at Buffet

　On February 1, traditional curry from the former Oriental Hotel was reissued as “Kobe High Curry” at five facilities, including the Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel (Hashiba-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe City).

Exterior view of the former Oriental Hotel

　The former Oriental Hotel, which opened around 1870, has been known as a representative hotel of Kobe with an established reputation for its cuisine since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995. which opened in July of the same year.

　The curry that had been served at the former Oriental Hotel since 1964 was taken over by Mitsuaki Mori, a chef from the former Oriental Hotel, who became the first executive chef of Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel, and continues to preserve the traditional techniques and flavors. The anecdote goes that the name “Hi Curry” was derived from the phrase “curry eaten by the high-minded madam of Kobe.

　The characteristic of Kobe High Curry is the “abundant use” of onions, which are sautéed and fried to slowly bring out their sweetness. The addition of the hotel’s original blend of spices is said to bring out the unique aroma and flavor of the dish.

　Kobe High Curry will be available as a signature buffet menu item at five facilities in the Kanto, Kinki, Kyushu, and Okinawa areas of Oriental Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Management Japan’s hotel chain brand.

　At Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel, it will appear at breakfast, lunch and dinner times at the “Santa Monica Breeze” terrace restaurant on the third floor. Hours are breakfast = 7:00 – 11:00, lunch = 11:30 – 16:00, and dinner = 17:00 – 21:30 (all 90 minutes). Prices range from 3,500 yen for adults, 3,150 yen for seniors, 1,815 yen for elementary school students, and 1,000 yen for infants.

　Mr. Mori said, “I am very happy that the taste of the former Oriental Hotel will be handed down to future generations and that many people will have the opportunity to try it. When I was working at the former Oriental Hotel, there were no recipes, and I learned how to make them by watching while taking notes behind my seniors who were cooking. When it came to recreating the taste, he went back to his old notes and memories, repeating the process through trial and error. Kobe High Curry reproduces the taste of the original, but I hope that in the future, hotels around the country will use Kobe High Curry as a base and evolve it by adding their own arrangements,” he said.