International Curry House

On one of the last days in Hong Kong my friend Neil actually wanted a dish of curry and it dawned on me that I haven’t had curry in HK for almost a decade so the search was on, and also not wanting to cross the water, as we were staying in Wan Chai I pulled out the Unilocal app and saw the great reviews of this place here. I really did not know what to expect, let alone if this place was going to fulfill my friend who has Indian blood in him (yes… he has the mother tongue!) so in we came. From the humid heat outside, and once entering we felt the blast of cold air, this place was definitely no ‘hole in the wall’ and the waiter seated us very quickly and handed menu’s to us. It’s not a huge menu, but there is quite a bit of selection in terms of curries, from Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian… etc. If you do not know what to order and go in on it alone it could be quite daunting.
We were off looking for this place, and it wasn’t too hard to find with the trusty app, and address in hand and once we entered it looked like a nice, no-​nonsense place to have dinner. The a/​c was coming down cold, and the only thing we could think of is order some hot curry to kill our hunger! I was looking at a few tables and noticed how big the portions were, (massive in my eyes) as I wasn’t a big eater, we decided on one curry dish and a side. Since my friend was the one craving for it, he got to choose the chicken madras, and I decided on the mutton tikki. On this vacation it seemed like we have been drinking on a daily basis, so we decided to split a big bottle of Carlsberg to wash down our thirst.
It was dinner time, and the place wasn’t packed, but half full, and it seemed like everyone who comes in here has a pretty big appetite, and I have to say all the dishes looked good, let alone after it hit the table you could smell the aroma of what curry everyone ordered. Coming from Canada I am not use to eating curry in an environment that looks like an HK café type restaurant, but do not let this fool you, they are serving up some great food as there was some kick from the chicken dish my friend Neil decided to order. The curries usually come in one big bowl like platter, served along with a plate of big rice to suck up the sauce. I think if we didn’t order the beers to start we still would have ordered it, as that chicken was spicy, not crazy on fire, but it had a good kick for a dish like this were you just kept on going at it! My friend nodded in approval of his food and I was surprised how much he could eat, eventually mine came, the mutton tikki, which looked like two potato patties, served with a mint sauce and I really liked the easy mushy and solid texture of each bite, it had a bit of spice.
If you are looking for a place that won’t bombard you like the restaurants, and the people trying to market them, in the TST area (you should know what I am talking about) come here, get your fill of what type (as there are many) curry you want, these people have been around, it’s a comfortable environment, not too fancy, but not too cliché as well. The prices were reasonable, the portions were large, and the menu is vast. If I am in HK again, I would come back here to nail my fix of curry.

You just have to try it, period. This little local curry restaurant has been hidden in Wan Chai for a long time (it’s been around for more than 30 years). Although it is well appraised by the local curry lovers, it is not being published as one of the top curry places by the major publication. Honestly I do think it deserves a recommendation from Michelin due to the consistently high quality and wide choice of curry, which is so unique in this store but not the others.
As it is named — «International Curry», they master well the different style of curry — Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian, white curry, herbal curry etc. The names of the curry are quite peculiar as they are translated from the original languages. Just ask the staff the style of curry you are looking for and how spicy you want the curry to be, they will be very willing to introduce and recommend for you. The BLACK CURRY (蘇門黑咖喱) is the MUST TRY, made with a herbal secret recipe, the curry is thick and yummy. White curry is much thinner, that really depends on what you like. I see many people just get disappointed and complain that the sauce is not thick /​the style is not what they expected blah blah blah. The thing is that there are different styles of curry around the world and some people just got their taste so limited to particular type of curry that they have ever experienced (i.e. Indian, or worse — Maxim T_​_​T) So one advice if you are not prepared to embrace different curry style — please ask the staff first and let them know your expectation. I do think they master the different styles quite nicely indeed, and don’t want people to overlook.
One thing to be prepared for is the environment — the interior is of oldish 80’s style, i.e. haven’t been renovated for a long time, but well air-​conditioned.

Service was fast. What i loved most was the portions. Well served and very generous. We ordered 2 curries and 2 portions of rice and we couldnt finish it all.

This is a little gem right off one of the main streets in Hong Kong. I went here with two friends and it was fantastic. I will say the portions are pretty large, and two people could easily share one plate. Since it was a company dinner i ordered about 6 different plates. I ordered several coconut curry dishes (shrimp and fish) along with some spicy beef and chicken curry dishes. The pakistani chicken was my favorite. The atmosphere was a little run down, looking like it came straight from the 1980’s, however, the food made up for all those shortcomings. One of the best curry’s i had throughout Asia.

There are curries and then there are curries. This is the latter.
Though it has been around forever, I only discovered it about a year ago. Can’t believe what I’d been missing.
The beef rendang is unlike any I’ve had previously. It has a delightfully smoky flavour, which despite multiple meals I’ve yet to determine how exactly they achieve such a unique taste. It is far and away the best curry on the menu — which is saying a lot since everything I’ve tried has been good.
When you’re in the mood for a curry but don’t want the «standard» curries, this is the place to go. The mix of Malaysian, Singaporean, Indian, and other curries is unmatched and you will be sure to find something you love.

This place has become a weekly habit for my boyfriend and us, almost looking like part of the furniture now — consistently good portions and flavours. You’ll find us there every Sunday after workout for a well deserved curry feast.

Opened over 30 years ago, the International Curry House (ICH) in Wan Chai have been satisfying curry fans in Hong Kong. Their latest location is on a small street near the Southorn Sports Ground where the area has been undergoing massive redevelopments in recent years. ICH is one of the few places that still retains the old Hong Kong vibe.
When you walk inside the shop, you can straight away feel that you’re in a different era. Although the current location is a new one (by that I mean they moved there 10 years ago), it place still looks like the 80’s (but not in an elegant way). That said, people don’t come here for the décor but for a cheap and trustworthy curry meal.
The bases of their curries are mainly Malaysian and Indian although the recipes have been «Hong Kongnized «over the years.
Malaysian curry tends to contain coconut milk and milder in hotness than the Indian ones. You can choose the spiciness of you curry (level 1 – 3) but basically they just add the appropriate among of chilli oil.
I have been going to ICH on and off over the years but on my recent visit I noticed that time have not been kind to this establishment. Food didn’t taste as good as I remember and the service was mediocre at best. I ordered the «dry style» curry chicken (stir fried curry without soup), chicken vindaloo and beef short ribs. The dry style curry still tasted decent but the chicken meat was dry and tasteless. The whole dish depended on the spices to make it half decent. The vindaloo was laughable: a super watery sauce with what they pass as vindaloo taste and with pineapples ! Who the heck adds pineapple to their vindaloos?! Again the chicken was on the dry side. Short ribs was large in portion but the meat was so badly marinated by baking soda (a trick to make the meat more tender) it has no taste to the meat what so ever.
Overall it was a disappointment. Prices at the place is not what I called cheap anymore. It seems to me that this once icon of curry cuisine in Hong Kong is on its last leg banking on past glory. There are many other better choices around town if you are looking for a good curry meal.