SAMA

I found this place incredibly disappointing. I got the vegetarian tomato curry. I ordered a level 5 spice and it was pretty flavorless. The people were not particularly friendly, and to top it off I found a piece of shellfish in my veg dish. Will not be coming back.

TL;DR: Great Japanese style curry, ask for as much rice as you want, but beware of your spicy level!
This little shop is located at the end of Gough Street. Walk past all the crowds and lines waiting for beef tendons and tomato macaronis and you’re there. You can’t miss that giant roaring black bear on the door. The shop has limited seating so come here early before the lunch crowd!
Once we were seated, we were served with water and menus. Choose your spiciness, your soup base, the meat, and whether you want rice or udon or ramen. Be careful at choosing your spiciness level. For someone who’s been eating Korean food every week for the past year, I can already feel the heat with 10. Not sure how people can do 30! Wife chose oink oink tomato with udon while I got the oink oink coconut with rice. Both very flavorful and comes with lots of veggies. The rice that comes with the curry is small in comparison to the curry bowls but don’t worry rice is unlimited!
If you’ve never had Japanese curry before, definitely come here for a try!

Japanese curry with spiciness level from 1 – 30 — I’m totally in! I’m definitely someone who likes spicy food and the excitement that comes from it a lot, so when Miriam suggested that we should try out this cute little shop that’s located at the corner of Gough Street, I’m excited!
The shop is a rather small one, with pretty limited seats too. We were lucky that the shop wasn’t crowded, as I think it would be a bit too noisy if you have a big group in there.
The waiter here was very friendly and they will explain to you how you should order your dishes. Some curry dishes are in smaller portion, and thus they would recommend you to order a lower spiciness level — of course, unless you still think otherwise! We had one coconut curry base level 5 with chicken little and one prawn base level 20 with ocean trophy. Coconut curry was awesome, but you could definitely still increase the spiciness level in my opinion. Prawn curry at level 20 was so good — the kick of fiery sensation that’s sent down your throat is real! Feel like you could do better? — they have up till level 30 for you to challenge ;)
These curries are served with rice, but you could also request to change them to udon or ramen, with an additional charge.
We ordered some gyoza on the sides too, which was decent but nothing ‘wow’ for me.
Overall, this is a very interesting place to try some different Japanese curry. Definitely worth trying!

When my coworker told me there was a Japanese curry place that does a spiciness level from 1 – 30, I knew I had to try it out immediately.
I LOVE spicy food and soups overall so I was rather excited to try out their coconut curry. If you like thicker curries, I definitely recommend getting the coconut soup base and not the prawn or tomato ones because those end up being very liquidy/​watery.
I got the «Marathon Chicken» (HKD $ 88) at spiciness level 16. It heated up my stomach, but it was delicious! I’m debating whether or not I want to try out their Spicy Level 30 Challenge, but we’ll see!
The portion of chicken they give is rather large, and it was very tender, falling off the bone effortlessly. The curry also came with an assortment of vegetables in it (okra, eggplant, carrot, green bean, cauliflower, bell pepper, half a soft-​boiled egg, & broccoli) which was all cooked till it was soft. I personally really enjoyed the meal!
They have a wider variety of options like Hokkaido spinach, brussel sprouts, and creamy prawns that they offer only during dinner time which I was sad I wasn’t able to try. If you go for dinner, I’d recommend trying those out cause they look delicious!
You can also ask for more rice if you want more, and they also accept credit card :)

Great J-​Curry shop… I had the tomato based medium spice level with pork. I took the natto on the side because I’m a natto purist, but I trie mixing it in and it really worked … they have a good assortment of beer at this hip little joint. I had a nice adult ginger ale .the staff is nice

Sama Sama Sama is so so so Goood.
I’ve walked down this street many times but for some reason, never noticed this spot.
I guess cause there are no windows. But they keep the door open so you don’t feel so «trapped». Anyway, this is a small place with about 7 small tables that can fit 2 — 5 people and a bar that had about 3 — 4 seats. So, for intimate gatherings, this is the spot! If you have larger parties, you will be waiting longer.
I had the coconut curry. Again… So so so Good!
The other reviewers of this establishment can tell you how to order as there are other choices such as veggies, meat, and other curries.
BUT, I’ll just tell you that the Coconut Curry, with a spice level of 5, with tender pork was JUST RIGHT.
Instead of having the Rice, you can opt for Udon Noodles. Not sure if there’s an extra charge.
Credit Cards Accepted.
Thank you, Goodbye.

I noticed this place as I walked by. And I decided to visit later to try their food.
What I enjoyed was the friendly warm welcome and waiting service. Along with it were very simple yet tasty food and interesting Japanese beer.
For the beer, they served Hitachino Nest Beer and on draft as well. This is the first time I tried it and loved it. Surprised that they have this Japanese brand that has a good varieties of crafted type, although other choices are bottled.
The menu took me a while to read. But it became simple once I understood it. Pick a soup base and then the choice of meat. And also tell them your spicy level. 0 — 30. I love spicy food but tried it at 16 just to start it off. I did not expect Japanese curry could be made this hot. So suggesting you to try at lower level first.
The tomato soup has lot of tomato taste. And the prawn soup I tried with 16 level of spiciness reminded me of Tom Yum soup. I also ordered chicken thigh and pork. Both meats were cooked very moist and soft. I really enjoyed the food and I will definitely come back again and again for the beer and food.

I’m not a huge Curry fan, but I came here because a friend wanted to and it was hands down, awesome. I had the Tomato base Vegetarian and added chicken.

A new Japanese curry shop straight from Sapporo opening on Gough street? Yea i want to try it!
SAMA HK a recently opened new shop in Hong Kong that offers a new selection of Japanese curry named after bears.
Ordering is a simple business.
1. Select the spiciness level from 1 – 30. If you choose 30 and finish the bowl, they take your photo and pin it on their wall (going to try that next time.)
2. Next choose your soup base: tomato, coconut, and seafood. I personally liked coconut the best between it and the tomato as I don’t eat seafood.
3. Select the curry dish you want. Chicken, burger, pork, veggie, fermented soy bean and seafood. Thats it. The dish comes with a side of rice or you can add udon/​ramen for 10HKD.
The first time i went there, i opted for the Hungry Bear which is the combo, the man of the curry with a coconut soup based at level 15 spiciness. It was good, had all the meats combined but they just don’t serve enough rice to go with that curry. At level 15, i was a bit disappointed with the level as it did not taste spicy for me.
Yesterday, i ordered a keema curry (the fermented soy bean and ground meat) with a tomato soup and level 20. It still wasn’t spicy enough but at level 20, the soup is thick enough that I did not need an additional portion of rice and maybe I wasn’t as hungry as last time. The keema curry was a disappointment. It was rather plain and i should have chosen one of the meat ones. Even the veggie curry that my colleague chose looked better. What about level 20 you say? It still wasnt up to my standard of what level 20 should be. Maybe because i’m a spicy kind of guy.
Next week, i’m going to aim for level 30 and have my picture on their wall and maybe several times if their level 20 is any indication of their scale.
The soup base were good, the portions right (except for the rice) and it was on average about 100HKD per head. Not bad for winter lunch.