Namasute Shokudo is a fairly new curry house in central Matsuyama serving Nepalese curry. I went with a group of friends on a weekday evening, and the place was quite full. The brightly lit shop front presented a festive, welcoming air, as did the aroma of curry that made its way out onto the street.
Inside, the décor is what you tend to find in curry houses anywhere – Indian fabrics, tasseled umbrellas, potted plants, and rows of beer bottles.
We ordered a full course meal. This started with little poppadoms topped with spicy chopped vegetables. This was followed by succulent tandoori chicken on a salad. I was a little surprised when further meat arrived in the form of spicy kebabs, again with a generous garnish of green vegetables. This was all quite filling, even before the main course.
Our curry order included a variety such as spinach, tomato and cream-based, with different choices for ‘hotness’. These duly arrived with an absolutely enormous nan bread. I was a bit concerned that there was only one to go round, but the waitress assured me that as many would be produced as were needed, so that we could enjoy them hot. It was very fluffy fragrant nan. The curries were rather hotter than expected and contained a good deal of meat, so we all sat around chewing and sweating happily.
Just when I thought we couldn’t really eat any more, someone ordered nan bread stuffed with coconut and another coconut version that was topped generously with cheese. My companions fell into ecstasies over these, exclaiming how like cake they were. Indeed, they did make a very good substitute for dessert. They were delicious on their own, or dipped in any of the curries.
I had the foresight to select the all-you-can-drink option for 1,500 yen. I drank a good quantity of beer and umeshu plum brandy, both of which complemented the food very well. My companions seemed to enjoy their red wine, which was chilled according to the custom of certain less well-informed proprietors. Namasute also serves a range of bottled beers from Nepal, although these aren’t included in the all-you-can-drink option. The lassi was also very agreeable.
I trembled when it came time to pay the bill because we’d eaten and drunk enough to nourish a small nation for a year, but it was only 3,500 yen each.
