A Japanese curry rice stall with a unique ‘DIY bento’ concept has just opened at Fusionopolis. Named Kare (the Japlish name for ‘curry’), the cosy eight-seat eatery serves wallet-friendly curry rice along with a choose-it-yourself selection of skewers. 

The eatery opened in May 2023, and is run by a former graphic designer, AJ Fong, 44, with the help of his wife, Jamie Ng, 39. 

Jamie tells 8days.sg that they hope to “create some hype” by allowing customers to customise their sides, as they noticed that “most Japanese restaurants sell curry rice with fixed side dishes”. 

To order, customers can purchase the Japanese curry rice (consisting of a bowl of Japanese rice topped with chunky kare) at a base price of S$5.80, and choose from a range of 19 skewers (from S$1.90) to add on. The sticks are placed in a display case for customers to grab, similar to a bakery, so you can pile your tray with as many skewers as you want. 

No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.

Spicier-than-usual Japanese curry rice 

While their skewers are supplied-bought, AJ makes his Japanese curry with a proprietary recipe he created through referencing several cookbooks and online recipes.

It took AJ six months to finalise his recipe, which, in a bid to suit local spice-loving tastebuds, “has a spicy aftertaste” that is not typically found in regular Japanese curry. Their version of kare is still sweet, just with a bit more heat than the Japanese version. 

He tweaked the traditional recipe through incorporating ingredients like ba jiao (star anise) and basil leaves, along with other spices that aren’t common in kare.

Drastic 'mid-life career change'

Although AJ currently works full-time frying skewers and making curry at Kare, he previously worked a nine-to-five job as a graphic designer for over 10 years. When he hit his mid-40s, he decided to pursue his longtime dream of being an entrepreneur. 

According to AJ, the hardest part of his career switch was getting used to the physical labour that comes with manning a food biz. “Last time you [get to] sit at a desk, which is easier, but nowadays we’ll need to prepare all the ingredients from morning to afternoon”, he explains.

His years of graphic design experience didn’t go to waste, though. AJ designed the hip Kare logo, and takes charge of all their social media posts. 

To open this stall, the couple invested close to S$100,000. They chose to set up at Fusionopolis as “the rental here is still quite manageable”, and “it’s not mandatory for [them] to open during weekends” [unlike certain malls’ regulations], so they can still have some work-life balance. Jamie added they are also aiming to target the younger office crowd in the area with their mod Japanese curry bentos. 

On a typical day, AJ begins cooking his curry from around 7am, and closes the shop in the evening. Kare’s main crowd is the lunchtime office crowd in the area, but they plan to extend their opening hours till dinnertime if there is enough demand. Jamie says it’s their “long-term plan to have more outlets” in other office-centric areas, where they can “train chefs to cook AJ’s recipe”.

The menu 

Kare’s Japanese curry rice comes with a customisable selection of 19 skewers, with the most popular being Chicken Karaage (S$1.80), Chicken Yakitori (S$1.80) and Tamagoyaki (S$2). There are also other meat and veggie skewers like Breaded Scallop (S$1.80), Kimchi Gyoza (S$1.80) and Mozzarella Cheese Stick (S$1.60).

Japanese curry rice, S$5.80

Rich Japanese curry over a bed of Japanese rice. The curry gravy is aromatic and loaded with a generous serving of carrots and potatoes. While not super spicy, it has more heat than typical Japanese kare that’s milder and sweeter. The spicy punch is a nice piquant spin on sweet Japanese curry for Singaporeans who are used to spicier fare. 

Chicken Karaage, S$1.80 

Chicken Yakitori, S$1.80 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Tender chunks of chicken are grilled and draped in a tasty, sticky and umami yakitori sauce. 

Tamagoyaki, S$2 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Sweet, custardy egg, which makes for a nice side to balance the curry’s heat.

Seafood Bomb, S$1.80

This ‘bomb’ has seafood like fish chunks and shrimps coated in a breadcrumb batter and deep-fried. Serviceable enough, but nothing to shout about.

Ajitsuke Tamago, S$2 (8 DAYS Pick!)

It’s a good idea to smash this soy-marinated ramen egg on your Japanese kare — the gooey yolk adds extra oomph to the spicy curry.

Chicken Gyoza, S$1.80

Tsukune Chicken Ball, S$1.80 

A meaty chicken ball with a nice bite, drizzled with a sweet house-made teriyaki sauce.

Bottom line 

Jamie tells us that Kare has more takeaway orders daily compared to dine-in customers, as it is a quick and easy lunch fix for office workers in one-north. The food selection is crowd-pleasing and the spicier Japanese curry is appetising. The skewers are tasty, though not particularly outstanding. But if you are a fan of Japanese curry, this choose-your-own-skewer concept is pretty fun.

Kare is located at #01-26 Fusionopolis, 1 Fusionopolis Pl, S138522. More info via their Instagram. 

Photos: Aik Chen, Kare

No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.

8days.sg is now on #tiktok! Follow us on www.tiktok.com/@8dayseat