​ERICK SOUTH is a South Indian restaurant located on the basement floor of KITTE Nagoya, right next to Nagoya Station. ERICK SOUTH, who achieved success in Tokyo and led the boom in South Indian cuisine in Japan, expanded into Nagoya in 2016.

ERICK SOUTH is located on the basement floor of KITTE Nagoya, among the rows of restaurants.

Large pictures of India on the walls of the store

We spoke to Shunsuke Inada, who is currently the executive chef of ERICK SOUTH, which operates mainly in Tokyo but also has locations in Osaka and other areas, and who has published numerous cookbooks.

Playing the role of​
"Comprehensive South Indian Cuisine Restaurant" in Nagoya

Mr. Inada, executive chef of ERICK SOUTH

We asked ERICK SOUTH, who had many stores, what he kept in mind when expanding into Nagoya.

Mr. Inada:“In Tokyo, we were working rather on a 'niche strategy'. In Tokyo, there are already many South Indian restaurants, and there are plenty of choices. So we were conscious of differentiating ourselves, trying to do something that no one else was doing, and we dared to incorporate regional Indian flavors into our meals, rather than the more common ones. Since there are other options, we were very particular about offering something that can only be found at Eric South.”

The Nagoya store started the same way as Tokyo, with a menu that specialized in meals and biryani (Indian rice cooked in rice). However, he said it was a little different.

Ms. Inada:“At first, many customers, especially from India, asked me why there was no dosa. At that time, I realized, "There are still few other restaurants in Nagoya, so a niche strategy similar to that of Tokyo would not work. I felt that in Nagoya, we had a mission to fulfill the role of a "comprehensive restaurant of South Indian cuisine.'"

Dosa at Eric South

Based on customer feedback, they also started to offer dosa, which was not on the menu at first. At that time, they didn't have equipment to bake dosa, so they cooked small dosa in a frying pan and served it. Later, they introduced equipment, and now there are 10 kinds of dosas on the menu.

*What is dosa?
A crepe-like dough made from beans and rice. It is a staple of the breakfast menu in South India.

"Unfortunate Encounter" Experienced at the Nagoya Store

Although things seemed to be going smoothly for ERICK SOUTH, he actually had an incident when he opened the Nagoya store.

Ms. Inada:"We had some success in Tokyo, so when we opened our Nagoya store, we made a big appeal for "Meals" as our flagship product. Soon after opening, more than half of the customers ordered Meals."

"What took several years in Tokyo was accomplished in Nagoya in one day! But, in the end, many customers left a large amount of Meals."

Mr. Inada:"There were more leftovers than I have ever seen in my experience. The customers probably thought it was 'a plate full of curry' without recognizing that "Meals" is a special kind of food. But there are only one or two kinds of curry in Meals, and the rest is something that looks like curry but is not curry. I guess the customers felt there was a gap between what they were expecting and what they were getting. I call this incident 'an unfortunate encounter.'"

This led to a major change in the menu, "Let's stop appealing to the Meals," with the regular curry menu on the first and second pages, and Meals finally making an understated appearance on the last page.

1st page of menu

Meals on the last page

After changing the menu, the number of customers ordering Meals has decreased dramatically. However, it is said that recognition has gradually spread over the years, and the number of customers who order Meals has increased.

Mr. Inada:"We want to be a restaurant that can be enjoyed by all types of people, both light users and core users. That's why we made the menu the way we did. People who are not familiar with South Indian cuisine order from the first or second page, while core fans go to the last page of the menu, which is the 'Meals' page. By devising a menu that allows each customer to reach the menu item they should order, we are able to attract a wide range of customers. Various types of people exist in a single restaurant in a mosaic-like form. I like to see such a scene."

The bold composition of the menu is said to be "Something I learned at the Nagoya store." "We have used our failures as fuel to make improvements each time, and have continued to devise ways to create a store that everyone can enjoy."

What made you want to try South Indian cuisine?

Mr. Inada is a talented food producer who has worked on many restaurants such as Japanese and French. Why did Mr. Inada decide to start South Indian cuisine?

Mr. Inada:"When I first encountered South Indian cuisine, I already had a career and experience, and I felt like I knew 'this is what delicious food in the world is like.' The South Indian food was delicious, but I didn't understand what was going on. I thought, 'I want to understand this thing that I don't really understand,' and that's when I got hooked."

At the time, he was running another restaurant while experimenting with South Indian cuisine. Mr. Inada were especially particular about the sambal, which symbolizes the food culture of South India. Beans and vegetables, as well as tomato and tamarind sourness, are accented dishes, and are always included in 'Meals'.

Mr. Inada: “Sambal is simple, but it was difficult to balance umami and sourness. After a series of prototypes, it was finally completed.In fact, I was satisfied with the sambal, so I thought, 'I want to open a South Indian restaurant.' Sambal is that important to me."

While the rest of ERICK SOUTH 's menu continues to change little by little, the recipe for sambal has remained unchanged since its founding. This is a dish with an exquisite balance of umami and sourness, which is the result of Mr. Inada's passion.

ERICK SOUTH 's signature menu
"Meals"

Erick Meals ¥ 1,485 (tax included)

Meals with many dishes on one plate. From the yellow turmeric rice on the left, lined up with Eric's chicken curry, two kinds of daily vegetable curry, sambal, rasam, yogurt, vadai, and uppuma.

Vada (left), made from mashed beans, is a kind of unsweetened donut. It is fluffy and has a rustic taste with a slight sweetness of beans.

Uppuma (right) is semolina (coarsely ground wheat flour) stir-fried with mustard seeds and ginger. The popping texture of the semolina flour is fun, and although it's simple, the more you eat it, the more you get hooked on it.

Both are commonly eaten in South India, but there are not many restaurants in Nagoya where you can eat them.

This is also ERICK SOUTH classic "Erick chicken curry". The flavor of the meat and mild curry will whet your appetite.

The two on the right are vegetable curries of the day. This day was broccoli (right) and eggplant tomato masala (left). Left is sambal, back is sour soup rasam.

Each one is very delicious, you can eat it alone, or you can mix it all up at the end and eat it. Another good thing about Meals is that you can enjoy the harmony of various flavors. Rice, sambal, and rasam are free refills, so enjoy them until you're satisfied!

ERICK SOUTH 's recommended "Dosa"

Masala dosa (regular) ¥1,222 (tax included)

Dosa is a classic South Indian dish with a crepe-like dough and various ingredients.

Vegetable chutney on the left, coconut chutney on the center, and sambal on the right. Eat while dipping in dosa.

ERICK SOUTH 's particular focus on dosas is the "dough." Dosa is made by grinding beans, rice, and water and leaving it overnight to ferment. They do not use yeast, and the temperature is controlled depending on the season for natural fermentation.

Mr. Inada: "The longer the dough is fermented, the more flavorful it becomes, but if it is fermented too much, it will become sour. We aim to create a dough that is well fermented and less sour by combining the ingredients of the dough and the fermentation temperature. ."

Dosa has a mysterious texture that you can enjoy both crispy and chewy. Eat with chutney as a side dish. It's fun to change the taste.

Inside is potato masala (stir-fried potatoes with spices).

Finally, we asked Mr. Inada about his commitment to making curry.

Inada:"I try not to arrange things to suit the tastes of Japanese people. Even if I don't want to make my own arrangements, there are many types of Indian cuisine, even just one sambal. Among the countless recipes out there, I try to choose the one that best suits ERICK SOUTH.

I think that if people are left with the feeling of 'It's delicious but I don't know what it is,' like I did when I first encountered South Indian food, they will become hooked on it. I hope that more people will come to love South Indian food in this way.