Back again to one of the most recent CoCo Ichibanya spots – Vietnam, March 2019. While I missed out on having more peppery dishes like Bun Bo Hue, I had to find another spicy dish that I could get easily. And then I remembered Ho Chi Minh in Landmark 81 Mall has a CoCo Ichibanya branch that would be great to try.
The newest toppings that you can try and eat there is popcorn shrimp and fried fish which is a shame as I expected something significant from Vietnam. Maybe like a Bank Xeo/Omelette curry fusion would be nice to see in the future. But of course me and my friend had our usuals – fried chicken with cheese and sweetcorn and mine was of course, pork katsu with cheese and vegetables.
So like Singapore and the UK, the highest level you can get is a level 5. Spice is prominent in the first bite you take but to be honest it has a similar peppery taste to both countries that I was slightly disappointed. And I was expecting more of a fiery burn to the curry like I did in Taiwan. The interesting thing is that the spice had an after effect to my friend where she had a stomach ache and said the spice really hit her. That’s why I know it has to be higher than Singapore but still similar in the spice and ingredients.
I almost didn’t have the highest level but decided to anyway because I didn’t know when I’ll go back to Vietnam to try it again. I’m glad I did as it wasn’t as spicy as I anticipated but still the peppery flavouring was still there especially the next day in our stomachs.
You can even see from the colouring that it gave the impression of a slightly peppery taste but sadly not. In this lockdown, I’m grateful to have travelled to so many countries last year especially Vietnam where I ate a variety of dishes. And CoCo Ichibanya is one of those chains that I will continue to try in every country just as much as people who will go to every McDonalds in the world to get that familar spicy taste I got when I frequently had it living in Japan.
I’m hoping after the lockdown that I can go to more branches preferably America, Hong Kong and Malaysia next to continue my CoCo Ichibanya tour.
Ranking List
(as of 2024)
- CoCo Ichibanya Japan / Spice Rank 8 (newer post here)
- CoCo Ichibanya Taiwan / Spice Rank 6
- CoCo Ichibanya Korea / Spice Rank 6
- CoCo Ichibanya UK / Spice Rank 6 (as of 2022)
- CoCo Ichibanya Vietnam / Spice Rank 5
- CoCo Ichibanya Singapore / Spice Rank 5
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