Restaurant review: Sama, Central - Japanese soup curry pleasantly complex

If you're feeling peckish and are in the Gough Street area, but don't want to wait an hour or more for the absurdly popular beef brisket from Kau Kee, there's a new kid on the block serving Sapporo-style soup curry that is worth a try.

The homey, wood-furnished Sama greets guests with a huge mural of a black bear on the sliding door. The interior's quirky illustrations tell a bear-meets-curry story. An equally playful menu explains what's on offer.

Hailing "from the land of frolicking bears", as the menu tells us, the soup curry served in the two-month-old shop follows the recipe of a decade-old chain from Hokkaido prefecture's capital. The blend features a ramen-style broth, which is then enhanced with either tomato, coconut or prawn.

The heat level (zero to 30) is determined by the mixture of secret spices used and indicated by three badges — baby bear, adult bear and crazy bear.

We enjoyed our marathon chicken (HK$88; HK$58 for a half portion), which was tart and appetising, with tender thigh meat, tomato soup and a spice level of five. The "curry hamburg" (HK$90, HK$60 half portion) arrived next; we went for a spice level of 10. The beef patty was disappointing, it was a bit dry and tough, but the creamy coconut-based curry had a pleasant fragrance.

Each order of curry comes with a plate of rice or, for an extra HK$10, udon. We love the fact that each bowl comes with chunky vegetables such as cauliflower, potato and lotus root, which add texture and cut through the intense flavours.