Grossest restaurant ever? Inside Japan's poo curry cafe

[Ubiquitous]

(CNN) — "It literally tastes like a piece of ----," a diner says,
covering her mouth and trying not to regurgitate the small spoonful of
curry she just ate.

For restaurant owner Ken Shimizu, this is actually a compliment.

His Curry Shop Shimizu in Tokyo specializes in a dish that deliberately
mimics the texture and flavor of feces.

Don't click away in disgust just yet -- it gets weirder.

Shimizu is also one of Japan's best known porn stars.

A star of hundreds of adult movies, he's known in Japan as Shimiken, or
the "king of porn."

His latest venture, according to restaurant manager and the curry's
creator Hiroki Okada, is an attempt to satisfy an unlikely lifelong
desire to find out what excrement tastes like.

"For Shimiken, it's a question to settle before we die," says Okada.

"We had had no choice but to answer the question with our imagination
-- until now."

Forget the market research

Strongly flavored ingredients are used to make the curry -- onion,
carrot, minced chicken, bitter gourd, cocoa powder, bitter Japanese
green gentian tea, curry powder and kusaya -- "A sun-dried salted
horse mackerel that gives off the smell of dog dung," according to
Okada.

Urinal container – Strongly flavored ingredients are used to make the
curry -- onion, carrot, minced chicken, bitter gourd, cocoa powder,
bitter Japanese green gentian tea, curry powder and kusaya -- "A sun-
dried salted horse mackerel that gives off the smell of dog dung,"
according to Okada.

To create a coherent theme, the shop is also equipped with tea cups
that resemble a urinal cup. Toilet rolls serve as table napkins.

VIP seat – In a survey before the shop's opening, 85% of respondents
claimed that they would never set foot in such a place. But Okada said
more than 300 customers visited the cafe during its first month.

Ken Shimizu (pictured) has opened what could be the world's
grossest restaurant. Curry Shop Shimizu specializes in dishes that
mimic the texture and flavor of feces. In addition to running an eatery
house, Shimizu, or more commonly known as Shimiken, is also one of
Japan's best known porn stars.

Inside Japan's poo curry cafe – Ken Shimizu (pictured) has opened what
could be the world's grossest restaurant. Curry Shop Shimizu
specializes in dishes that mimic the texture and flavor of feces. In
addition to running an eatery house, Shimizu, or more commonly known as
Shimiken, is also one of Japan's best known porn stars.

The restaurant manager Hiroki Okada says that Curry Shop Shimizu is
intended to appeal to people's sense of humor, rather than their
palates. "Instead of eating curry, the purpose of coming to the
restaurant is to have fun. The curry is just a trigger."

'Joke restaurant' – The restaurant manager Hiroki Okada says that Curry
Shop Shimizu is intended to appeal to people's sense of humor, rather
than their palates. "Instead of eating curry, the purpose of coming to
the restaurant is to have fun. The curry is just a trigger."

Strongly flavored ingredients are used to make the curry -- onion,
carrot, minced chicken, bitter gourd, cocoa powder, bitter Japanese
green gentian tea, curry powder and kusaya -- "A sun-dried salted
horse mackerel that gives off the smell of dog dung," according to
Okada.

To create a coherent theme, the shop is also equipped with tea cups
that resemble a urinal cup. Toilet rolls serve as table napkins.

In a survey before the shop's opening, 85% of respondents claimed
that they would never set foot in such a place. But Okada said more
than 300 customers visited the cafe during its first month.

Ken Shimizu (pictured) has opened what could be the world's
grossest restaurant. Curry Shop Shimizu specializes in dishes that
mimic the texture and flavor of feces. In addition to running an eatery
house, Shimizu, or more commonly known as Shimiken, is also one of
Japan's best known porn stars.

Inside Japan's poo curry cafe – Ken Shimizu (pictured) has opened what
could be the world's grossest restaurant. Curry Shop Shimizu
specializes in dishes that mimic the texture and flavor of feces. In
addition to running an eatery house, Shimizu, or more commonly known as
Shimiken, is also one of Japan's best known porn stars.

The restaurant manager Hiroki Okada says that Curry Shop Shimizu is
intended to appeal to people's sense of humor, rather than their
palates. "Instead of eating curry, the purpose of coming to the
restaurant is to have fun. The curry is just a trigger."

'Joke restaurant' – The restaurant manager Hiroki Okada says that Curry
Shop Shimizu is intended to appeal to people's sense of humor, rather
than their palates. "Instead of eating curry, the purpose of coming to
the restaurant is to have fun. The curry is just a trigger."

Strongly flavored ingredients are used to make the curry -- onion,
carrot, minced chicken, bitter gourd, cocoa powder, bitter Japanese
green gentian tea, curry powder and kusaya -- "A sun-dried salted
horse mackerel that gives off the smell of dog dung," according to
Okada.

Urinal container – Strongly flavored ingredients are used to make the
curry -- onion, carrot, minced chicken, bitter gourd, cocoa powder,
bitter Japanese green gentian tea, curry powder and kusaya -- "A sun-
dried salted horse mackerel that gives off the smell of dog dung,"
according to Okada.

Of course, they didn't just jump right in and open a poo curry
restaurant, first of all they did some market research, surveying 400
young adults.

And, when it found that 85% wouldn't dream of setting foot in such a
place, they promptly ignored it.

"We hope to defeat the market research data," says Okado.

The owners describe their venue, which opened in August 2015, as a
"joke restaurant."

They say it's not so much about sating appetites as giving diners a
good time -- or as good a time as is possible over bowls of stinking
brown gloop.

"Instead of eating curry, the purpose of coming to the restaurant is to
have fun," says Okada. "The curry is just a trigger."

Achieving that "authentic" poo flavor involves an arsenal of
ingredients.

There's onion, carrot, minced chicken, bitter gourd, cocoa powder,
bitter Japanese green gentian tea and curry powder.

"We also add kusaya, a sun-dried salted horse mackerel that gives off
the smell of dog dung," says Okada.

The curry is served in a container shaped like a traditional Japanese
toilet bowl.


Better than the real thing?

And here's where it gets even weirder -- and more disgusting.

The restaurant knows its curry tastes like poo because, brace
yourselves people, Ken Shimizu has allegedly eaten poo (or so he
claims).

More than once.

"Shimiken has eaten feces many times -- 250 people's -- so he can
examine whether the curry tastes the same as the real thing," Okada
adds.

CNN has been unable -- and, frankly, unwilling -- to confirm the
curry's authenticity, but reviews have been mixed.

Shimizu's fellow adult movie star Uehara Ai gave up after her third
mouthful, declaring the meal the toughest task she'd encountered this
year.

Surprisingly, some, like the Tokyo-based bloggers of Wowsabi, claim
they have slurped down a whole bowl.

Of the 300 customers who graced the restaurant in its first month, more
than 90% manage to finish their curry, according to the owners.

Some, apparently, develop such a taste for it that they go on to eat
their ... let's stop right there.

Despite the awful taste, the cost of the curry is very high and profit
margins are small.

But Okada claims he's able to bank on some loyal customers.

"Many guests visit the restaurant every day and there are more and more
returned customers," he says.

"Most visit to satisy their curiosity -- they want to know what feces
taste like. Some use it as a penalty game. Many customers return
because they enjoy seeing other guests' reaction."

The owner hopes his restaurant will develop a global reputation that
will bring in foreign diners.

If that doesn't pan out, he's always got his day job to fall back on.

Okada adds: "Shimiken still works as a porno actor. He wants to go on
being one all his life."

--
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the homosexuals slain and the infidels are killed.