Restaurant search site for food minorities

Supervisor / Recommender

Takako Doki

General Incorporated Association Japan Halal Business Association Secretariat Public Relations / Director

Click here for introduction

I am currently working as an editor. However, I experienced working as a cook in restrunts, hospitals, and catering industry. Looking back now, I was connected to the Idea of Hala, since then.
At one point, few decades ago, I worked in a cafeteria at an auction site. More than 60% of the visitors to the venue were foreigners, including many Muslims (There were mosque in the venue as well). I remember many people asked me about the food we serve, the types of meat and whether they are Hala qualified.
At a certain time, the cafeteria becomes lively like a festival. Because the Indian restaurant next door to the venue served food for free. Indian dish, such as biryani, curry and sweet drinks were served to the visitors. Over 100 foreigners dressed in red turbans, garabayas and folk costumes gathered in the cafeteria, and everyone had a great time surrounding the same table. Now I learned about Muslim culture, it was a fast-starting Iftar.
Also, I remember that many participants were only eating curry from the Indian restrunt, eventhough there were choices of other food. As I study about Halal, I learned that they did not chose to eat curry, but they did not have a choise. I personally think that they wanted to try some of the Japanese food, if they had a chose. I still regret that moment, when I could not do anything because of the lack of information. “Inconvenience” of food is quite different based on their cultural background, and therefore, I understand now, that it is crucial to create an environment where all people can enjoy delicious meal, regardless of their backgrounds.

In Japan, Halal food is still a minority. Many people from Muslim background visit Japan, but they fell enconvininet about it. Japan Halal Business Association advocates in the halal business: HAVO (Halal, Organic, Vegetarian, Allergy).
The idea is to aim to create products and services that many people can eat and use, regardless of their religion and various backgrounds.
Seeking for delicious, safe and secure meal is commonly shared through the nations. The time demand us to find new ways of living that transcend borders and religions. We hope that Halal will help eliminate food inconvenience and contribute to the harmony of the world where you can respect, coexist, and co-prosper with a more liberal idea to eating and enjoying food.

Open in front of Otsuka station! A stylish Bangladeshi restaurant.

SUNALI is a Bangladeshi restaurant operating three stores mainly in Tokyo. A two-minute walk from JR Otsuka Station, “Bengal Bistro SUNALI Minami Otsuka” is a beautiful store that was reopened in May 2020. In a stylish restaurant, like a cafe-bar atmosphere, you can enjoy authentic Bengal regional cuisine and world liquor.
The Minami Otsuka store offers a morning plate from 7:00 to 11:00. Bengal-style breakfast is a style of roti and paratha with egg dishes, vegetables and beans.

Bengal Bistro Snari Minami Otsuka

Morning menu

Start your day with a Bengali-style breakfast.

There are more than 100 kinds of menus, which convey the taste of the owner’s hometown to Japan

SUNALI’s owner is from Bangladeshi and a chef is from Calkat. They are all Muslim. According to the owner, his hometown of Bengal is located in the mouth of the Ganges river and is surrounded by fertile land, so fresh fish and vegetables are available at low prices in the market.
Once the ingredients are purchased, they are cooked with spices the same day. Bengal curry of SUNALI is characterized by using bone-in meat fish. By chopping the meat together with the bones and simmering it slowly, they can make a curry that has plenty of umami ingredients condensed from the bone marrow.

Ilish mustard curry

At the shop, you can enjoy rare fish dishes such as Bengal’s national fish “Ilish” and the catfish family “Pangash.” The fish curry for lunch on that day was a freshwater fish called Pangash. The body meat is plump, has no odor, and is very delicious.

2 types of curry set (fish curry with bone)

2 types of curry set (mutton curry with bone)

Even if there is a liquor menu, all meals are halal-friendly. Since the meat is also halal certified, Muslims can eat with confidence.

Mutton biryani

This is a Bengal SUNALI plate, which is a plate of home-cooked food from the Bengal region. This is a great-deal menu that includes: one type of curry you like, balta (mashed dish), baj (stir-fried food), salad, rice, and soft drinks. At lunchtime, you can refill naan or rice for free.

Bengal Sunali Plate 1,380 yen

In addition to the main course, there are also traditional Bengali desserts such as Kacha Golla and Shondesh. It is said that the menu and ingredients are carefully selected to reproduce the local cuisine of the Bengal region, so that you can feel the “tional Bangla” (golden Bengal) in each dish. In addition, the national colors of red and green Bangladesh are coordinated everywhere in the shop, which makes you feel attached to the country.

1 minute walk from Otsuka Mosque! A shop that is highly trusted by Muslims with its Halal supermarket

The owner of SUNALI also runs two halal shops in addition to restaurants. The RAHMANIA HALAL FOOD SHOP is within a 5-minute walk from the Minami-Otsuka and Higashi-Ikebukuro stores.

Nearby is the Otsuka Mosque, which plays a central role in the Muslim community of that area. The shop is using a room in a condominium, in a residential area, so it may be a little confusing, but it is an indispensable part of the neighboring Muslims that have been open since 2003.

RAHMANIA HALAL FOOD SHOP (1F, Okubo Shoji Building, 3-40-8 Minami Otsuka)

Ingredients from India and Bangladesh are lined up in the shop. They also sell frozen fish and meat, and have a lot of ingredients that are rare in Japan.
Then, in September 2020, the RAHMANIA HALAL SUPERMARKET was opened.

The new supermarket has imported ingredients from around the world, vegetables, daily deliveries, and also has items for Japanese people.

RAHMANIA HALAL SUPER MARKET

Halal food over the world

This S & B Golden Curry that does not use animal ingredients is a curry roux that can be used for Muslims.

Golden curry without S & B animal ingredients

「 Bengali Bistro SUNALI Minami Otsuka Branch」Basic information

Store name	Bengali Bistro SUNALI Minami Otsuka Branch
Tel	03-6876-0103
Address	3-47-2 Minamiotsuka, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
Business hours	07:00~11:00 Morning 11:00~15:00 Lunch 17:00~24:00 Dinner
Holiday	Irregular holidays
Budget	Lunch ~1,380yen Dinner ~3,500yen
Payment method	Credit card available
Parking Lot	N/A
Language	Japanese / English / Bengali
Advance reservation
Cooking description	Bengal Local Cuisine and World Liquor
Note	JR Yamanote Line / Otsuka Station (South Exit) 2 minutes walk / 1 minute walk from Otsuka Mosque
Store HP