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.

All-you-can-eat lunch buffet with a variety of 15 items to chose from, one of the best deals in the center of Tokyo.

Nirvanam is a South Indian restaurant that has branches mainly in Tokyo. Nirvanam means “bliss,” the highest state of satisfaction and happiness in Sanskrit and at Nirvanam they are striving to achieve that by providing you appropriate ambience, service, and the taste. They offer a variety of menus from 5 provinces in South India, including Kerala province at seashore of Arabian sea to Tamil Nadu province at the bay of Bengal. Nirvanam is a well known restaurant on the review sites such as the leading ranking site “tabelog”, and has been awarded in the “top100 best curry restaurants” every year since 2009.
One of the reasons why they are so popular is because they have more than100 authentic items on the menu created with fragrant whole spices and unique cooking methods from each region, ranging from Indian signature street food to the traditional South Indian cuisine. Masala dosa is one of the signature South Indian dishes, which is thin a rice crape with potatoes and onions.

MASALA DOSA

Biryani is a rice dish which is often prepared for celebrations.

CHICKEN BIRYANI

There is an Indian snack, which is deep-fried bean doughnuts topped with a yogurt sauce.

DAHI BHALLE

Nirvanam is well known for their great lunch buffet. It is an all-you-can-eat buffet that comes with more than 10 items for very reasonable price of 1200yen, which is a great deal and hard to find in the center of Tokyo.

Lunch buffet menu

On the day of interview, there were items such as chicken curry, mutton curry, vegetable curry with coconut, dosa, bean soup with sambal chill sauce, and uddin vada (mashed-bean doughnut with a hint of spice such as black pepper).

Mutton curry, vege masala, vada, nann

Mutton curry is available as a part of buffet, which can be an expensive dish if ordered on its own. It has lots of chunky pieces of mutton in it.

Mutton curry

Freshly baked nann smells very good and you will want to eat the lot.

Nann

Menu items for lunch buffet change everyday at every branch so every time you will feel excited to try different dishes at different branches.

Lunch buffet menu

Best curry restaurant recommended by foodies

Nirvanam chefs and staff are from the Southern part of India. They don’t use pork and beef in the kitchen, and all the items on the menu are halal friendly. Kamiyacho branch is a halal certified restaurant. Although Ariake branch is not a halal certified restaurant, they practice the same standard of procedure for the kitchen hygiene and management.

This certificate is issued by Japan halal foundation, which is categorized into three levels with stars. 3 stars means “all items on the menu are halal” and Nirvanam Kamiyacho branch with 2 stars, offers halal food but they also offer alcoholic drinks such as beer. They ensure that food is not contaminated with alcohol as alcohol is prohibited in Muslim culture.

Halal certificate at kamiyacho

Nirvanam has established a reputation on the leading review sites and been awarded in top100 best curry restaurant. Highly recommended for everyone as they offer a wide variety of vegetarian dishes on top of that the taste and service are great. Ariake branch is located inside the TOC Ariake building, which is close from International exhibition center station and Ariake station. It is a modern building with atrium and has a view of bay area. It is easily accessible from Tokyo big site and Daiba and great location for exhibition, sightseeing, and shopping, so please come by to enjoy beautiful Indian Cuisine!

「 Nirvanam Ariake branch 」Basic information

Store name	Nirvanam Ariake branch
Tel	03-5962-4825
Address	3F, TOC Ariake building, 3-5-7, Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Business hours	Lunch　11:00～14:30 Dinner 18:00～22:00 (L.O.21:30)
Holiday	Sundays
Budget	Lunch～1,200 yen Dinner～3,000yen
Payment method	Credit card accepted （VISA、Master、JCB、AMEX、Diners）
Parking Lot	Available（TOC car park）
Language	English, Japanese, Hindu
Advance reservation
Cooking description	Indian cuisine
Note	3 min walk from International exhibition center station at Rinkai line. 3rd floor of TOC Ariake building
Store HP