Indian Curry at Guns!

Hello everyone! I can't believe it has been four years since I started this blog. That's right, it is Ibaraki Eats' fourth anniversary. How am I celebrating this anniversary? By writing about Indian cuisine and a great Indian place in Tsukuba. Enjoy!

My first ever Indian cuisine post! I know I am four years late with this post. There are so many Indian restaurants around Ibaraki, which are great. I have been to good restaurants in Tsukuba, Mito, Tsuchiura, Hitachinaka, and much more. That being said, I have a confession to make. I have been scared to write about Indian food. Mainly because I didn't grow up with it. I didn't try Indian food until I came to Japan. I don't remember ever seeing any Indian restaurants around where I grew up in Miami. I don't have a lot of experience with Indian food except for my time here in Japan. However, I know a tasty restaurant when I try one and recently tried an Indian restaurant in Tsukuba. That Indian restaurant has an aggressive name but delicious curry. Today, I want to talk about the Indian restaurant Guns.

Guns

Guns Indian Cuisine and Sweets is located in the Amakubo area of Tsukuba right by the university. It is close to Thunder Burger which I wrote about during Burger Month.
The Ibaraki Eats Duo visited Guns on a Tuesday evening. We parked our car at the parking area in front of Guns and were ready to go on our curry and nan adventure.

Inside

When you walk inside Guns you can see a small window to the kitchen in front of you and a sweets counter to your left with all kinds of Indian sweets that I know nothing about. To the right is a bar area.
We waited for a server to come and take us to our seats. While waiting, a head popped out of the kitchen window and told us to wait a bit more. Then, another server came and took us to the dining area.
The dining area is all tables and chairs. It can hold a maximum of around 25 customers. There is also a big flat-screen TV on the far left wall. I thought the TV would be playing a Bollywood movie like most Indian restaurants do, but instead, it was playing a food travel show which I found to be refreshing. The tables all have plastic partitions separating the other tables.
My wife and I sat at our table and looked at the menu.

The Menu

Guns' menu has a lot going on. From appetizers to curry, to special nan, to special rice and so much more. The good news is that the menu is in both English and Japanese. The bad news is, if you don't know about Indian food you might not understand the English written on it.
What surprised me about the menu was the many different kinds of curry. There was the usual curries that you find in Indian places like butter chicken, mutton, and vegetable curry. There were also other curries that I had no clue what they were. The menu also has a sweets section which if I am being honest, I know nothing about. I am not even sure I have tried Indian sweets before. I made a promise to myself that the next time I went to Guns, I was trying some of the sweets.

Strawberry and Mango Lassi

My wife ordered the strawberry lassi and I ordered the mango lassi. Let me tell you something about mango lassi, it's incredible. If I was in a situation where I was only allowed to have one drink for the rest of my life, I am sure I would pick mango lassi. It is a heavenly drink that is so thick and creamy yet so smooth and refreshing. Guns mango lassi did not disappoint. I loved sipping that drink while waiting for my curry to be ready. My wife's strawberry lassi was good but I don't know what it is. Mango lassi is just better in every way. The only problem with mango lassi is that there is never enough and I finish it way to early.

Seekh Kebab

This was our appetizer. I have to admit, I wasn't sure what seekh kebab was. I know what a kebab is but not seekh kebab. My wife and I took a bite out of this kebab and the first thing that hit my taste buds were spices. I mean this in a good way. So many different spices flowed around my mouth, it was wonderful although it was a bit too hot. (Temperature-wise). The spices and coated sauce were strong so I wasn't sure what meat it was in the kebab but I am guessing lamb. I am sure of one thing though, I am getting these kebabs again. They were a nice appetizer before our curries came to our table.

Mutton Curry with Nan

This was Mrs. Ibaraki Eats' order. She is a fan of mutton curry and usually orders it when we go to an Indian restaurant. I am not sure she was ready for this mutton curry. Her eyes widened in shock and curiosity when she saw the curry and the big piece of meat sticking out of the curry. I was intrigued by this since I had never seen mutton curry presented that way. She tore off a piece of nan and got ready to dip it in her curry. She got a nan full of curry and gave it a try. While she was chewing she had a puzzled look on her face and kept saying "mmmm...mmmm..." like she was contemplating what she was eating. I gave it a try and had the same reaction. That's when I realized, this is REAL mutton curry. This curry had a strong flavor of mutton, and I mean strong. Eating that curry felt like the sheep ran and slammed itself into my mouth. I didn't mind how strong it was and thought the curry was OK. My wife, on the other hand, was not impressed. She thought that the nan was great and I agree. It was soft, and warm, and went well with the curry like every nan should. The mutton curry though, she was not a fan and she almost didn't finish it. I finished the rest of her curry and didn't dislike it, but I would probably not order it again.

Butter Chicken Curry with Cheese Nan

This was my order and when it arrived at my table it looked beautiful. The cheese nan was radiating an aura of cheesiness that I could not turn away from. The butter chicken smelled so good that I couldn't wait to dig in. What shocked me was there was a huge block of butter in the butter chicken which I had never seen before. I tore off a piece of cheese nan which felt so satisfying and dipped it into the curry. What came back was a world of cheese, spices, and a huge piece of chicken. This may have been the best butter chicken curry I have ever had. There was so much flavor in that curry that my mind didn't know how to process it. The melted butter from the block of butter just added to the amazing spice and flavor of the curry. What shocked me even more was how many huge pieces of chicken were in that curry. Usually, you are lucky to find two or three small pieces of chicken in other butter chicken curries, but this curry had around four huge pieces of chicken! Oh, and the cheese nan. Be still my heart. So much cheese on a soft and delicious nan. I was extremely happy with both my curry and nan. My wife liked my curry and nan selection. So much so that she had more of my curry and then she did hers. I was in cheesy buttery curry nan heaven the whole time I was eating this tasty meal.

After we finished our curries and nan, we were both stuffed. I wasn't sure we would need breakfast tomorrow morning. We thanked the staff, paid our bill (a bit expensive but a lot of food), and headed home.

Guns was an interesting and delicious Indian cuisine experience. I felt like I had very authentic Indian food. It might be a bit pricey but you do get a lot of food. I hope to visit again soon and give their other curries a try.

So if you are around Tsukuba University and are in the mood for some Indian cuisine, why not give Guns Indian Cuisine and Sweets a chance? Who knows, you might see us there, me lovingly staring at my cheese nan while dipping it into curry while my wife appeases her sweet tooth with some Indian sweets.
Enjoy!

For more information on Guns, check out their gurunavi page:
https://gurunavi.com/en/p830800/rst/