Our friend brought us here. This was the first place where I realized I understood nothing about Japanese addresses. We found it by the three pigs.
She must know me well, as they have lots of good fried goodness.
I like tonkatsu, and this was fried well. The pork cutlet was normal in flavor and quality; what I liked about it was the flakiness and the fried texture.
I would go back if I was near.
Katsuhei
7-11-7 Tsukiji
Chuo 104-0045, Tokyo
I read about this place having good tonkatsu.
The restaurant looks unassuming.
On the menu, I noticed one page was devoted to black pig from some special location. It cost more than the usual pork cutlet, and it pretty much had one page all to itself. I ordered it. It came with a sweet plum sauce, and came on a wire mesh tray unlike the normal tonkatsu.
This was THE BEST tonkatsu I’ve ever had in my life. The meat really was better than the standard cutlet (which is already good), and the frying quality exceeded that from Katsuhei, which has a lighter crust that I also liked. I can see why this item is the only one on one menu page.
DAT SAUCE THO.
I think what really made it for me was not just the superior meat quality and masterful frying, but the way the sauce complemented and completed the dish. This sauce isn’t normally on the table, and didn’t come with the standard pork cutlet tonkatsu, which I tried at a later date.
The standard cutlet with Japanese curry. Though it was “standard”, it was still good. Better than CoCo Curry House of course. How is it that Japanese frying doesn’t feel all greasy like American frying?
The rice is better in Japan than in the states. And/or they make it better there.
Tonkatsu Maisen
Tokyu Department Toyoko Store 9F
2 Chome-24-1
Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0000
Japan
A chain restaurant, I think.
I’d rather go to Katsuhei, which is also reasonably priced but has a better depth of flavor in its curry.
CoCo Curry House
28-7, Taito 4-Chōme
Taito, Tokyo
Japan 110-0016
