Tag: pork tonkatsu

Tonkatsu Saboten, Shinjuku

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While staying at the Park Hyatt, I found out there was tonkatsu available in a lower floor. Had to check it out!

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I didn’t understand why I was given a stick in a tray, so I asked the staff. Turns out you use it to mix the sauce into the bowl with seeds.

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Lots of cabbage.

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Curry pork tonkatsu.

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Combination pork tonkatsu and shrimp

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It was ok. After Tonkatsu Maisen it’s hard to eat any other tonkatsu.

Tonkatsu Saboten
Shinjuku Park Tower B1F
3-7-1-2 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku
Tokyo, Japan, 163-1055
http://www.shinjukuparktower.com/en/shops.shtml

Tonkatsu Maisen, Part 2 (to go!), Lumine 1, Shibuya

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Since the restaurant was so good, I was curious about its to-go counter in the basement of a department store.

The tonkatsu bento. I think it also had croquettes at the top left, I forget.

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Even gave us utensils and wet napkins; everything needed to eat on the go!

 

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Tonkatsu cutlets are available solo. Comes with sauce packets.

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The fried pork cutlet sandwich.

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It was better with the sauces that came with the cutlet!

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My hotel did not have any means of reheating food, so everything was room temp and hours old at best. Despite that, it was still crispy (except the sandwich), still tasty, and I liked it. If only the states had something like this!

A really good option for eating to-go, even without reheating.

 

Tonkatsu Maisen to-go counter
Lumine 1 B2F
1-1-5 Nishi-Shinjuku
Shinjuku, Tokyo, 160-0023

Tonkatsu Maisen, Tokyu-Toyoko, Shibuya

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I read about this place having good tonkatsu.

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The restaurant looks unassuming.

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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.

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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.

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DAT SAUCE THO.

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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.

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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?

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The rice is better in Japan than in the states. And/or they make it better there.

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Tonkatsu Maisen
Tokyu Department Toyoko Store 9F
2 Chome-24-1
Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0000
Japan