Tori Chizu

Tonkatsu by Terazawa

Crazy Katsu

Monique had to stay late in school to listen to a talk by a famous Senator of the Republic.  I was supposed to arrive at 7pm to pick her up, but got there by 7:40pm instead; the traffic along Quezon Boulevard was horrible and I spent almost two and a half hours on the road. She was fighting a tiring bout with the sniffles; her clogged nose and teary eyes weighed heavily on her countenance.  She was hungry.  I suggested dinner at Trellis, but when we passed by the Crazy Katsu shop along Maginhawa St., there was a parking space right in front of the restaurant and we took the opportunity to try the place.  

The sukiyaki (P190) came in hot, just perfect to soothe her throat.  The bowl was big enough for the both of us.  The gyoza (P130) was stuffed generously and tasted quite authentic.  The katsu (P150) was not bad for the price; it wasn't the most tender katsu that we have tried, nor the most flavorful, but it was good bang for the buck.

It was a Friday night and the air-conditioned area was so full that we had to eat at the outdoor dining section.  I had thought that the crowd was indicative of the night time student life in the UP area, but I could see that several tables were taken by families and office buddies.  I would guess that our bill of around P300 per person can still be considered pretty high for students on a tight budget.  

Saboten

My birthday treat with the Callars was scheduled on a Sunday lunch, but we got to Makati close to 1:30pm already.  We were hungry!  Mikey and I were even hungrier, as we had to park at the Link, which was a 10 minute walk away from Saboten, a franchise tonkatsu restaurant operated by the Raintree group. 

We started with plenty of cabbage salad in sesame seed sauce, and miso soup (included in the set meals).  Our tonkatsu came in different styles--plain fried, with egg, with curry sauce, and garnished with shredded radish (with grapefruit on the side).  The Japanese rice smelled wonderful and tasted great; the round grains and sticky consistency are qualities that I will sorely miss.  We ordered loin cuts instead of the tenderloin cuts (I must agree with the observation of the ladies that the added fat gives a more flavorful tonkatsu).

The chocolate cake wasn't bad, but I liked the macha lychee cake, which was quite unique.  Average spend is around P500 per head, because you can ask for added cabbage, soup and rice, you tummy can get quite full.  I understand from the food servers that the original Saboten outlet started in the sixties, and that the chain has around 500 shops in Japan (Saboten means "cactus" in Japanese).

Kimukatsu

My trucker's group really loves good food.  This time around, we had dinner in Kimukatsu, a Japanese tonkatsu restaurant at the new wing of the Shangrila Mall.  The twist?  While it looks like an ordinary katsu, this dish is actually made from several paper-thin slices of good pork cutlets.  I would guess that the thin slices allows seasoning to penetrate, and the resulting taste makes the style so popular with the hip younger crowd.

I topped off my meal with green tea ice cream, which was light and had just the right amount of sweetness.  Interiors are modern, but because the walls and the tables are all in black, I felt that the lighting was on the dark side.  For this restaurant, you can make do with P500 per head, but to really enjoy, just prepare something like P750 per head.

Yabu: The House of Katsu

I first noticed Yabu at the Robinson's Magnolia a couple of months ago, and I was quite amazed at the long waiting line of lunchtime customers.  Right after Vicky and Monique finished the passport renewal process at the DFA, they were famished for a late lunch, and we found ourselves walking into the Yabu store at the 2nd floor Atrium of SM Megamall (at 3pm they had available seats).  This store specializes in katsu (Japanese style fried breaded pork).  The interiors were simple and well lit; the staff were courteous and quite helpful.

What Kobe is to beef, Berkshire is to pork, and Yabu prides itself with their Berkshire pork katsu.  We enjoyed the dish--3/4 of an inch thick, crispy light brown breading, juicy center and served hot!

To gain perspective, we also had some chicken katsu and pork curry, which were also prepared well.  The tray comes with unlimited rice and salad (Japanese coleslaw).  Monique noted that while there was a big price difference between Berkshire pork and local pork, the taste and texture were not really far apart--if you're not particular, you won't be able to tell the difference.

The salad sauce is prepared with ground pepper, and we spent some time enjoying the ritual.    Do-it-yourself pepper grind, add lots of sauces to get the right flavor mix!  All in all, we spent something like P550 per head.  I understand that the restaurant was locally conceptualized with the help of some Japanese kitchen consultants, and I was pleasantly surprised to be informed that the store had a lot of repeat customers despite not being a franchise of an international chain.