Best in Class: Tonkatsu
Have you ever eaten something so shockingly delicious that it completely changes the way you categorically think about that particular dish?
I have.
Whenever I encounter one of these moments, it is truly one of those “height of life” experiences for me. Sounds dramatic, but it’s true! Over the years, I have found myself actively seeking out more of these food discovery moments, a bite that completely changes the way I think about the potential of a dish. Usually resulting down an immediate Google search rabbit hole: exploring recipes, techniques, and mapping out eateries all over the world to continue the journey of finding the next best rendition.
In today’s post, I will share one of these culinary quests, a story that begins in the summer of 2019.
the first encounter
It was a Sunday afternoon in the summer of 2019. At the time, I was living in Seattle, but it was not uncommon for me to find myself in Vancouver (British Columbia, not Washington) on a random weekend. A ~2.5-hour drive away, Vancouver is a foodie mecca for Asian cuisine, and Ihad my weekend day trips planned down to a T.
Head out early morning, arrive for a dimsum brunch in Richmond (my favorite being Fisherman’s Terrace in Aberdeen Mall). Peruse the shops at Granville Market or walk around/bike Stanley Park to digest my previous meal in preparation for my next meal. Grab an early dinner on Robson Street, hit up a post-dinner boba or Hokkaido cheese tart at Castella Cheesecake, and then drive back home to Seattle, utilizing the Global Entry line at the border, of course.
This time, our early dinner on Robson Street brought us to a restaurant called Saku. Now this was a recommendation by a trusted friend, who raved about this tonkatsu being one of the best they ever had. But I was skeptical—how much better could this be than ones I have had or even made myself in the past?
What is tonkatsu
Tonkatsu is a popular Japanese dish consisting of breaded and deep-fried pork cutlets. The word "tonkatsu" is a combination of "ton" (pork) and "katsu" (cutlet). To prepare tonkatsu, pork loin or pork tenderloin is typically pounded thin, then dipped in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs before being deep-fried until golden brown and crispy. Tonkatsu is often served with shredded cabbage, rice, and a tangy tonkatsu sauce, which is a thick, sweet-savory sauce similar to Worcestershire sauce but specifically made for tonkatsu.
Well, as it turns out. Much better.
When you first get seated, you are greeted with a simple, yet large menu of all the different variations of pork cuts that can be breaded and fried into katsu. Most of the menu is the same: some sort of fried protein + rice + soup + simple cabbage salad. Your protein options are usually some cut of pork (loin vs. tenderloin), plain or can come stuffed with cheese, served with a side of curry, etc. You are served two sauces: an addictive light citrusy dressing for the salad and the darker BBQ-like sauce for the katsu.
The GIANORMOUS plate of katsu was delivered. We had ordered the variety set to share, which came with both the pork loin and tenderloin, cheese katsu, shrimp, scallop, AND fried eggplant (as pictured below).
I took my first bite of the pork loin.Wow.
Crisp.
Light.
Fluffy…?
I took a bite of the tenderloin.Juicy.
Tender.
Somehow, the tenderloin was even better.From that moment on, Saku became a fixture in my weekend Vancouver day trip itinerary. Despite my efforts to find a comparable version in Seattle, every tonkatsu I tried simply fell short—either too oily, too dry inside, or just meh. But now I knew that a truly impeccable version of a fried, breaded pork cutlet did exist. And I made it my personal mission to find a version that would surpass even what I had here.
📍SakuAddress: 1588 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6G 2G5, CanadaWebsite: https://www.sakuvancouver.com/ What to order: The Zenbu Katsu set which comes with loin, tenderloin, chicken thigh, cheese-filled pork katsu, shrimp, scallop, and fried veggies. You can add an additional set of rice, salad, and soup and share this combo between you and a friend.the source
It is now September 2022. I moved from Seattle to New York City earlier this year, while working fully remote for a SF-based tech startup. However, today, I was in Tokyo. It would be two weeks before Japan reopened its doors to tourists after being closed for the two and a half years due to the COVID pandemic, but I was here for a work conference and managed to secure a business visa for the occasion.
On this particular evening, we had just finished our work commitments for the day, and my coworker and I found ourselves in a taxi heading into the city for a meal. She was routing us to a tonkatsu restaurant recommended by a former colleague, a Tokyo native, who insisted it was the one meal she needed to have before leaving Tokyo.
The taxi driver turned into a quiet alleyway in the Akasaka neighborhood, an area known as the upscale business district, and dropped us off in front of an unassuming entrance. So unassuming that we almost couldn’t find the restaurant's door.
The menu at Tonkatsu Masamune is simple. Again, you pick from a variety of pork cuts, like hire (pork fillet) or rosu (pork loin), and they even have some premium “special” and “extra special” cuts, but those were sold out by the time we arrived. I opted for the hire fillet as recommended by the staff. Masamune uses Waton Mochibuta pork, which is a Japanese crossbreed known for its distinctive marbling, tenderness, and rich flavor. They also serve Koshi Ibuki rice, grown in the Niigata prefecture, an area of Japan known for.… well, their rice. Many of the restaurants I went to in Tokyo really boasted about their ingredient sourcing and it seems to be a big part of the culinary culture here.
My tonkatsu arrived with the usual accompaniments, but they highly recommend that you try their katsu with a light dab of salt and squeeze of lemon to really highlight the flavor of the pork itself.
This tonkatsu was perfect.
Perfectly fried. Perfectly crisp, marbled, flavorful. The pork was tender and juicy. And the salt and lemon provided the right amount of acidity to really round out the experience. Pork in other countries is somehow always tastier than what I can find in the US.
This was it. Going to the source—Japan, the country where tonkatsu originates from—led me to find the best in class of them all. Because tonkatsu is a simple dish, the two things that make it stand out are 1) high-quality ingredients and 2) the breading and frying technique that results in a light and airy crust. Besides the pork, I think it is also much easier to source good quality panko breadcrumbs locally. One thing that I have noticed as a key component of an excellent tonkatsu is utilizing large panko breadcrumbs, where each flake is much bigger in size than the ones I have seen sold in grocery stores. Maybe it has to be homemade? Not sure, I haven’t quite figured that piece out.
Anyway, I ended up having another meal of tonkatsu at a different spot during this trip, which was also very good, but Masamune is the one that I still think about to this day.
📍Masamune とんかつ まさむねAddress: 2 Chome-8-19 Akasaka, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0052, JapanWebsite: http://www.tonkatsu-masamune.com/What to order: Look for "ひれかつ" which is the fillet set aka pork tenderloin.the pleasant surprise
After coming back from Japan, I had fully accepted that I would not find a truly great tonkatsu in New York City.
This sounds dramatic of me, I know, but I had already sampled some of the city's highest-rated katsu spots, and all of them fell short. Don’t get me wrong—they were still good, and I would happily return to many of them. However, none of them matched the excitement or tantalizing textures of my previous experiences. The breading was often too dense, the pork too dry, and the dish overall too oily. Sometimes, the breading would even become so soggy and heavy that the fillet would completely lift off its crust.
Now New York City is home to a lot of great cuisine, and with that, many outstanding Japanese restaurants that specialize in ramen, sushi, udon, soba, and more. But for some reason, I had not been able to find an outstanding tonkatsu spot. That was, until I saw an Eater article announcing that Konban, a Japanese restaurant based in Seoul, Korea was opening up in Chelsea at the end of the year, with their grand opening date set for December 13, 2023. Yup, you read that right—a Korean restaurant group opening a spot specializing in Japanese-style tonkatsu. I was intrigued, but I tempered my expectations.
I visited Konban for the first time in early January 2024. My friend and I ordered both cuts of tonkatsu off the menu: the loin and the tenderloin.
It arrived side-by-side on a single plate — served with truffle salt, wasabi, and a side of tonkatsu sauce (though they recommend trying it pure and unaccompanied at first). The tonkatsu here is marinated in koji — a fermented rice seasoning also used in the production of things like sake, miso, soy sauce — then breaded and quickly fried. The pork is just cooked through, with a slightly pink center (yes, pork can be safely eaten at medium rare). Visually, the pork is juicy, the panko breadcrumbs are large and flaky, and the paper the katsu is served on is free of oil spots that otherwise could indicate an overly oily bite.
CRONCH
Crunchy, light, airy, juicy.
Fried to perfection.
Deeply flavorful and umami from the koji marinade.
Delicious.
Now, Konban isn't traditional. Their menu is mostly tapas-style, with katsu being just a part of it rather than the namesake and centerpiece. It is pricey, as most New York City restaurants are, and portions are small. The katsu is served on paper rather than a wire rack, so it could steam up and get soggy if not eaten immediately. However, the execution is spot-on, resulting in a tonkatsu with a light and airy crust and a thick-cut, juicy interior.
I had finally found a great tonkatsu in my home city, and for that, I am satisfied 😊
📍konban NYCAddress: 311 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011Website: https://www.konbannyc.com/ What to order: The tenderloin katsu + mazemen udon (housemade made udon noodles with a spicy pork and almond butter sauce)closing thoughts
Thank you for reading to the end of my first installment of best in class — a foodie series where I’ll share more of these moments where I try something that categorically changed the way I thought about that particular food/dish.
In the meantime, let me know in the comments if:
This experience is relatable at all (or is it just me 😱?!)
You have been to any of these restaurants and what you thought about them
Any favorite tonkatsu spots to share
Recipe techniques? Where to buy large, flaky panko breadcrumbs?
Until next time 👋
Amanda
