Tucked within the SM North Edsa Skygarden’s row of establishments, King Katsu may be something you’d easily miss. But if you’ve been jonesing for some flavorful tonkatsu in town, then King Katsu will certainly satiate you. Tonkatsu has a passionate fan base next to Ramen. I bet one day it will even become more popular. At King Katsu, Tonkatsu—breaded and deep fried premium pork on top of steaming white rice, served with shredded cabbage, which they fondly call as “angel hair cabbage”, a cup of miso soup with my favorite Wakami (seaweed) leaves and soft Japanese tofu cubes are enough to make my day. Fried pork + hot rice: two Filipino staple foods indeed! It’s not surprising that Tonkatsu had become so dear to us and so appealing to our appetites.
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| Miso Soup with wakami leaves |
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| Chicken Tonkatsu with Angel Hair Cabbage and Sesame Dressing |
From the same company behind Big Better Burger comes King Katsu, which had just opened in June 2013. Apparently, business has been booming since it has opened its doors—a need has been fulfilled, a more affordable tonkatsu for the masses without sacrificing its quality and taste.
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| King Katsu's Katsudon with Shiitake Mushroom |
For non-foodies, Tonkatsu is simply just a breaded pork chop. But at King Katsu, the pork is amazingly fork tender, with sealed flavor, juicy yet non-greasy. It has an irresistible crunch and the golden brown color after deep-frying perfectly creates the meal. The King Katsu meals are complemented with unlimited rice and refillable sauces. Carb-loving Filipinos will surely enjoy this refillable rice, and to refresh the palate, the coleslaw-like angel hair cabbage salad goes well with the creamy sesame dressing.
At King Katsu, just like in most katsu joints, they have mortar and pestle sets where you pound the sesame seeds first and add the katsu sauce from a pot.
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| Mortar and Pestle Grinder for sesame seeds |
King Katsu’s Pork Tonkatsu is available in two sizes: regular is sold at P149 while the large one is at P169 (both are reasonably priced and served with angel hair cabbage, miso soup and unlimited rice) Chicken Tonkatsu (better known as Torikatsu in Japan) is at P152 and for a healthy option, Fish tonkatsu is at P159.
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| Pork Tonkatsu with rice, sesame dressinng and angel hair cabbage |
King Katsu’s take on Japanese curry is also delicious but it’s a little mild for me. I was expecting an added kick on my meal since it’s curry based, but there’s none. I guess they had tweaked in their Katsu Curry meals to suit the Filipino palate. It’s quite easy to understand since not everyone likes to have their meals spicy. I strongly suggest that they either make two variants of the dish: one mild and one spicy or they could put in the menu that guests can request how they’d like to have their dish.
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| King Katsu's Curry chicken |
I had enjoyed the Pork tonkatsu, chicken tonkatsu, katsu curry pork and katsu curry chicken, but I am partial to the chicken katsudon (P152) and pork katsudon (P149). With thin slices of shiitake mushrooms and egg simmered to perfection in some soy and sake wine sauce, I’d certainly come back to King Katsu again and again. I will definitely recommend katsudon (regardless if its chicken or pork) at King Katsu for everyone to try.
One could also try King Katsu’s shrimp pork fry (P179), Shrimp fish fry (P249), King curry (P139), Niku Dango (Pork balls glaced with sweet teriyaki sauce, 3 sticks per order) at P119, Yakitori (Skewered and glazed with King Katsu’s special marinade) such as pork tenderloin, chicken thigh and eggplant.
Surprisingly, I had asked for a second helping of their angel hair cabbage. I loved these thin shredded greens and drench them in sesame dressing for a perfect way to cap off my meal at King Katsu. In my case, since I am currently on a diet program, I even used this angel hair cabbage as an alternative to rice.
My King Katsu experience can be summarized in eight words: Come for the delicious pork at affordable price.
King Katsu is located at the SM North Edsa Skygarden (if you’re going to SM Annex, you’ll surely pass by King Katsu).
Security Blanket thanks King Katsu’s Mr. Miguel Teotico and Alexis Mendoza.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated for this post. Opinions expressed are 100% my own.
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