YABU

TONKATSU is the fried chicken of pork. It is pork that is sliced, breaded and then deep fried.

Just as there are "Filipinized" versions of Spanish creations, the Japanese have what we might call "Japped" versions of European dishes as well. Tempura, for example, while being one of the most popular Japanese dishes today, was reportedly introduced to the Japs by the Portugese; tonkatsu, meanwhile, is said to have been influenced by the French.

"The "katsu" in tonkatsu is short for the Japanese rendering of "cutlet" -- katsuretto -- suggesting the dish derives from either the French cotolette or Italian cotoletta alla milanese, although the former is more plausible given Japan's embrace of French cuisine during the country's Westernization that began in the Meiji period (1868-1912). (Ton means pork in Japanese.)" [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125134699586862865.html]

In Japan, there are tonkatsuyas or establishments entirely devoted to tonkatsu. The quest to find the best tonkatsu is like the quest to find the best ramen. Some people are just obsessed with it! (I guess it's just like our quest to find the best adobo.)

All tonkatsuya offer a choice of meat cuts: fatty sirloin of pork (rosu), or lean fillet (fire), with the lean meat being always more pricey. But regardless of location, price, quality of ingredients or culinary skill, the composition of a tonkatsu set is always the same: a sliced golden-fried cutlet, a bowl of hot white rice and heaps of finely shredded cabbage. The visual starkness of tonkatsu embodies the Japanese food-culture aesthetic. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125134699586862865.html)

Here in Manila, you can find hearty, memorable tonkatsu at a small restaurant in, of all places, Megamall! The name is YABU.

 

You may opt to have a few nibblers before your main course such as the edamame and tofu pictured above.  But the game only begins once the tonkatsu is laid on your table.

It looks like a simple dish but sometimes these are the hardest to perfect! Especially for those who take their tonkatsu seriously.

Proper preparation is, well, a practiced art: "It's nothing but oil, temperature and timing," says Kazuya Takeda, chef at the tonkatsuya Takeshin Bunten, of what makes the best tonkatsu. "And of course ingredient quality." ... From the flake size of the panko or breadcrumbs (the finer the flake, the harder the crust), to the ideal oil temperature (some say 110 degrees Celsius, others say 180 or 165), the type of oil (including lard, soy, canola and sesame, among others), to the timing, every factor counts.[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125134699586862865.html]

All tonkatsus come with the same serving of miso soup and rice. And the sauces are laid out for you already on the table. Mix the sauce in with these sesame seeds. 

If you are here to indulge in the best tonkatsu anyway, don't throw away your money with the regular kinds of pork. Have the Kurobuta Pork Tonkatsu. And you will go home not only full but fulfilled! Cap the meal with a glass of shoyu!

YABU: HOUSE OF KATSU

2/F, SM Megamall, Julia Vargas Ave

Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila

Philippines

+63 2 576 3900
Major credit cards accepted
Wheelchair accessible
No reservations required
Mall casual