Thursday 17 September 2009

Food Journey #19 -- Tonkichi (丼吉日本吉列專門店餐廳)


The infamous and the well acclaimed BEST TONKATSU in Hong Kong -- Tonkichi in World Trade Center in Causeway Bay. My reason for not reviewing this earlier is that (1) this restaurant does not take any reservations which is surreal and (2) it takes at least 90 mins to wait for a f*eaking table. Enough said but the quality of the Tonkatsu is certainly worth the wait. We choose to go on a Sunday and still had to wait 30 mins!!!!

Tonkatsu (Deep Fried Pork cutlet), was invented in the late 19th century and is one of the most popular dishes in Japan consisting of breaded deep fried pork served with shredded cabbage and miso soup. The pork fillet or loin parts are normally used. The breaded layer cannot be too thick and is usually 1 - 2cm thick.

Some of the signature & highlighted dishes which I want to share with my readers:

a) Tonkatsu with Egg & Don --
The Deep Fried Pork Cutlets was PERFECT, not too dense or greasy which is the way I like it. The eggs and seaweed are a perfect pairing with the deep fried pork cutlets and this dish is highly recommended on a Sunday for sure. On the side, it also includes shredded cabbage which you have a choice of a Seaweed Vinegar Sauce or a Yuzu Vinegrette. I highly recommend the Seaweed Vinegar Vingrette as it is so refreshing and delicious with the cabbage. Save your stomach space as the cabbage is a FREE REFILL therefore plenty of veggies for the meal. Go easy on the vinegrette as we finished 4 pots full of Seaweed Vinegar Sauce

b) Mixed Platter of Tonkatsu & Deep Fried Prawns --
Traditional method in eating Tonkatsu is with a Japanese style Worcestershire Sauce which I personally did not find the taste appealing at all therefore plentiful of spicy powder for me. The Deep Friend Prawns & are just normal therefore I do not have much to say as I prefer above Prawns in sashimi format therefore it does not have the same attraction to moi. Again, this platter comes with a bowl of rice (which you can enjoy unlimited refill), plateful of shredded cabbage (unlimited refill) & Miso Soup.

b) Deep Fried Giant Jumbo Prawn (a la carte)
-- Now, I was actually quite full after eating Part A and I was distracted by this lovely looking big boy. Imagine a 30cm Deep Fried Jumbo Prawn, can you picture it?? To be honest, the taste was very bland but I purely ordered it because I just wanted to conquer this little beast and it was quite a task in doing due to the size of the jumbo prawn.

Overall, this Sunday lunch was very filling and very high caloried for sure. Taste was superb and especially loved the free refill on the shredded cabbage & rice. I can see why it was worth the 30 min wait and no reservations allowed. Highly recommend this restaurant if you want some good & delicious authentic Tonkatsu!!

Address:
4/f, World Trade Center, 280 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong(銅鑼灣告士打道280號世貿中心412室)
Tel: 2577 6617

Food Quality
(5* the highest): ****

Price for lunch
(5$ = very expensive): $$$

2 comments:

  1. Actually Tonkichi does take reservations, but you have to book wayyyy ahead. It's a pretty good option for tonkatsu in HK. I went back recently (after my review: http://www.e-tingfood.com/2009/05/swine-pig-h1n1-its-all-tonkatsu-to-me.html) and had the tonkatsu + egg don, which I liked way more than the standard fried cutlet.

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  2. Hi ETing,

    Everytime I tried to call, they say no reservations therefore I have been quite fed up with this already. Agree, The Tonkatsu + Egg Don is very good and in fact I liked that the most. The Jumbo Prawns were also quite interesting as well.

    Happy Eating
    Geoff

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