Kagoshima is a prefecture located on the island of Kyushu in Japan and is famous for its Tonkatsu. In fact, almost every Tonkatsu restaurant in Singapore pride themselves in serving Kurobuta – Black Pork, which is imported from Kagoshima prefecture. One of my goals was to eat the famous Kurobuta(not to be confused with the restaurant “Kurobuta”) when I visited Kagoshima. The restaurant that I had in mind was Kurokatsutei, which was recommended to me by an acquaintance. Even though I didn’t dine at the restaurant due to it being closed, they happened to have an outlet in Fukuoka, and my goal of eating Kurobuta was fulfilled!
The restaurant had a lunch and dinner menu in both English and Japanese, with the latter being more expensive. I ordered set G which was the recommended Special Loin Cutlet set meal(2590 yen/$24.43 SGD). It came with rice, miso soup, and cabbage. Condiments included salt and ponzu sauce with radish on top.
My first bite of the Tonkatsu was exquisite due to the crispiness of the batter, coupled with the succulent and juicy meat.The tonkatsu was not oily at all. It was very light even though it was deep-fried. It was nice to have Tonkatsu that is this fresh, as the ones in Singapore are often air-flown from overseas frozen, which makes the pork hard despite thawing it. The layer of fat that was present in the meat also gave it a gelatinous feeling, which made it even more delicious.
The common way to eat Tonkatsu in Japan is to eat it on its own first to savour the taste of Tonkatsu without the condiments, followed by eating it with salt and then with ponzu sauce. I tried all three methods but I loved eating the Tonkatsu meat with salt the most as it was the perfect combination to the luscious taste and texture of the meat.
I found the miso soup to be interesting, as it was cooked with onions in it. This gave the soup a tinge of sweetness, and coupled with its rich miso taste, made the soup delicious to drink.
Kurokatsutei has smashed all my expectations as it is the best Tonkatsu I’ve ever eaten! The divine Tonkatsu meat, along with the unique style and richness of miso soup, made this the best Tonkatsu meal I’ve ever had!
Ratings:
Food: 9/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambience: 7.5/10
Kagoshima Kurokatsutei Hakataamyupurazaten
Japan, 〒812-0012 Fukuoka, Hakata Ward, Hakataekichuogai, 1−1番1号 くうてん 9Ｆ
Opening hours: Daily from 11am – 10pm
