Crispy Tonkatsu

Crispy Tonkatsu(at least that's what the sign and business card says), shares the Zion Marketplace Food Court with  Happy Meal.

While having lunch at Happy Meal, I noticed a group of guys having lunch from Tonkatsu, and I must say it looked pretty good. So I decided to check it out for myself. The menu at Crispy Tonkatsu is rather small, and consists mainly of...what else? Katsu, though Udon, and other items are available. There is also an interesting handwritten sign titled the "Well Being Project" describing how healthy, and fresh the food at Tonkatsu is. This really cracked me up, after all, we're talking about breaded, deep-fried, pork cutlet, right?

On this day I ordered the Chicken Katsu($6.99 - $7.99 dinner):

This rather hefty lunch came with a rather watered down miso soup. Two pieces of crispy fried mandu, which were on the skimpy side, but not bad. And a "salad", that was a basically a cole slaw "mix". The dressing was quite unusual, I'm pretty sure it was a blended asian pear, rice vinegar, and sugar, type dressing. A bit too sweet for my tastes.

In addition to the good sized bowl of rice, was a small portion of Baechu Kimchi(not very good), and some fairly good pickled radish(daikon). A single pitted, canned Lychee was provided as a dessert/palate cleanser.

The Chicken Cutlet was perfectly fried, and moist, the breading was crisp, and on the lighter side. It's just about the same as the katsu, though not quite as flavorful as the version I make at home. The Tonkatsu sauce was another story. I'd say that it was probably the worst tonkatsu sauce that I ever had(next to the lousy sweet-sour stuff at L&L), watery, really low on flavor.

Still, not bad for $6.99.

I'm afraid to say that I wasn't through. On the day I had made up my mind to check out Crispy Tonkatsu, I saw the Gentlemen on the next table sharing some really plump, good looking Gyoza. Good enough to cause me to go into a bout of Gyoza envy. I'm not a big fan of how many lower priced places make Gyoza, because it's usually the same as store bought Gyoza...remove from plastic bag, and thrown in the fryer. But these looked pretty good, so I ordered some ($2.99):

What arrived didn't look quite as plump as I had remembered seeing. I guess it could just be a case of "the Gyoza on the other table always looks better." Still these weren't bad at all, there was a mild ginger flavor in the meat filling, and the soy based dipping sauce wasn't too bad.

I don't know if I'd have these again, but they were not as bad as most.

Here's a photo of the whole thing.

The prices at Crispy Tonkatsu are very reasonable, and I believe you get your money's worth, at least for lunch, when everything is a buck cheaper than dinner. The ordering process is the same as Happy Meal's, you place your order at the counter, pay, have a seat, and your food is brought to your table.

Overall, not bad....but please, don't tell me about the health benefits of Tonkatsu....I already know them!

Crispy Tonkatsu
4611 Mercury St
San Diego, CA
In the Zion Marketplace Food Court

Comments

[Passionate Eater]

I know what you're talking about gyoza-envy, those gyozas that you have look pretty darn delici-yoso, although they tasted sub-par. :(

[Ted]

Wow Kirk... you eat so much! (Don't take offense.)

It seems this is one of your more favorable Katsu reviews. How does it compare with Da Kitchen? Could you get a tastier sauce to put on the kitchen?

-Ted

[Nguyen]

I was just at Zion today as well. I bought 4 bottles of soju.

[dietchilicheesefries]

hey kirk,

i think if i knew i would be eating tonkatsu for lunch, i would definitely be carrying a bottle of Bulldog sauce next to my Tapatio and peppermill... just in case....

bad sauce can ruin your day...

someone open a tonkatsu place in the 909 please... i'm really getting tired of cheeseburgers...

[Rachel]

LOL kirk ... I like your case of gyoza envy. Funny thing is that the object of your food lust can grow bigger and bigger in your mind until the overwhelming urge to eat it makes you order it ... and sadly it often is not as good as you thought.

That katsu looked quite juicy. At least it wasn't dry. I have had really bad dry katsu before with chewy pork.

Anyway, that set looked like a good value even if it wasn't the best.

[elmomonster]

Now that's a lunch. Any "health benefits" of the deep fried chicken cutlet was only doubled when you ordered that extra side dish! Add a boba drink and I think you might live to a 100! HAHA!

[Chubbypanda]

Goodness, Kirk! How much penance are you going to have to do to sweat that lunch off? =b

... You're probably one of those waifishly thin people who can eat anything, aren't you. Like my brother. Grrr...

- CP

[Emily]

OMG, crispy and plump in the same post...this is just too much for me

[Fred]

Heh, the health benefits of tonkatsu...that's a good one. Tonkatsu doesn't even really work for Atkin's, since the pork is covered in bread crumbs.

Would the tonkatsu there work if one were to order that and sneak in one's own tonkatsu sauce? Maybe some good stuff bought at Mitsuwa, just up the street.

[Captain Jack]

Hey Kirk,
Was that tonkatsu sauce we had for lunch at Sakura? I could eat that stuff on cardboard. Do you know how to make it?

[Kirk]

Hi PE - They looked very good, but didn't taste as good as they looked...I swear that the plate of Gyoza I saw on a previous visit, was like twice the size of these. Sigh, gyoza envy is such an evil affliction.

Hi Ted - Well, I choose my spots, and on this day I was starved. The portion size of katsu at Da Kitchen is at least double.... I think you could just bring your own katsu sauce, and use that.

Hi Nguyen - Be careful with that stuff...you know what they say. 1 soju, 2 soju, 3 soju, floor!

Hi DCCF - Yep, you'll need to keep your "Sauce kit" with you for this one.

Hi Rachel - Good tonkatsu is really hard to find....Chicken katsu is much easier to make.

Hi Elmo - I think it's more like your cholesterol goes up by 100!

Hi CP - Not exactly....at my age I need to pick my spots.

Hi Emily - LOL! I guess crispy, plump, and juicy would put you over the edge?

Hi Fred - I think that would be the answer...bring your own katsu sauce...actually when you purchase a bento from Nijiya, grab a few extra packets of katsu sauce...that might do the trick!

Hi Captain Jack - You with the Croquette? Yes, that was it. I have a recipe in my Okonomiyak post:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2006/05/okonomiyaki.html

Very easy to make, but doesn't keep for very long.

[Ed]

Oooh, soju at Zion Market - even cheaper than the places in LA KTown! Bokbunjaju (raspberry brandy/wine) too. And I've seen bottles of meoruju (Korean wild grape liquor) - has anyone tasted that yet?

[Emily]

Yes Kirk, right over the edge and into the abyss and yet, when I type those words into google I find only one response

http://www.google.fr/search?hl=fr&q=%22crispy%2C+plump+and+juicy%22&btnG=Rechercher&meta

perhaps this is my sole/soul mate...or perhaps this is just a cool idea for someone's blog...

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - Watch out for the Meoru Wine...gave me qutie a headache - did you know that they sell it as a sort of healthy elixir?

Hi Emily - I'm sorry, I thought that you'd be the "one and only!" LOL!

[Ed]

Wow, headache-inducing Meoruju - now I'm really curious - I'll have to get it from Zion the next time I'm in the area. And what ailments does this elixir supposedly mitigate?

"Elixir"... Heh, sounds so "Hobbit"-ish. Perhaps this is what Gollum needed for his split personality problems, especially if this induces headaches...

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - Several drinks give me headaches...rum among them - it could be a sensitivity - sake, scotch, most beer does not. Framboise is the worst for me.

[Denver]

Thanks for reviewing Crispy Tonkatsi. I've always wondered about that place since the food looked pretty good. Problem is that I'm such a regular customer at Happy Meal that if I had a meal at Crispy Tonkatsu, the lady at Happy Meal would go after me with a meat cleaver for defecting! :)

[Kirk]

Hi Denver - Now we wouldn't want to make the Happy Meal people Un-Happy would we? Especially since you're a regular.