Tonkatsu @ Kuro Katsu Tei, Yamashitacho, Kagoshima.

 

Hello dear readers! Hope you all had a good month of June despite what is going around in the world. I recently returned from a short weekend trip to Kagoshima as I need some time recharging time and also, to look for food. What else right? This was such an impromptu and compulsive trip that I did all the booking and planning in a week. In fact my itinerary was pretty bare. Lucky I have a friend that is from Kagoshima and she was really kind in giving me a great set of recommendations for me to try. 

A local icon

One of said recommendation is kurobuta(黒豚) or black pig in English. Similar to the Jeju pig or Iberico pork, kurobuta is known for its distinctive flavour and tenderness. It is highly prized and is a famed commodity in Kagoshima. She then recommended me her favourite kurobuta restaurant, Kuro Katsu Tei. Kuro Katsu Tei is a pork restaurant which specialises in tonkatsu, which is pork cutlets. They do have other pork based dishes like hot pot and grilled items, but the fried stuff is their main specialty. So it was a no brainer that I got their teishoku set. 

Ok, I need this!

That was initially the case, until I saw that they are now having a limited special which is their menchi katsu. And almost with just mere movement of instinct that I ordered one menchi katsu. I mean the leaflet says it is packed with pork juices. I can go for days on how much I love menchi katsu, which is my favourite Japanese dish in fact. Rather than going on a giant tirade please click here and here and here to look into my past experiences. 

Fit for a king. 

This meal really takes the cake. The overall platter that came before me was generous and really looked like a regal meal indeed. The tonkatsu mean was particularly tender and flavourful. It was a bit more delicate flavourwise compared to my other porky experiences. 

Perfection

The crust was fried well and was not really that greasy. Great fried foods should not be greasy, which is a paradox that work. And this was executed well. With that you are given a choice of two sauces or a salt mix as a flavouring condiment. I personally enjoyed the sesame sauce.

Grimy goodness

The menchi katsu was everything I liked about the dish. It was well fried and I can still feel the chunks of meat in the patty itself. It was loaded with porky juices which made this a multi dimensional experience. The outer part of the patty was also well fried, similar to the tonkatsu. This one was better taken on its own but feel free to dip into any of the condiments if you like. 

Heart warming.

One sleeper hit was the soup that came with it. Some shops just go the easy route and make simple miso soup made of miso paste and water. However, this shop served tonjiru (豚汁) which means pork miso soup. The ingredients in that one bowl was particularly generous. With bits of meat, veggies and konjac, this soup itself was a filling experience on its own. 

Another angle. 

Overall, this was an incredibly filling and satisfying lunch and hands down, a great place to chow. Food is honest, service is friendly and it was reasonably affordable. My lunch stood at about 1500 yen.  Do note that they have two outlets in Kagoshima, one in Tokyo and one in Fukuoka. So if you are not in Kagoshima, at least there are some closer options out there. If you would like to try the shop that I went to however, then the address is as follows:

2-2 Yamashitacho, Kagoshima-shi, Kagoshima 892-0816