Yabu: The House of Katsu

I've long been tempted to try this restaurant, thanks to the many Instagram photos I've seen of its specialty dish: the tonkatsu sets. Not only did they look appetizing, but together with the photo filters, they were so pretty I wanted to see them personally served to me as well.

Upon ordering, we were given a bowl of sesame seeds, which we were supposed to grind to a powder, or thereabout. This serves as the base for the tonkatsu sauce.

For this outing, I decided to try the Rosu set (P405 - 180g; P355 - 120g; P315 - 90g). The pork loin is 3/4-inch thick with a trimming of fat, and the dish is served with Japanese rice (unlimited), miso soup, Japanese pickles, cabbage (unlimited), and three quarter slices of pineapples and watermelon. The cabbage dressing comes in two choices: shoyu vinaigrette (my preference) and sesame paste (cream-based, which we found watery/bland that we had to ask for a second bottle to share among the four of us).

Rosu (pork loin) set, 180g

The cutlet was indeed, as the menu described it, thick and juicy. There was also a freshness and 'cleanness' to it, which I can't say the same of other tonkatsu meals I've had––not that they were not fresh or that there was anything wrong with them––but you can tell that Yabu is serving you premium meat. (It's also so thick and filling that I ended up not finishing my plate.) The cabbage is beautifully shredded and reminds me of Sunday mornings, for nostalgic reasons.

For those that prefer their meat lean (no fat), there is the Hire set priced at P405 (150g) and P330 (100g). Another option is the Kurobata Pork set, which is named after the Black Berkshire pig, whose meat are highly prized in Japan.

Yabu: The House of Katsu

2/F Atrium, SM Megamall
Julio Vargas Ave, Brgy Wack Wack
Mandaluyong City, Philippines

+63 2 576 3900
www.yabuhouseofkatsu.com
Twitter: @yabuPH
Facebook: www.facebook.com/yabuhouseofkatsu