When In Manila, “Katsu” is becoming more popular than ever and there are more restaurants that have it on their menu. There’s a new-kid-on-the-KATSU-block here in the metro, Ginza Bairin! Located along Palm Drive of the New Glorietta, their offering of Katsu sets will surely give you a different experience!
Katsu, a popular Japanese dish, is a deep-fried breaded pork cutlets. Basically, it’s the Japanese version of our “porkchop” —without the bone and huge strip of fat and pork skin. Ginza Bairin, a family-ran business, is one of the go-to-restaurant when it comes to anything Katsu in Japan with their flagship store at Ginza, a posh district in Tokyo.
With Katsu houses sprouting like mushroom over the metro, you might ask what the edge of Ginza Bairin is. They’re proud to say that they pioneered the special Tonkatsu sauce which is formulated by no less than the founder of the business himself, Nobukatsu Shibuya – even the word Katsu is present in his name! Shibuya is a pharmacist by profession and he used a specific kind of plum forest, or Bairin, for the special sauce that is exclusively used in Ginza Bairin stores only.
I don’t want to keep you waiting with the food photos, so I’ll start sharing what they served on our table that day. A food trip to a Japanese resto wouldn’t be complete without the Edamame.
Edamame (Php 115.00)
I must admit that before, I thought Edamame is the Japanese kind of string beans, apparently it’s not. It’s an immature soybeans in a pod, boiled and served with salt. Also, you don’t eat it as a whole, you just eat the beans inside. It’s also often present in Chinese and Hawaiian cuisines.
Now let’s start with my favorite, Special Katsudon.
Ginza Bairin’s Special Katsudon (Php 395.00) is now on the top of my list!
Ginza Bairin’s Special Katsudon has two eggs in it. An egg was used for the batter of the pork cutlet and another one was placed on top of it before serving. But, don’t worry because the Katsu was deep-fried using an oil which is significantly healthy. It’s the perfect indulgence after a hard day at work!
