These Little Piggies Went to Katsukura

Back at home, folks tend to stay away from 1) chain restaurants and 2) fried food. If you're in Japan, put those notions aside or else you'll seriously miss out. The chain restaurants in Japan have a much higher level of food quality compared to the American restaurant chains.

In Japan, most restaurants specialize in a particular style or food. You probably won't find sushi and tempura on the same menu. One might think, "lack of choices" but don't worry, you'll find choices, like at Katsukura, a tonkatsu house that Fumiko-san introduced to us. We had many choices: type of cutlet, size, combination plates or the prized Kurobuta pork. Some of the selections were just too much food for me, so I opted for the minced pork and shiso with ebi-tempura. I don't know how the Japanese do it, but when they fry food, you don't get the heavy, grease-laden feeling. I know, it's still not the healthiest meal, but there's less of the guilt factor after dinner a la "I shouldn't have eaten the whole thing."



The sleeper hit for us was cabbage. See my shrimp resting on what one might think is a bed of too much garnish? Topped with a tangy sesame sauce, the cabbage was transformed into a oiishi (delicious) salad. Added novelty for us was that we were given a suribachi and surikogi to crush sesame seeds and then blend in the Katsukura special sauce. Greg inspired us all to make goofy faces as we ground our sesame seeds.



Katsukura is located in the Takashimaya Times Square shopping center, outside of Shinjuku station. When in doubt, head to the dining floors of any department store and you'll find plenty of restaurants.

* If there is anyone out there who has a recipe to the tangy sesame sauce, please forward to me!