Twice as nice with Maisen
Japan's well-known tonkatsu chain opens a second Bangkok branch
MAISEN, ONE of Japan’s most popular tonkatsu restaurants, credits the inspiration for its famed deep-fried pork cutlets to a Japanese housewife who came up with the idea of serving a less oily version with a sauce based on unadon (sliced eel served on rice) back in 1965.
Today, Maisen’s has eight branches and 48 kiosks in subway stations around Japan, all of them packed during peak hours as customers queue to enjoy their tasty main dishes.
Bangkok foodies can also tease their taste buds thanks to S&P International Food, which opened the first franchise outlet in Silom last year.
“Our boss has been a Maisen fan since he studied in Japan. All the dishes we serve here are cooked to the original recipes and the quality is controlled by the restaurant chain’s head chef who visits Bangkok every three months,” says brand manager Siriwan Pichitchatree .
Thai customers are enjoying their tonkatsu so much that last month S&P opened a new branch on the second floor of J-Avenue mall. Already popular with both local residents and Japanese expats, it exudes a typical modern Japanese ambience with a bar counter and long wooden tables and benches.
Maisen uses the best meat on the Thai market and imports the herbs and a few other ingredients from Japan to ensure the flavour is authentic. Two sauces are on offer: Amakuchi (sweet soy sauce) and Karakuchi (salty and sour sauce).
“Our batter is crispy and light and we use less oil in the cooking process. The Kurobuta pork is tender and juicy, so much so that it can be cut with chopsticks.” Siriwan says. “Our set menus are particularly good value and they come with free refills of rice, miso soup and cabbage.”
We sample the generously portioned set of Kurobuta Katsumabushi for Bt395. It arrives with a bowl of rice topped with crispy fried Kurobuta pork with side dishes of onsen egg, miso soup, cabbage and Maisen almond custard.
You can opt to add flavour with sweet and sour Kurobuta sauce, a mix of fresh apple, mustard and salt blended with special spices, spice it up with more spring onion, sesame and wasabi or add some liquid with the mellow soup, which is made from dried fish.
Other recommended dishes are Fried Pork with Ginger, which is served with rice, miso soup and green tea ice cream (Bt275) and soft Maisen egg rolls (Bt165). A popular take away is the Shrimp Katsu Pocket Sandwich, which comes with tofu salad, Maisen almond custard and apple juice and is priced at Bt295.
For the little ones, the restaurant offers a Maisen Kid set that features
fried shrimp, mini tenderloin katsu, chicken karaage, onigiri and green tea ice cream for Bt255.
Also on the menu are grilled salmon with salt, shabu pork salad with ponzu sauce for Bt215 and zuwai crab and cucumber salad for Bt195.
Dessert choices are limited but what there is pleases. The Strawberry Daifuku (Bt55) is particularly scrumptious and we also enjoyed the Green Tea Ice Cream Sundae with red bean and whipped cream (Bt95).
“We’re opening two new branches at Siam Paragon and Suvarnabhumi Airport next month too.” Siriwan says.
CREATIVE CUTLETS
>>Maisen is located on the second floor of J-Avenue mall, Soi Thonglor 15. It’s open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 11pm and from 10am on Sunday. Call (02) 712 9066 or visit www.MaisenThailand.com and the “MaisenThailand” page on Facebook.
