More choices in crispy katsu
The restaurant Katsuya gets its name from "victory" and celebrates with a third branch in Bang Na
THE JAPANESE restaurant Katsuya was an immediate hit when it opened at the Siam Square One mall in July, offering a wide selection of traditional katsu dishes, crispy on the outside and soft inside.
The chain began with a small eatery in Kanagawa, founded in 1998, and soon had 260 branches in all the big cities of Japan. Thanks to its initial success Bangkok, there’s now a third branch in the southeastern suburbs, on the fifth floor of Central Bangna.
Katsuya means “victory”. Students in Japan routinely feast on tonkatsu and katsudon in the belief it will help them triumph in exams. The restaurant’s Bangkok outlets do have a “celebratory” decor amid the modern suspended lighting and stirring prints on the walls.
The branch in Bang Na is neat and simple, seating about 70 guests. It feels like someone’s home, albeit a minimalist one. You feel welcome and hungry for a lovely meal of large portions.
Most of the ingredients used – the pork, rice and vegetables – come from local markets, but the sauces and dressings are imported from Japan to ensure authentic flavours.
The katsu menu lists pork loin and tenderloin, minced pork and shrimp.
The Loin Katsudon is topped with an egg (Bt129), the Loin Curry Rice is aromatic (Bt169) and the Tofu Salad is accompanied by seaweed (Bt39).
The Shrimp Katsu Special Set (Bt249) is two deep-fried shrimps alongside tenderloin and minced pork, served with sliced cabbage, rice and miso soup. The Loin Katsu set (Bt179), decorated with sliced cabbage, also comes with a bowl of rice and miso soup.
A meal would be incomplete without a cup of the popular Green Tea Ice Cream, served with fried red-bean toffee (Bt49).
On weekdays this month only, the Loin Katsudon costs Bt99 and the Loin Katsu set is Bt119.
HEAD SOUTHEAST
Katsuya is on the fifth floor of Central Bangna and open daily from 10.30am to 9pm.
Katsuya also has branches at Siam Square One and Central Salaya.
Call (02) 399 3069 or visit the “KatsuyaThailand” page on Facebook.
