Hey, everyone. Hope you're having a fantastic day today. It's Mark Wiens in Tokyo Japan and Today, I'm going to take you to eat at two of the most legendary Some say they are the best for serving tonkatsu, Japanese tonkatsu, which is a breaded deep-fried pork cutlet We're going to eat them back-to-back and a full review coming up about both of them We just arrived to the first restaurant for tonkatsu and this place is really a cool place In the neighborhood it occupies this little Corner Street It has a real classic heritage appearance to it my mouth is watering for something deep fried and something crispy for to All thinking okay, okay, just opened up. Oh look at that pig Oh arigato We made it into the restaurant this place is called Butagumi and this is a really cool place We came upstairs they led us to a table upstairs where right as they're open for lunch today, and it's a Japanese-style room We got it's all wooden this is This is a cool dining atmosphere It just has this amazing Heritage classic feel through I got this restaurant recommendation from the Japan Times and they said you will not find may better Tonkatsu in Tokyo that one of the legends, one of the best and let's Really, I already love this restaurant just looking through the menu I've never seen so many types so many breeds of Pig on one menu and all they're all labeled. They're all Can you know exactly the type of pig that you're going to order and eat? Isn't all this one has already filled out. Oh Okay, I think so. They have like they have like Over 20 different types of pigs available at this restaurant But they only have they mark it with these little little pink strips, and those are the only ones that are available today So today we have real Real Cotton from Okinawa All the Golden boar the Golden boar is available. I gotta have the golden boar I can get this restaurant They know that when you're looking through the menu and when you're ordering they know your mouth It's going to be watering so as soon as you order, then they give you a little dish of tomatoes And these are a little little appetizer Wow Wow That has like a porky flavor or am I just imagining that that is the only evening though that is one of the juiciest Like single bites of tomato maybe I've ever had. How did they do that to a tomato? Okay, so first we're getting the rice and soup Okay, the anticipation is increasing the Golden boar is about to arrive. Oh, thank you very much, Golden boy Arigato. As soon as she brought this to the table, I can smell the aroma of that meat Smells incredible. How to enjoy tonkatsu - they even have a printout of how to enjoy tonkatsu Ponzu sauce Oh - sprinkle with Himalayan pink rock salt and spoon the sauce into the small dish and then Do not drizzle do not drizzle it over the pork and then I need it with Japanese mustard if you look deep closely into that tonkatsu and almost it like reminds me of when they they chop a big stone in half with gems and all the minerals in the middle It's it's it's unique like a snowflake. Every tonkatsu is different. Oh That's gorgeous, a very pretty thing It's served with rice on the side as well as cabbage salad and some pickles and miso soup and also I just got to go straight in for the golden boar. That's going to be my first bite. Oh It's so pretty. I was just going to look at that because the way that the the crunchiness is just piled onto that piece of that slice of pork? Wow, that's beautiful and even in my chopsticks. I can just feel the collapsing of those little crunchy bits oh that meat has that meat is fatty oh and Juicy I was expecting it to be more kind of heavy and ready But it's so light and like a like a fluffy crispiness I will prepare my dressing sauce is next. This one here is the main tonkatsu sauce, the main ponzu sauce Which I will add to this bowl and then they said to sprinkle it with a little bit of the Himalayan salt - which is this one? Could that be the No, that's mustard. Oh I do like the mustard too. Well maybe I'll add some mustard to the bowl as well Give that just a little sprinkle it's already a little bit salty but not too salty, but just a little sprinkle, and I should do it and moving back It dip into the classic tonkatsu sauce Well, that's just ridiculous or even the sauce is amazing. It's a little bit has that Worcestershire sauce flavor to it it's a little bit sour and You know this golden boar. I think as opposed to just regular regular raised farm raised pig it has a little slightly more of a like a gamey taste, but but like a Like a free-range - well, it's a boar So like a free-range taste to it you got to have that you gotta have the cabbage salad with tonkatsu to kind of break the grease and To switch up the flavor, so you'll almost always be served a cabbage salad when you when you order tonkatsu very light and very refreshing and I like how it shaved so thin next type of tonkatsu and this one is from an Okinawan breed. This one was the recommended pig of the day. This is the pig of the day Oh look at just how thick that is Hoho It's like just just deep-fried pork on another level. For this one, I'll go mustard This one has a totally different texture to it than the golden boar, this one is more It literally has like the softness of a chicken breast What a balanced tough tender meat and crispy edges And then that at the end of your meal, you're served a cup of tea Very light, but it really feels good to drink something hot to wash it down. Oh, I guess though They have a little cabinet here right at the front of the restaurant where they have some premium Pork cuts, oh I don't know which one is the golden boar. Maybe one of these that I just ate. That is a restaurant I'm coming out of here feeling like I have experienced something new with pork that was very, very tasty very, very elegant Delicate, pretty high-end. But really really classy, really really well done, extreme quality and How can you beat choosing your pig? one legendary tonkatsu down it's time to go directly to the next tonkatsu and the next place as This is the place I'm really really looking forward to people people actually have mixed reviews about it some people say it's the absolute best in tokyo Some people say it's kind of old style, but whatever whatever anybody says is there's no doubt that this is one of the most legendary places to eat tonkatsu in Tokyo and We're going to go jump on the train to get there Go in here. Yeah, we're on our way to Meguro station for the next home costume Made it to Meguro station, and it should be just a short walk from here to the next tonkatsu restaurant The next tonkatsu restaurant is called Tonkatsu Tonki and they open up at 4 p.m.. In the evening We're here just about 15 minutes before they open and there's gonna be about 10 people in front of me, but they're opening up pretty soon This is one of the ultimate legends of tonkatsu in Tokyo they've been serving tonkatsu since 1939 so you can be assured that they they have a proven recipe. I am loving this place as soon as we stepped foot in here you it's just uh it's really really spacious It's just an entire bar counter seating and they have about about 10 Employees or master tonkatsu chefs who are working around the bar counter It's extremely spacious They just say you can sit there and watch them as they make the tonkatsu they put the give us Chunks of pork and then put it into flour and then dip it in the egg mixture and then back in the flour He does that like two or three times and then finally into the bread mixture and that into the hot oil This is so cool. And then right into the big vats of boiling oil I can smell the like deep frying oil bubbles in this establishment The wait is over, my tonkatsu has arrived I think it took about 15 minutes for it to come but that 15 minutes went by so fast because I was just watching them in awe as they make this tonkatsu they Could make this with their eyes closed. They've done so many times, and it's just a beautiful process and it comes to you They take it out of the hot oil And then he cuts it into bite-sized pieces. Cuts it long ways and then cut it into bite-size pieces You can see that. It's a totally different style. It's totally different breaded crust It's almost like a like a deep-fried skin around the tonkatsu and then they serve it with a pile of cabbage rice There's pickles, miso soup, the classic works, and then a dab of mustard on the side. Oh, I can't wait It is just glistening and steaming hot right now. That golden-ness. They put a little bit of sauce But then they have the sauce up on that Counter there where you can grab it yourself and most people I see just drizzle it all over their tonkatsu But you can see that skin just kind of peels back that deep fried crust I'm going to go for a piece with no sauce on it for my first bite and right out of that center console right there Well that has a totally different Texture feel and taste to it and the other version that I had This is much more Like your like a pork fried like a deep-fried pork country style the pork is Maybe there's some fattier sides But the piece I got was quite lean and then you have like almost like a it's almost like a crunchy pancake breaded layer on the outside That's good, but I am going to I'm going to drench it in the sauce, and I see most people apply pretty generously both on the tonkatsu and On the salad you try another another piece in this time. I'm going I'm going all in with the mustard and sauce Well, oh All that mustard in the contrast of this mighty mustard without a sweet-and-sour wish - sure tonkatsu sauce It's delicious absolutely delicious, it's uh like Your country Style fried tonkatsu I got the leaner side on my first few bites, but this side over here That is the fatty side check out that you really got to get it You got to be careful here, or you'll lose your your breading will fall off your pork. But I'm a huge fan of the mustard All that one on my nose all that was done fatty juicy piece kind of crunchy in a fried batter kind of way it's not nearly it's not exactly not a delicate tonkatsu this is a This is a diner style. Don't God oh That is amazing oh Then the final component of this meal deal is the soup the miso soup And this is not just any miso soup aww there are pieces of what looks like pork bellies sliced up within there porky miso soup That soup's amazing. Oh, oh you can make the fatty richness the fatty pork fattiness of that That's one of those warming broths In mission tonkatsu in Tokyo it accomplished that was delicious But totally different from the other tonkatsu experience. This place. It's just absolutely legendary Such a cool restaurant They're friendly here And it just it has a almost like a like a social Barbershop atmosphere kind of feeling to it finished with the Duo tonkatsu in Tokyo I thought it was going to be easier to compare the two But they're actually they're so different, almost uncomparable, almost like two completely different schools of Japanese tonkatsu the one at Butagumi, the first place, it was I mean it was by all all means the most gourmet high quality ingredients Really, but it was really really delicate really Elegant it was one of those fried pieces of fried pork. It wasn't just any piece of fried pork It was a piece of fried pork that you wanted to kind of like nibble on partly because it's so expensive and then also because of the quality whereas the one here at Tonki it was that diner style that you get and where you want to just you you can just dump on the sauce You can take big bites. You can scarf it down The is so totally different totally different styles. They're really hard to compare or to even Put them up against each other yeah. I mean that's my consensus definitely the one at Butagumi is better quality That was the awe in your mouth, but the one at Tonki. I really like the style Where you can sit the open bar you can watch them creating Expertly cooking up your your tonkatsu Yeah, or you're just going to have to see for yourself. You're going to have to you're going to have to come to both of them or try other tonkatsu is around Tokyo I'm going to leave all of the details in the description box about both restaurants, so you can check them out yourself and I think that comes to the end of this Tokyo tonkatsu Kind of a face off so I want to say a big thank you for watching this video Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it I'd love to hear from you in the comments section below and also if you're not already subscribed click subscribe now for lots more food and travel videos Goodbye, and I'll see you on the next video.
I feel like watching people eat good food while you're eating makes your food taste better.
The food looks great. Can't stand the guy in the video though :(
I love it. This dude is 100% Chris Traeger from parks and rec though.
I ate at Butagumi a few months ago for my first tonkatsu experience, and definitely the best I've had since moving to Japan. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who visits!
It makes me happy to see people eat their food enthusiastically. He's so cheerful
love mark wiens !