Continuing with food this week… we found a new place to enjoy tonkatsu pork cutlet. In the past, we liked to go to the Ginza Bairin in the IFC, but now we prefer Saboten in Causeway Bay (don’t confuse it with the Saboten at the Hong Kong International Airport. That’s nowhere as good).
Saboten is actually the largest tonkatsu chain in Japan and it arrived in Hong Kong back in 2011. The restaurant itself is tucked away in a basement at Henry House, close to Hysan Place, and it gets quite busy. As you can’t book in advance, you just have to come early to enjoy dinner there.
The restaurant has a nice, calming atmosphere – light wood beams and leather-padded chairs in shades of green (tea) and red (bean).
Each tonkatsu main comes in a set – so you get pickles as a side dish, miso soup, rice and of course a copious amount of shredded cabbage — all of which is refillable to your heart’s desire.
I have tried different dishes at Saboten – but Patrick always goes for the pork loin. Last time I had the chicken with shrimp combo and that was great too!
The dishes are made ready to order so you have to wait a little bit – but the wait is so worth it, especially for the pork. The meat is tender and succulent and very tasty.
It says on the menu that Saboten uses pork of selected breeds that are 180 days or older and fed with barley to get the meat sweet and soft. It definitely works! You don’t need a dipping sauce or anything to go with the meat (but yes, the dipping sauce is nice – you grind your own sesame before you pour the sauce over).
All in all, a great meal and we’ll definitely be back again – hopefully then it won’t be too crowded from all the readers who followed my advice!
Will I go there again? Yes, if I’m in the mood for some tonkatsu pork or chicken – this is (so far) the best place I’ve been to (in Hong Kong).
Saboten
LG/F, Henry House, 42 Yun Ping Road, Causeway Bay
Telephone: 2895 4111
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