Butagumi - They know and love their Buta

Butagumi is a tonkatsu specialist, only pork but a wide selection of pork. I’ve never seen a menu like this and quite honestly, I never knew that there were so many breeds of pork and that tonkatsu can be elevated to this level.

Set in an old timber-frame house with a cute crescent moon cut out that we used to quickly identify that we were in the correct place. Once we made our way to the door, we were greeted by the staff and also all the little piggies on display. We then passed the kitchen, which was from what I remember was a really simple set up, a worktop counter and a fryer and then made it upstairs to sit in one of those little booths but were warned not to lean on the dividers as it was it was an old house (built in 1958).

Butagumi’s menu is insane and this is why this place is different from any other tonkatsu place. It offers a list of close to 30 choices. There isn’t much to choose but there is a lot to choose from. The first is how much fat which will determine the cut of meat - rosu (sirloin) or hire (fillet). That’s the easy decision. The second decision is more difficult – which breed, which prefecture, light or strong flavor, essentially which gourmet pork you wish to taste.

From the cuts available from that day’s menu, we had two cuts of rosu and two cuts of hire and we elected from the stronger rather than the mild tasting cuts. The only unfortunately thing was that they didn’t have the Tokyo X breed available that day which I was keen to try. Nonetheless this was what we had: 

Iberico rosu (Spain)

Daisen Rubby rosu (Tottori)

Hakkin Ton hire (Iwate)

Tsunan hire (Niigata)

The cooking here is very precise. Light crisp batter and the tonkatsu doesn’t greasy or heavy at all. The rosu/sirloin has a fat cap which many would enjoy for its lardy flavor, especially with the Iberico but between the two cuts, much prefer the hire/fillet cut which is leaner and cooked to the perfect degree of doneness where it is crisp light on the outside and the meat remains amazingly juicy. Of all the four cuts, my favourite was the Hakkin Ton hire, where there was a sweet light porky flavor. All that pork comes with rice, pickles and a large serving of cabbage and a citrus dressing to cut through the fat. A very simple lunch of comforting deep fried pork and rice but a completely gourmet and expert take on it from its selections and sourcing of meat to its frying execution, this is tonkatsu on an elevated level.

Butagumi means pig gang. Well, I want in on this gang too, what do you think it takes? Perhaps I need to get an I love pork or I love tonkatsu tattoo? Well, Butagumi, you are THE tonkatsu place.

Butagumi2-24-9 Nishi-Azabu
Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan
Tel: +81-(03) 5466-6775

Tonkichi – The Art of Tonkatsu

I was first introduced to Tonkichi tonkatsu by a friend who eats very limited food items. Just to give you an idea, he only eats pizza with cheese and ham and if you ever order a Hawaiian with him, you could be sure he is going to pick all the triangles of pineapple off. So when we do eat together, I usually just relent and let him pick the restaurant because I feel really bad if I choose some place, which I would like to eat at but he might not having anything on the menu that he would eat, or we would be at risk of pissing the chef off because he would only want his ham with cheese and nothing else despite all the beautiful well thought out meal items on the menu.

When we first dined together at a sushi restaurant (that thankfully served other Japanese dishes), I was horrified to find out the only form of sushi he ate was kappa maki, which is the Japanese cucumber sushi. It was only on that day that I learnt the name of that sushi. In fact if not for him I would have never bothered or would have found out. I also learnt on that night that I could never ever suggest us eating at a sushi bar. Other eating behaviours I observed, when we did eat at Japanese restaurants that not only consisted of a sushi bar, was that he would to order the same thing all the time, which was tonkatsu curry don with a request for the tonkatsu sauce, which will be drizzled on his tonkatsu and the curry on his rice and he will also very carefully avoid all the vegetables, especially the shreds of raw cabbage as if he were allergic to it. So when we once went out and he suggested tonkichi, a place that served “super tonkatsu” I knew he had to be on to something. For someone who eats so much tonkatsu, he must have been able to detect something different about the humble piece of breaded pork that was being served in this restaurant. Well, he was absolutely right, and needless to say, he still ordered tonkatsu curry don, drizzled the tangy tonkatsu sauce on his breaded pork loin (his choice because it has a trim of fat that keeps it tender and tasty) and avoided his cabbage. I on the other hand had the tonkatsu of pork loin along with two deep-fried oysters and happily ate my cabbage.



I personally believe that there is tonkatsu and there is Tonkichi tonkatsu and once you have been tonkichi-ed, it is hard to go back. Here at tonkichi, they have mastered the art and have brought tonkatsu to another level. Tonkatsu is a common dish that is eaten in prepared in most Japanese homes and restaurants, but here at Tonkichi, they have made an art form out of this simple deep-frying craft.

I imagine mastering the craft of cooking the perfect tonkatsu in Japan might be likened to being a sushi chef, where you spend most of your formative years observing before even touching a knife. If you were training to be a tonkatsu specialist, you would spend many years observing how to render the lard in a proper manner and exact temperature, the type of bread crumbs used, and the precise moment that the cutlet should hit the hot fat. The end product, however, is a succulent piece of pork cutlet with a crisp feather-light breadcrumb coat that is fluffy but crunchy that puffs back when you bite into it.

I like restaurants like Tonkichi. The menu is focused and they are clearly really good at what they do instead of being a jack of all trades. So, if you don’t want to eat anything deep-fried or pork for that matter, do not come here, but if you like both and especially deep-fried breaded pork, you are in a good place.

Tonkichi - Isetan Scotts
Shaw House
350 Orchard Road
Level 4, Isetan Scotts
Tel: 68354648

Tonkichi - Takashimaya
Takashimaya
Tower A, #04-24
Tel: 67357522