Designer katsu
Dec 19, 2007 |
Hidden along the actual Beach Walk street–not the hip new section with Yard House (the ‘Ewa side of the old Mitsukoshi building with Planet Hollywood facing Kalakaua), is Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin. From the outside, it looks like any other clean, Japanese dining establishment with bamboo curtains drawn across the windows and the long, traditional cloth strips covering the entranceway fluttering in the breeze. But within those doors lies something no other restaurant of its kind offers: a $36 tonkatsu plate. Yes, tonkatsu. Yes Ö slices of fried breadcrumb-coated pork. For $36. But it’s worth it.
The experience begins with a bit of manual labor on the diner’s part. A small bowl of sesame seeds are placed on the table with a two-inch wooden grinder. The seeds must be ground to a powdery texture. If you’re arthritic, you may want to have one of the helpful, pleasant black-clothed servers do it for you. The katsu sauce is to be mixed with this sesame powder.
Pork is the main ingredient of this Japanese franchise (established in 1927) and the granddaddy of the bento items on the menu is the kurobuta pork loin katsu ($36). ‘Kurobuta,’ or the Japanese black hog, is to pork what kobe is to beef. The other white meat, in this case, is more like steak with juices oozing out of the slices, its caramel color and the marbleized fat lining the meat. The pieces are served on a wide-holed metal mesh tray over the plate, although there are surprisingly few drippings of grease. The meat is so tender, succulent and moist, that the sauce isn’t necessary–but not using it would be a crime. The crushed sesame seeds mix surprisingly well with the tangy katsu sauce, lending an almost peanut butter-like flavor to the condiment.
Also available are less premium grades of pork and the difference is instantly recognizable. The meat on the ‘thick cut pork loin katsu’ ($23) is downright grainy compared to the kurobuta and the shade is the more familiar white. The taste isn’t as rich, although non-fat fans may find this appealing. Those not watching their cholesterol levels, though, will instantly shove the plate away in disgust and return to their prized hog dish. A few days after the meal is over, the mind will float back to the taste of the kurobuta katsu. Any mention of steak will cause the brain to flash an image of those luscious slices of flesh. Jpegs of the cherished ebony swine will be downloaded and used for the computer desktop’s wallpaper. Crevices of furniture will be scoured to find enough change to warrant paying $36 for another plate of Ginza Bairin’s tonkatsu. (All bentos also come with miso soup that can be dashed with a few sprinkles of yuzu mixed with seven different spices for an extra kick.)
Another nice touch is salad dressing offered for the shredded cabbage that is usually wasted as mere plate decoration. Although thousand island is offered, go for the sesame dressing. In addition to the peanut buttery taste, there’s a bit of spice thrown in for some zing.
Even the rice is amped up a notch. The Minami Uonuma-San Koshihikari brand is served and it is Japan’s finest super premium grain–extremely hard to come by outside of the Land of the Rising Sun. (Factoid: It amounts to approximately 0.1 percent of total rice production in Japan.) Reportedly, even the cooking oil is imported from Nippon.
If pork isn’t your thing, the black tiger shrimp katsu ($16) is almost as good. Three pieces of thick, juicy, meaty, sweet shrimp are coated with the same fried bread crumb finish and are paired with a subtle creamy tartar sauce. Healthier appetites may want to supplement their pork meal using this as a side order.
Other meal options include wafu chicken karaage, donburi (served in a bowl of rice with egg on top), and even tonkatsu sandwiches. Daily pupu specials are available for drinking with the wine, beer or top shelf sake options. A cute menu item is the classification of ’souvenirs,’ snacks you can take with you–a good idea for those thinking about bringing home lunch to work the day next.
For dessert, Bubbies ice cream is available in green tea and azuki flavors. Also on the menu is homemade soymilk pudding with carmelized brown sugar sauce, but it was sold out on our recent visit. We’re told it’s a popular item and is usually gone by night’s end.
The decor is pleasingly stark and bright within the relatively small space; mahogany colored tables, square rice paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a stone brick wall framing the servers’ station. Little ornamental flourishes float around the room, like circular wire sculptures on the walls, votive candles lighting the appropriate corners, plastic rubber coasters that look like tsugi fishing wire and soft Hawaiian radio unobtrusively piped through the stereo system. Lining one entire wall is a counter with the katsu chefs glassed in, sushi bar style and it’s fun to watch them prepare your meal right in front of you–a culinary aquarium.
Seating is a bit cramped with the tables close together, yet somehow appropriate for an establishment of this type with the street noise adding to the Tokyo state of mind. Fellow diners are made up of a mix between locals with decent credit limits and tourists–many seem to be Japanese couples on their way back to their hotels–the wives pouring the katsu sauce into their husband’s bowls and then eating their meals silently, barely looking up in that morose, yet soothingly unique Asian way of public feasting.
But let’s face it. This is a severe niche restaurant. Even if ordering conservatively, approximately $25 per plate of tonkatsu isn’t something that can be done everyday. At that point, most casual diners may opt out for a classier joint when analyzing the gourmet budget. Also, fried food, even at a premium, is still fried food; if you have the particular skin type, your face will be have an oily shine–wash your mug and drink some hot tea to help with the bloat. But for food snobs, serious tonkatsu fans, pork aficionados or the wealthy who feel like indulging their fried addictions, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin supplies the best katsu on the island.
