After hearing and reading a lot of good reviews about
Yabu: The House of Katsu, the newest authentic Japanese katsu place in Manila, from fellow bloggers and Twitter friends, my taste buds became really excited to try it out. And when I could not contain my katsu-craving, I called up my cousin Lu Jean, drove to ABS-CBN to fetch her, and went to SM Megamall Atrium, just to try this awesome Yabu katsu restaurant and what they have to offer.
Yabu The House of Katsu's entrance greeted us with this saying: "The only thing more delicious than eating authentic Japanese katsu is the anticipation that comes right before it." Anticipation to eat good food and good tonkatsu. It was definitely a busy night for Yabu, jam-packed, but luckily we didn't have to wait for a long time to get our seats.
We also did not have a difficult time ordering because we simply tried their bestsellers, the Tonkatsu Sets, which comes with Japanese rice, miso soup, Japanese pickles, unlimited cabbage with sesame dressing and a bowl of fruit.
I ordered the
Premium Tonkatsu Set or the
Kurobuta Pork Set 120g (Php 515) - 3/4 inch thick, juicy, flaky pork. Kurobuta, also known as Black Berkshire pig, is the world's finest pork, due to its rich marbling, softness, and flavor. Truly, it's the finest pork I have tasted, and it's rich in flavor.
While Luj got the
Tonkatsu Set or the
Rosu (Pork Loin) Set 90g (Php 280) - 3/4 inch think and juicy: 'rosu' is Japanese for pork loin, wherein the slice of pork has a trimming of fat with it. She added a side order of Prawn because she also wanted to try the prawns out. The tonkatsu was really soft and melts in your mouth, it's also tasty, probably because of the layer of fat (which I don't mind eating) that comes with it. One word: succulent!
We both were not served with our bowl of fruits, which either of us noticed, because we were much too preoccupied with our tonkatsu :)) I just noticed it when I was writing this blog post. The experience was great anyway; it's probably because Yabu The House of Katsu is currently on soft opening.
To further enjoy the Katsu and the Katsu experience in Yabu, you have to remember to grind, pour, mix and dip - steps on how to make the Katsu sauce. First, you have to grind the sesame seeds until it is powdery, then you pour the Katsu sauce, mix both, then dip your Katsu in the Katsu sauce. Enjoy! :)
After tasting the Kurobuta and the Rosu Tonkatsu, we instantly agreed that Yabu is definitely pig and pork heaven. We definitely have to go back to try out the other items in Yabu's menu.
The only setback it has is that the tables are quite small, I hope they do something about it. Other than that, the place is perfect. I crave for more Katsu! :)
The Yabu Difference
When you are served our Yabu Katsu, you can tell the difference right away - the katsu is so crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, you can slice it with chopsticks.
The secret lies in our fresh, quality ingredients, and our method of cooking:
Our coating is made from fresh panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) everyday in our restaurant, ensuring that the bread flakes are long, light and crispy.
Our oil is 100% natural canola oil, which contains omega 3, zero trans fat and zero cholesterol. This oil keeps our breading crisp, while allowing flavors to come through.
Our meat- we use local pork that comes from our trusted partners that is delivered fresh to our kitchen, never frozen. We also use Kurobuta, US premium pork, also known as the Berkshire Black Pig. This pork is heavily marbled, pink and known as the “kobe beef” of pork.
Our seafood – for non-meat lovers, we also source fresh seafood both locally and abroad. Our oysters are huge and succulent, sourced directly from Hiroshima Japan; our scallops are sourced from the United States.
The result is authentic Japanese katsu, so delicious and soft, it literally melts in your mouth. Enjoy!
The Beginnings of Katsu
The word katsu is an abbreviation of the world "katsuretsu," which means "cutlet." It generally refers to a sliced piece of meat that it breaded and deep-fried. The dish was introduced to Japanese culture in the late 19th century during the Meiji period whne Japan opened its doors to Western culture. In the beginning, beef cutlets were used, but pork eventually became the more popular choice of meat by the 1900s, eventually giving to the dishes such as tonkatsu ("ton" is Japanese for "pork").
Today, katsu is considered one of the classic dishes in Japanese cuisine, inspiring many chefs to find ways to elevate this beautiful dish into a high level of culinary art.
'Katsu' in Japanese also means 'to win' or 'to be victorious,' and as such it has become a tradition for Japanese students to eat katsudon the night before taking a major exam.
Yabu: The House of Katsu
2nd Floor, SM Megamall Atrium
Mandaluyong City, Philippines
Monday to Sunday, 10am – 10pm
Tel#: (632)576-3900
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