Tonkichi

We saved the best for last! Tonkichi is a cozy, swanky japanese tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet) restaurant nestled in the World Trade Centre mall in Causeway Bay.

The first thing you notice at Tonkichi is the crowd waiting for tables…on a Tuesday night. That’s always a good sign.  Once you get in, you’re seated at a table with some of the cutest, niftiest tonkatsu “gear”: a bowl with grooves on the inside and a pestle to grind your own sesame seeds for your sauce, and a little wooden stirring spoon, little pots for salad dressing, soy sauce, and the actual tonkatsu bbq sauce which is uniquely tangy with (I’m assuming) mirin, rice wine vinegar and worcestershire sauce.

So after you grind the sesame seeds, just pour in as much desired bbq sauce. Simple and fun!

Now to the food. We started with a deep fried soft-shell crab. This was THE BEST soft-shell crab I’ve ever had, and I’m from Maryland so that’s a big statement.

We ordered the Tonkatsu platter for 3 which came with deep fried oysters, prawns, pork hire (fillet), and pork rosu (loin). Sides included unlimited razor thin shredded cabbage and rice, and dipping sauces like japanese mustard, tartar sauce for the seafood, salt, and pickled yellow radish (daikon?). The oysters were big and juicy and the prawns were sweet and so crunchy I ate the tails. The pork filet was unbelievably soft and moist, as was the pork loin. I was so impressed that even though it was all deep-fried, it was so moist and juicy and not the least bit heavy like western deep fried food.

We ended the meal with this cute little strawberry cheesecake-y dessert, which was like a healthier version of a NY cheesecake: not too sweet and not too rich. But if I had to choose, I’d always pick my NY strawberry cheesecake, thankyouverymuch

Overall, this was the best meal I had in Hong Kong.