Jo Y.
Yelp
The best katsudon in Tokyo? So far, it's found at Katsudonya Zuichou in Shibuya, Tokyo. The meaning of the restaurant name says it all: katsudon (breaded pork cutlet and egg over rice with sauce), and zuicho (auspicious sign). I will rave about this katsudon because it was THAT good and have never tasted anything better than this. That is my last meal on earth right now!
We had just viewed Shibuya Crossing on the second floor of Starbucks, just outside the Shibuya train station. This is the busiest intersection in Japan and possibly in the world, with up to 3,000 people crossing the street from all directions during peak time.
We were behind schedule and needed to get a really late lunch or an early dinner. Accessing Yelp to find restaurants nearby, we saw a restaurant specializing in katsudon and had a perfect 5-star rating with 24 reviews. We turned on the Yelp directions, which noted a 10-minute walk and off we went. The directions took us away from the people-crazed madness of loud noise and neon lights to quieter side streets and a long alleyway used by the locals. According to our cellphone, we arrived at Katsudonya Zuichon.
But where is it? There was no restaurant that we could see. There was a door to a reddish-brown brick building with an English sign that stated that no katusdon was served there. Was that the restaurant and was it closed? There were two deliverymen that went into that door and came out a few minutes; we asked them about the restaurant, and they said they didn't know. We stood there, wondering whether Yelp was correct, as we walked around the surrounding area without seeing any restaurant. We began to think about looking for another restaurant when we walked through a dark hallway in that same building and lo and behold, there was the restaurant, behind the front wall of the building. Afterwards, we realized that there was a Japanese restaurant sign in the front, but because we're unable to read Japanese....
Katsudonya Zuichou was such a small restaurant with only 8 counter seats. There was another couple that was waiting for seats and fortunately, they spoke English and confirmed that this indeed was the restaurant. The couple told us that the food is excellent here, and that there are lines that form out to the street during peak hours.
Okay, we're in our two counter seats where we can see the friendly and personable mother and daughter cooking and preparing the meals. No problem that we don't speak Japanese, as there is no varied menu dishes; they serve only one dish here - katsudon with a clear hot broth with a few somen noodles and fish cake, cold jasmine tea (with refills), tsukemono, and beer if you want. We just had to choose whether we wanted regular size or large size, both at the same price of 1000 yen, the difference being the amount of rice.
The katsudon is made to order, so you can watch your dish being freshly prepared. The preparation of this dish, I think, is the secret to its excellence. The steaming, sweet and fluffy rice was topped with a thin semi-cooked egg that resembled a crepe, with a delicious sweet and savory sauce. We saw the pork cutlet being pounded to tenderize it prior to breading it with panko, then frying it and dipped into a special sauce before placing it onto the egg-rice combination. Aha, that's the secret to ensure a crispy katsu instead of cooking all together, which would result in a soggy katsu (which is how it's done in HNL). The flavors were astounding! The perfect combination of the crispy pork, fluffy egg and rice, and the tasty sweet and savory sauce was simply orgasmic! Yes, the best katsudon that we've had! You could tell it was good, as all 8 people were gulping down their katsudon without saying a word! Oishii!
Frequented by locals, this popular small family restaurant is open from 11:30 am to 8:00 pm Mon. to Sat., closed Sun. and holidays. Shibuya Station, exit 3. Literally, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and I give credit to the Japanese in using every available space that they have for amazing businesses like this. Katsudonya Zuichou is now a must-go restaurant for our future trips to Tokyo. Thank you, Yelp, for sending us there!
