Arkensen had a birthday lunch at Ninkazu and he is supposed to meet up with his friends at the Aberdeen Mall. So, Nanzaro and I decided to have lunch at Aberdeen food court after we dropped Arkensen off.
I decided to try out Saboten Japanese Cutlet, a relatively new addition to the food court. Since it’s opening, I had seen long line up the couple of occasions I was at the food court. I hate line up and so, I did not bother to try the food the couple of times I was at there.
This time, there is no line at all.
I ordered the Tenderloin Katsu Sandwich which came pre-packed. The moment I placed the order, the sandwich was packed in a plastic bag and handed to me even before I managed to get my purse out.
The Tenderloin Katsu Sandwich came in three pieces of about 3.5″x1.5″x1.5″ dimension. The pork tenderloin is crispy on the outside with a slightly tangy sauce. It was good except that it is very small.
The Tenderloin Katsu Sandwich is $5.32 with tax.
You can click on the menu to have a larger view.
As for Nanzaro, I could not persuade him to order something from Saboten. He wanted to pick his own food.
Nanzaro ordered his food from Mambo Cafe. He ordered a Fried Noodle with Beef for $6.50. He said it was good with the taste of good wok breath (“wok hey”) even though not much charring.
Nanzaro’s noodle came a free drink. He had ice milk tea and I asked him to get me an extra order of hot milk tea.
Nanzaro also ordered some chicken wings to share with me. Three fried chicken wings for $4.48 from Wo Fung. They were piping hot, crispy on the outside and we could taste the flavour ginger in it.
Anyone know why it’s called Wo Fung Dessert when there is hardly any dessert item on their menu? Anyway, it looks like there is a change of ownership of Wo Fung or at least the person managing the counter is different.
The Katsu sandwich looks interesting…a different kind of bread (or maybe scallion pancake as a wrap) might be nice too!
When Saboten first opened, we joined the hype to get their famous pork chop dishes. We ordered several different versions, but they were all disappointments! My kids said I make better Japanese pork chops then them….lol! Could have saved $$ as they are not exactly cheap! Also, they are not very eco-friendly in that they use alot of styroform containers.
It seems that there was a lot of disappointment with the food when it first opened but when I went in April, the pork chop was delicious, very tender and moist. Opening jitters, perhaps.
What is the big fuss about Japanese pork chops?
We have tried way better Chinese pork chops.
Japanese pork cutlets require the batter to be light and deep fried to a crispy exterior, while retaining the moisture in the pork which is pretty difficult to do. The batter skin may not stick well to the pork and can peel off easily once the cutlet has been cut. Also, many of the cutlet’s I’ve tried have tough pork, so getting the right piece of the pork is also important.
Although there are a lot of good Chinese pork chops, the work and standard for both are different.
Eric, you are so right!
If I may jump in with a few other places that, IMHO, make very good “tonkatsu”:
– iCafe (Broadway @ Heather)
– Clubhouse Sushi (W.2 Ave @ Alberta)
– 29th Ave Cafe (Boundary @ 29 Ave/Joyce)
– Dae Ji (Dunsmuir btwn Seymour & Richards)
….. and No.9 Restaurant (Lansdowne Mall)
Thanks for the info. Will try these places for tonkatsu as not many restaurant chefs master the art to make a good one.
@Kai – No. 9’s isn’t like a Japanese tonkatsu per se, but more of a deep-fried fatty meaty porkchop. BTW for the order, you get two HUGE pieces on rice (or noodles).
Duly noted. Thanks.