Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

[adrian]

For you chicken katsu fans, where do you go for the best katsu chicken, and where do you avoid going to?

For me, L&L makes the best chicken katsu, while Diners at Waimalu Shopping Center makes the worst (its like breaded chicken, just add tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo)

[Pomai]

Bull Dog Fruit & Vegetable Sauce

We used to frequent Tonkotsu stands in Tokyo. Tonkotsu is Pork Cutlet, a.k.a, Pork Katsu. Most also offer Chicken as an option, though pork is usually the feature item.

This is one of those "secret's in the sauce" delicacies there, just like Ramen shops do with their broths. Each owner keeps their Tonkotsu sauce recipes under tight guard.

Another critical aspect of Tonkotsu shops is the lightness of the panko. It has to have a light, non-burnt, non-oily texture. The meat also has to be tenderized by flattening it with a mallet. Lastly, the Tonkatsu is always sliced in bite size strips and placed over a bed of thinly sliced cabbage. Very important!

Japanese Tonkotsu shops also make it a must to serve HOT Miso Soup with your meal, as this helps breaks down the oil from the food.

I find it amazing how so many places in Hawaii serve pork or chicken katsu with total disregard to the sauce it comes with. Some even go as low as giving you ketchup mixed with Worcestershire sauce or shoyu. Auwe! I avoid ordering Chicken Katsu at most places around here for this very reason.

The best (and most expensive) Tonkotsu I've had here was at Kyoya in Waikiki.

There was a place called TONKOTSU (I think) that opened in McCully Shopping Center years back. Always wanted to go, but never did. They eventually closed.

Go to Daiei, Shirokiya or Marukai in the sauces and condiments aisle and look for a brand called BULL DOG Fruit and Vegetable Sauce. It's a clear bottle with an orange label. Last I checked, $8.00 willl get you a large bottle. That's the closest I've tasted yet to the Tonkotsu shops in Japan. Excellent, excellent, excellent. Ichiban. No Ka Oi. Da Bomb.

Trust me, after you try the BULL DOG Sauce with your Chicken Katsu or Tonkatsu, you'll be HOOKED. Make your own little "care packets" next time you hit a plate lunch joint.

[glossyp]

Re: Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

Mr. Ojisan on Kapahulu has excellent chicken katsu served with the proper sauce (I agree with Pomai on that whole sauce issue). Worst, hard to say but I'll second the Diner's at Waimalu - that was some scary food - but then most everything there is.

[Kilinahe]

Re: Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

The late, great Wisteria did nearly everything perfectly except for their katsu. Their katsu was a great big pile of fried panko and a little tiny bit of chicken. Not that there's anything wrong with fried panko, it's just not what I'm looking for.

I love L&L's. I love it plain, but I love it even more with curry on top.

[cezanne]

Re: Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

L&L hands down... also because they give plenny.

[helen]

Re: Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

I normally get BBQ Chicken from L&L Drive Inn, as well as Mahalo BBQ, but the times that I got Chicken Katsu from there is pretty decent.

My college friends who visit from the mainland swear by Graces every time they visit.

[tvguy]

Re: Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

I'd say L&L. My only qualm is that it can vary from location to location, with the different franchisees. The DO give a lot though. Mini-plates are always enough for me.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

I once knew this black guy from Georgia who was in Honolulu and raved about the chicken katsu at Grace's. And it struck me: here is a business opportunity waiting to happen. Somebody should open up a chain of chicken katsu joints in the American South. They love fried chicken over there, so this could be really big. I can just see it: Katsu Hut!

[cezanne]

Re: Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

I'd say L&L. My only qualm is that it can vary from location to location, with the different franchisees. The DO give a lot though. Mini-plates are always enough for me.

There's an L&L in northwest Vegas that I think just opened. My friend who moved there 10 years ago is stoked. I got my chicken katsu and for some reason it tasted better. I dunno maybe I was just happy there was an L&L there. I hear the L&Ls in CA aren't that great though.

[cezanne]

Re: Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

My college friends who visit from the mainland swear by Graces every time they visit.

Man I dunno ... the Grace's where it is on Beretania now aint the same as the original (just past Isenberg...yeah she used to have the lunchwagon too). Just like they don't give as much as back then (college 80's). Even the chow fun underneath doesn't taste the same.

[AuntieNellieKulolo]

Re: Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

Worst- Loco Drive-Inn at Koko Marina. Maybe I have gone there on 'off' days but their chicken katsu always is tough, overcooked and the sauce is too watery with nomo flavah!

Best-Used to be Grace's. I haven't been there in years. Now I go to L&L 'cuz it's all we get in NYC. You can get katsu at some Japanese places here but you'd get funny looks if you asked for mac salad with it!

[Pomai]

Re: Who has the best and worst chicken katsu?

You can get katsu at some Japanese places here but you'd get funny looks if you asked for mac salad with it!

Do your tummy (and health) a favor and order HOT Miso Soup with it.

[Pomai]

Choose Pork or Chicken at...

And it struck me: here is a business opportunity waiting to happen. Somebody should open up a chain of chicken katsu joints in the American South. They love fried chicken over there, so this could be really big. I can just see it: Katsu Hut!

Here's a logo concept for this GREAT idea!...



Start the chain in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, then branch out.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Choose Pork or Chicken at...

Pomai, thanks for the logo! And yeah, come to think of it you could offer chicken katsu, pork katsu, and even beef katsu too. Like folks have said, the key is the sauce...

[Pomai]

Re: Choose Pork or Chicken at...

Glenn,

I fixed the logo better. Added the slogan in it.



This idea is beginning to sound better the more I think about it! Anyone wanna' go in as investors?

Perhaps contract the Bull Dog sauce company in Japan as official sauce supplier for the franchise.

Speaking of which, notice how the slogan appears to resemble the sauce squiggled on the Katsu.