Amateur Review: Tonkatsuya Japanese Cuisine

We have work in AutoPerformance on Saturdays. Since yesterday was a relatively slow and good day, my officemate Jeremy suggested we finally try out that katsu place our bosses were telling us about. So we did. With our bosses too.

Tonkatsuya is a simple restaurant located in the lower ground floor of Palm Tower B. Basic directions to get there? If you're on Chino Roces coming from Shopwise, turn right at Estrella St. and turn left at the first corner. Palm Tower is the cluster of condominiums on your right. At the second building building look for the stairs leading down, then turn right. Or you can ask the security guards there where the Japanese restaurant is. I have no idea where you can park, since we just walked. I'm guessing along the street.

Tonkatsuya's address is on their menu

I ordered their hirekatsu curry. Hirekatsu because I prefer lean pork over the fatty pork, not only for health reasons but also because I just don't like fat (even if I am fat).

This is their hirekatsu curry

How was the hirekatsu curry? It was good. The meat was lean and tender. The curry sauce had a hidden spicy kick that I like. And similar to Shinjuku's katsu curry, the curry sauce had bits of tender meat. It was very filling, and even the shredded cabbage was good.

My biggest (and only) complaint was the katsu portion seems small. I know this was cheaper than other usual katsu places, but I just found the meat to be a bit lacking.

Can I compare it to your typical katsu franchises like Saboten and Yabu? No, I don't think it would be fair. Tonkatsuya's hirekatsu curry was good in it's own right. And I definitely enjoyed it.

How about the price? It was cheap. My meal cost me Php250.00. Add in canned sodas for an extra Php30.00 (I did not, though, the cold tea was great) and you get a relatively affordable place to grab a bite.

Ambiance? It's simple, nothing too expensive feeling. There was the usual bookshelf filled with various issues of manga. Oh, I forgot to mention a very important detail. There were plenty of Japanese patrons. The best way to find out if a Japanese restaurant is good is if Japanese eat there.

Would I eat at Tonatsuya again? Most definitely. I wouldn't mind eating there once a month or so, budget willing. The food was good, the service was fast, and again, Japanese people were eating there.

Would I recommend the place to others? Sure. Try it out. Keep an open mind, and an empty stomach and you may just be as pleasantly surprised as me.

Out.