Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen

Actually this place has been on our radar for the longest time simply because, 1. we love pork and 2. it had been several long years since the opening, since we had gone back to Tonkatsu.

Blame it on the location in KL that’s far from our home, or perhaps the place was relegated to the back of our minds due the KL’s every changing Japanese dining landscape. Whatever the reason, we were happy to be finally back to check out the new offerings at Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen in Pavilion KL.

Tonpei Yaki – pork fried with cheese and egg. Cheesy and creamy, this one was a little weird for us. Just too much sauce and cheese going on, to fully appreciate the flavour of the pork.

Healthy Indulgence promotion: Sasami No Umeshiso To Cheese Mentai Maki Furai Zen – Deep-fried Ohba leaves with Japanese sour plum sauce and Chicken with Mentaiko cheese sauce.

Not sure how healthy Mentaiko cheese sauce can be, but this one said ‘Healthy Indulgence promotion’. Taste wise it was good, but the batter was a little hard which left the rolls rather dry in the mouth.

Luckily it came with a bowl of Udon (with choice of Curry Udon or Plain Udon) in soup that made it a little less dry.

Healthy Indulgence promotion: Yasai No Mix Furai Zen – Deep-fried eggplant, asparagus, king oyster mushroom, pumpkin and onion ring. Delicious, so no complaints here.

This also comes with a bowl of Udon with choice of Curry Udon or Plain Udon. We could see why the Malaysian crowd would appreciate the Curry udon – sweet and thick, a real crowd pleaser.

Set items from a la carte menu we tried included the Buta Shogayaki Zen – Pan sauteed pork belly with ginger sauce served with sliced cabbage, tofu, pickled vegetables, pork vegetable miso soup and rice.

We found the pork belly hard and a little disappointing. The pork at Tonkatsu used to be like the ‘wagyu’ of pork, but this was no longer the case.

Buta Kimuchi Zen – Pan sauteed pork belly with kimchee vegetables served with sliced cabbage, tofu, pickled vegetables, pork vegetable miso soup and rice. Slightly better, but still the pork was hard, and the sauce overly salty. Better eat more rice with this.

Buta Kushiyaki – pork skewers

Again hard squares of pork that were tough to chew and difficult to swallow as they were so dry.

Finally, a tender version of Buta Kata Rosu No Teriyaki – Grilled pork with Teriyaki sauce that while salty was at least tender.

Add:
Tonkatsu by Wa Kitchen
Level 6
Pavillion, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2144 2992