Bairin vs Tonkichi

One of the best restaurants has come from Japan to Hong Kong, and it specializes in pork cutlet. This kind of food was introduced in Japan during the Meiji Period, and now it has its own style, with even better texture and quality. In Japan, pork cutlet is called tonkatsu.

The new arrival is Ginza Bairin and as the name suggests, it is from Ginza, Japan. It's quite famous in that area, and considered one of the best in pork cutlets. This time it comes to Hong Kong and we are to see if the same good taste also comes.

Unfortunately, I have not been to the Ginza one, and so I can only compare it with another cutlet place which has been established in Hong Kong for quite some time and has its own fame in this city, called Tonkichi. With its main branch set up in Causeway, you can always see a queue outside the door, and with the food gourmet Choi Lan recommending the restaurant some time ago, its booking is all full for reservation till 6 months later.

Let's start with Ginza Bairin.

This place was designed with all wood pattern and light color scheme, and was probably trying to bring back the feel of its Ginza branch. It was comfortable but I am not a fan of all those little curtains which separate the restaurant into different zones. However, they do add a little privacy to each table.

I ordered the typical tonkatsu set, which is perhaps the easiest way to know if it is really that good.

The pork was from the big black pig (黑豚) and was pretty well done. I found the texture a little rough, but the smell of pork was strong and actually quite attractive. The outer fried breaded layer was not oily, and complementing the meat inside well.

However, there was some fat in the pork and I believe it is intentional. The chef cuts each slice of meat with a little fat on one edge, where the meat is the softest with the strongest pork smell. Some people may find that unattractive, while I don't really have a problem with it since the fat area was not very big, as shown in the picture above.

One major component of the tonkatsu set is the shredded cabbage. The cabbage here was fresh but not sweet enough, and thank God the delicious plum sauce helped to bring back the good taste of the vegetable.

Then we jumped to Tonkichi. What is different here is the first dish, which is not a dish really but a bowl of sesame.

You need to pestle it into powder and add the special pork sauce. This is extremely tasty to go with the tonkatsu. Before the main course we added a little bit more, the deep-fried soft-shell crab.

Not oily at all, this crab was cooked just right. The outside was crispy with the inner being so soft and juicy. Sometimes I needed to add lemon sauce to ease the oily feeling if the crab was cooked too long, but this time I didn't need to add anything. The cutlet then followed.

Here the pork was a little thinner, but the texture much softer than the Bairin to me. While the smell of pork was a bit weaker, I found this more delicious because the thickness was just right and better to handle. The outer was also crispy and I believe both restaurants used similar breadcrumbs for the breading.

The part that made this set stand out more is the shredded cabbage. It was fresh AND very sweet, and that added an unique touch to the whole dish. Deep-fried food can be heavy if eaten too much, but with the sweet vegetable, the meal will be more well balanced and more enjoyable.

And it is amazing that even when the cutlet is just a little bit better in Tonkichi, the main reason for the win is the side dish vegetable. The wonderful tonkatsu set ended with a dish of sliced water melon, adding one more reason for our higher score on this restaurant.

It is quite obvious that the best pork cutlet from Ginza Bairin has not arrived yet from Japan, but one has to note that the win does not just come from the good tonkatsu. Good complements are always the part that qualify the meal as a complete one. That actually makes me learn something. If you need to perfect something, always look at the big picture first instead of just dwelling into details. Both the big picture and the small details count for something good. That is why a good seat, good lighting or even good service always counts for the success of a restaurant. Now I understand why someone told me this, "If you want to know how good the food is, check how the waiter serves your food first."