Butagumi Tonkatsu

7/F The Goldmark, 502 Hennessy Rd, Causeway Bay
Visited 17th April 2010
Causeway Bay on a Friday night; what was I thinking? Why was I here? I didn't want to go to Sogo or Uniglo or any-other-bloody-shopping-O. I wanted to breathe, then eat, then leave. We split from the crowds and headed up onto the 7th floor of the Goldmark Tower; a rather shabby building across Hennessy Rd from Sogo. Inside it's your typical Japanese style decor, though we were lucky enough to be seated in a kind of cool hanging booth (I of course got told of for swinging it too much). My first true tonkatsu experience was last year in Kyoto where my brother and I happened to be seated next to a couple of stunning girls who showed us the ropes; it's perhaps not that strange but ever since I've been a fan of this dish.

The menu at Butagumi Tonkatsu was obviously focused on breaded pork chops or tonkatsu, but they also had a selection of sushi and sashimi as well as a few different deep fried options. We went with a standard pork loin tonkatsu and a mixed set for which we selected scallops, wagyu beef and rolled chicken with cheese and asparagus. Both dishes came accompanied by surprisingly tasty miso soup, fresh shredded cabbage, rice and the 'crush-the-sesame-seeds-yourself sauce. The mixed plate came with four decent chunks of deliciously tender beef, two awesome fat and succulent scallops and a pair of rolled, stuffed chicken pieces. The chunky pork loin was delicious and I was impressed with how moist and juicy it was: actually all the ingredients were top-notch: the pork, scallops and beef were outstanding. For deep fried food it wasn't too oily either.
Tonkatsu is honestly pretty simple stuff, but it's tasty and when prepared to the standard of Butagumi Tonkatsu offers a satisfying and delicious meal. Our dining experience was pleasant; the staff were friendly and efficient and the restaurant itself was a tranquil oasis compared to the consumer chaos outside. Considering the quality I thought the prices were very fair; $128 for the pork loin and $155 for the mixed goodies. While you can certainly get cheaper Japanese food in Causeway Bay, Butagumi Tonkatsu gets my vote for quality.

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