a bite of brownie

 Part of a collection of international casual dining brands, Tonkatsu by Terazawa's new branch in Ayala Center Cebu has almost everyone rushing to get a taste of its newest offer. From the name itself, the shop's specialty is tonkatsu, or breaded pork slices. Plot twist, it isn't just your ordinary pork slices. It's from the rare Berkshire breed that originally came from England. Think of the finest quality pork available in the world that has marbled meat and a good amount of fat well suited for  deep frying as well as long cooking.
We arrived at the restaurant's doorstep a little past four and got ourselves seated in one of their booths. Immediately, we were given their menu cards and was told that someone will be taking our orders in a few. There was an assortment of tonkatsu meals written, some of which are curried, while others were mixed with shrimp (ebi), white fish, and Japanese oysters. Of course, as stated, all of them come with all you can eat cabbage, sticky rice, and miso.

My sister had a mixed katsu set that had oyster, shrimp and kurobota meat while I sported a homemade katsu curry (being the curry enthusiast that I am.) Soon thereafter, house tea was served while we embraced the soothing modern ambiance of the place with traditional folk songs of Nihon artists in the background. The walls were accentuated with stylized calligraphy scrolls of the names of their menu and everything was well lit, but not overly so.

The food arrived in a timely manner, and we were given some friendly advice how to enhance our katsu dining experience. We were both given a tray (for the sauces, to taste) and two separate containers of spicy and sweet sauce.

The food here is delicious, albeit pricy. At first I thought that the pork on my plate was tender but when I sampled my sister's kurobota slice, lo and behold! I was surprised to find that it was even softer and juicier than the one I had! The oyster was quite different from local ones too, as the ones they serve had a much more distinct and deeper flavor.

Seriously, I think this restaurant is overrated. I simply can't pay 500 pesos for a piece of deep fried pork. For the same price, I would probably run down to wakamatsu and enjoy more dishes aside from tonkatsu. Another gripe is that manager (?) guy who was fixing himself at the kitchen mirror and getting iced tea for himself from the drinks dispenser, very unsightly and unprofessional in my book. And what's with those flies or Mosquitos hovering around my table, minus in hygiene. Another minus is the long wait for my cabbage refill, just give me a head of cabbage and I'll shred it myself, how difficult is that?

Tonkatsu by Terazawa
Ayala Terraces Cebu


Verdict:

A: 5/5
Tasty and delicious food. Very pricey. Average budget per person is 500-700.

N: 3/5 Overpriced. Overhyped. Not a lot of variety and choices in the menu, but then again the name of the resto is tonkatsu not tonkatsu atbp :)