Tonkatsu Bodaiyu 炸豬排吉 (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

My Me-Time is officially history as I meet up with the gang near Tokyo Station. Little nugget allegedly had a great time learning how to ski (although he told me otherwise. Said he would never do it again!). And while he was gliding on snow, his old man visited 4 different places for dessert, all in one afternoon so let's just say it's been a productive day for all parties concerned.



Everybody looks a little beat up but I don't think anyone would say no to some delicious tonkatsu (Japanese deep-fried cutlets) tonight.



So, I decided to take the gang to Tonkatsu Bodaiyu (炸豬排吉) at Shin-Marunouchi Building, which was just a comfortable 5-minute walk from Tokyo Station. No wait, 3 minutes max.



I have always liked traditional Japanese décor with a lot of wood. 



Tonkatsu Bodaiyu (炸豬排吉) is highly touted for its deep-fried pork loin and cutlets but that's not all. Their seafood-katsu featuring mouthwatering thin-battered oysters, scallops and jumbo tiger prawns is also something to die for. To enjoy the best of both worlds, I highly recommend this pork loin, cutlet and seafood platter which would set you back 5,300 yen only.



As usual, unlimited supply of salad before the main event.



Also included was a bowl of red miso soup.



We didn't order the platter with the deep-fried vegetables cuz everyone thought we should have enough green stuff by now (from the unlimited supply of salad!). Instead, we decided to focus primarily on their amazing deep-fried pork loin, cutlets, oysters, scallops, minced prawn cakes and jumbo tiger prawns. This looked really stunning from up close. 



The jumbo tiger prawn was almost the size of my forearm! 



Bodaiyu's deep-fried pork loin and cutlet are made with prized Iwachu buta (岩中豚) from Iwate Prefecture which is known for its buttery soft and silky smooth texture. Both cuts were almost equally tasty but if I really need to choose between the two, I would probably go with the pork cutlet because the meat was a little bit more firm so there's more bite to it (without being chewy). 



The tiger prawn had incredibly bouncy texture. It almost felt like having lobster. Very meaty and very delicious.



Of course, we had to get an extra order of deep fried oysters (2,500 yen) since they're such crowd pleaser.



I could never get enough of these creamy Japanese oysters, especially when they are coated in these gorgeous thin batters.



The batter was nice and crispy, and the centre was so soft and moist with such creaminess. Love it!~  



I didn't expect this but Tonkatsu Bodaiyu has its own online reservation system. They have four branches across Tokyo and all accept reservations online (click here to choose the branch for reservation). That really makes things a lot easier for travelers.

Food Rating: 6.5/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 5/F Shin-Marunouchi Building, 1-5-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6505, Japan
Closest Metro Station: Tokyo Station
Tel: +81 3-3211-6655
Website: www.bodaijyu.co.jp
Opening Hours: 11:00am - 3:30pm, 5:00pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Sat), 11:00am - 10:00pm (Sun)