Kimukatsu キムカツ 大阪松竹座店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Perhaps I am a bit old school to think that Valentine's Day ought to be associated with romantic candle-light dinner and exquisite wine. Munching away at a piece of deep fried pork cutlet isn't exactly romantic and is definitely not what I had in mind on this very special occasion. But after a full afternoon of shopping, I was totally exhausted! I wasn't prepared to drift too far from where we stayed and so we ended up having tonkatsu for our Valentine's Day dinner.

Luckily, this is not just any tonkatsu restaurant. Kimukatsu is a famous tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlet) restaurant / chain that serves a very unique type of deep fried pork cutlet. Each slice of pork cutlet contains at least 25 layers of thin sliced pork creating a rich texture that is second to none. 

Kimukatsu has a branch at the Dotombori but it's not the easiest place to find. If you're coming here for the first time, the trick is to first locate the ancient shochikuza building (松竹座) at the corner of the street. There's a food gallery at the basement level and simply follow the escalator down. 




Down the escalator we go and bingo.

 

Kimukatsu has one of the simplest menu in the history of man-kind. A one-page set and a la carte menu all in one. For non-Japanese customers, they offer a special menu tailored for tourists which has most items translated into Korean (and some English).



We waited about 15 minutes and finally got seated. Couldn't help to notice that almost the entire dining room was filled with Korean tourists.



I like the fact that they serve us the shredded cabbage way before our pork cutlets arrive. That way, we can start warming our stomach up a little.



The much anticipated wait was over. These deep fried pork cutlets were definitely light and fluffy as advertised. I love the fact that they were not greasy at all although I wish they could be a little more flavorful. 




Apart from the "plain" pork cutlet, we also had this one with yuzu pepper. Not bad but the flavors from the pepper was obviously a little too overpowering.



Last but not least, an additional deep fried prawn which I thought was quite decent.



In case you're catching a train or flight, they do have a take-away counter here that opens till late.




There are so much to see and eat here in Dotombori. Too bad we had to leave tomorrow, as we're heading to Kyoto for a short 3-day visit in the morning.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 1-9-1 Dotombori, Chuo-ku, Osaka 〒542-0071, Japan 大阪市中央区道頓堀１丁目 9−１
Closest Metro Station: Namba
Tel: +81 (0)6 6212-1129
Website: www.kimukatsu.com