A note on the words: tonkatsu is a deep-fried breaded pork cutlet served with shredded cabbage, rice, and miso soup. Rosu refers to pork loin, rich in sweet marbling, while hire is leaner tenderloin. Joh indicates a higher, premium grade cut. Karashi is pungent Japanese yellow mustard, and tonkatsu sauce is a thick, fruity-savory brown sauce.
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Tonkatsu Masamune on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Hot! So hot! Sweltering heat, and having missed out on tonkatsu when I went for lunch the other day, my craving for tonkatsu had been building up for a while. Tonkatsu in Akasaka, and in this heat, curry would hit the spot too — which naturally left only one place in mind. That is right: “Tonkatsu Masamune”. There is always a line here, so it is a shop where you want to go off-peak. In particular, since queuing takes place outdoors, waiting thirty minutes would be deadly! This time I arrived just past 1:00 p.m. with only one group ahead of me. My heart was pounding a bit, but I was seated in about five minutes. What a relief.
By the way, they take your order while you are waiting in line, so I recommend deciding what you want to eat right from the start.
Lunch rosu katsu set (pork loin) — 1,350 yen
Lunch hire katsu set (pork fillet) — 1,450 yen
Lunch kata rosu katsu set (pork shoulder loin) — 1,750 yen
Hire katsu set, the thick end of the tenderloin — 1,450 yen
Lunch joh rosu katsu set (premium pork loin) — 1,900 yen
Lunch joh hire katsu set (premium pork fillet) — 2,000 yen
Masamune katsu curry — 1,350 yen
To my shock, the penalty of arriving late hit: both the thick-end tenderloin and the katsu curry were sold out!
What a disaster——!
I had practically come here just to eat katsu curry… Well, if it is not there, it cannot be helped; I would just satisfy my tonkatsu craving instead. After hesitating a bit over what was left, I opted for the joh rosu katsu set. The joh hire would have been fine too, but on a day when the tonkatsu craving is peaking, it has to be rosu loin.
So with that settled, I took a seat and waited. A sign noted that they require about 15 minutes of frying time, so quite a wait was to be expected! Best to wait patiently. The condiments on the counter were the house sauce, herbed rock salt, karashi mustard, and shiso dressing.
As I was zoning out thinking about that, the tonkatsu arrived. Took about 15 minutes, perhaps??
Oh, it is big! Truly generous volume. Looks delicious.
They told me to enjoy it with salt and soy sauce, which came served right on the tray.
Look at that thickness! No wonder it takes around 15 minutes of frying time. Taking a bite sprinkled with salt… Delicious. Tender all the way through, the sweet fat is rich in flavor without being heavy. Indeed, salt really brings out the sweetness of the fat. Then, the next piece with soy sauce. How was the soy sauce? Salt was definitely more delicious!
And having eaten about half of it… That is right: tonkatsu is delicious with salt, but drowning it in sauce and slathering on plenty of karashi mustard is what makes it so good. So with apologies to the staff member who suggested salt, for the second half I went with sauce! Poured on generously, with plenty of karashi. Tapping the cutlet against the rice to drop off any excess sauce, I took a big bite. Delicious!!! Sauce, karashi, and tonkatsu really are the supreme combination. I promptly shoved a mouthful of rice in after it. Ah, the best! A true tonkatsu experience has to be like this! I polished off the rest of the cutlet the exact same way.
My craving for tonkatsu was fully satisfied! A large portion of cabbage or rice costs nothing extra, but keep in mind that you have to ask when they first take your order. Given the heat, I figured I could not eat that much and kept both as regular servings, so using the photos for reference might be helpful. Ahhh! I still want that curry I was denied! I will have to try again another time somewhere.
Tonkatsu Masamune (Tonkatsu / Tameike-sanno Station, Akasaka Station, Kokkai-gijidomae Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.6
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
