A note on the words: tonkatsu is deep-fried breaded pork cutlet. Rosu refers to juicy pork loin with flavorful fat, while hire is the leaner tenderloin, served as a teishoku (set meal). Surinagashi is a traditional Japanese vegetable purée, crafted here into a mildly spiced, keema-like curry bowl topped with a raw quail egg.
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Sharikimon Chawanbu on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Waking up early in the morning and browsing around wondering what to do for lunch, I got an irresistible craving for tonkatsu, and searching around I found a famous spot in Yotsuya Sanchome: “Sharikimon Chawanbu.” Right near “Kitchen Taka” where I went before — I had no idea there was such a famous tonkatsu restaurant here. Figuring no one would answer if I called first thing in the morning, I called around past 10:00, an hour before their 11:00 opening, to check if there were any lunch openings today, and they had a spot open from 12:00, so reservation secured! Lucky!
It seems they take lunch reservations in one-hour time slots starting from their 11:00 opening.
Tokusen hirekatsu teishoku (special fillet cutlet set) — 5,400 yen
Tokusen rib rosu teishoku (special rib loin set) — 4,800 yen
Jo-rosu katsu teishoku 300 (upper loin cutlet set 300g) — 4,500 yen
Jo-rosu katsu teishoku 200 (upper loin cutlet set 200g) — 4,000 yen
Rosu katsu teishoku 300 (loin cutlet set 300g) — 4,070 yen
Rosu katsu teishoku 200 (loin cutlet set 200g) — 3,850 yen
Vegetable surinagashi curry — 770 yen
I wanted to have a bit of curry too. So considering I’d be having the vegetable surinagashi curry, I thought 200g of meat would probably be just right, and chose the jo-rosu katsu teishoku 200g! They asked, ‘Shall we remove the fatty rim for you?’ Thinking the fat must be pretty intense if they go out of their way to ask, I asked them to remove it!
They told me to start by mixing the karashi (Japanese mustard) and soy sauce while waiting.
And after a little while, the tonkatsu was freshly fried and served.
It comes beautifully arranged in a surprisingly large vessel.
Even though I asked for 200g of tonkatsu… and asked them to trim the fat, ha, it’s quite a generous size!
Along with it come cabbage, dressed bean sprouts, and fluffy tamagoyaki (rolled omelet).
And when eating, they told me to enjoy it however I liked using salt, the karashi-soy sauce I just mixed, or the tonkatsu sauce.
The inside has a slight reddish tint.
Thinking I’d start with salt, I sprinkled on a pinch and took a bite: it has remarkable springiness. Real chew and bite to it.
And the fat is juicy and plentiful — even with the fat trimmed off there is still plenty of richness, and this might actually be just right. Tasting the fat makes it clear this is quality pork. The sweet, clean fat goes wonderfully with the crisp crumb coat and tastes delicious.
At this point I wondered how to eat the cabbage, but sprinkling on a little salt and squeezing lemon over it turned out to be delicious!
The meat texture changes noticeably between the edges and the center, so the contrast is fun.
The karashi-soy sauce was good, but sauce is truly the best! Taking the firmer meat near the center with sauce and mustard, resting it briefly on the rice, and taking a big bite: delicious! Tonkatsu really has to be with sauce.
Incidentally, the sauce is spicy and delicious, but if you pour on too much it completely takes over, so be careful with the amount.
A moment later the curry arrived. This is the vegetable surinagashi curry.
Breaking the quail egg in the center just slightly, I started from the outside where there was no egg. Mmm, delicious. How to describe it — partly like dry curry, or perhaps keema curry style. It’s an intriguing, proper spice curry. I dipped the ends of the tonkatsu into it to make a katsu curry, and it was great! The rest I ate spooned over rice. The curry is plenty delicious on its own.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually opened a shop serving only this curry, ha.
And so, it was a delicious tonkatsu meal. It is on the expensive side (nearly 5,000 yen for tonkatsu and curry!), but I think this is the kind of tonkatsu and curry combination you’d want to experience at least once! It’s not for every day, but something you might want to treat yourself to once in a while. Feeling like I’ve been eating nothing but eel lately, I think I’ll start checking out good tonkatsu spots again.
More to the point, Yotsuya has so many delicious things to eat, it’s wonderful.
Sharikimon Chawanbu (Tonkatsu / Yotsuya Sanchome Station, Akebonobashi Station, Yotsuya Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
