Bekku Tonkatsu @ Jasmine City, Bangkok - เบคคุ ทงคัทสึ @ จัสมินซิตี้ กรุงเทพฯ

Cuisine: Japanese (Tonkatsu)

Map: Bekku Tonkatsu @ Jasmine City, Bangkok - เบคคุ ทงคัทสึ @ จัสมินซิตี้ กรุงเทพฯ

Charged Price: THB300 per person without alcohol

Visited: 12 February 2016

Food: 6/10

Atmosphere: 5/10

Value for money: 4/10

Services: 5/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Rumour was around (good or bad, it is not the matter) a few years back when Bekku, which was situated at Thonglor, was shutted down. Now it has returned at the new location on the basement floor of Jasmine City on Sukhumvit Road. This new store at Jasmine City is much bigger than the old place. Things are kept in minimal concept. What's good about this new location is convenience and Japanese are around.

p.s. Notice the Son Goku at the front of the store and you won't miss the place.

Bekku Tonkatsu @ Jasmine City

store front with Son Goku

ordinary simple decor

Nothing much about the concept of this place really except another specialty in deep-fried pork cutlet. The procedure for katsu dishes here starts with choosing your choice of meat and then followed by side dishes set, which is refillable, as desired. You may also opt for rice only at the price of THB50 per person. In my humble opinion, THB50 for rice is obviously expensive.

As with other tonkatsu joints, you may start with milling your sesame before adding in tonkatsu sauce. Now you are ready to go. For us, we had a chance to try Pork Tenderloin with Daikon Sauce (6/10). I have to say my expectation was higher than this (at least it was). Pork was tender. However, I felt then it could be crispier with more juiciness and flavour. The daikon sauce is like ponzu sauce with lots of grated daikon. The other dish we tried is Katsu Don (6/10). Not bad but not great. The overall flavour was ok. Nevertheless, seasoning such as onion, egg, and etc. could be much more to enhance flavour. Otherwise, it is an enjoyable one.

If you were to ask me about this place. I gotta say it is ok but don't just waste your time travelling all the way here just to taste it like me. In case you are around the place, it might not harm you just to experience it.

milling sesame

pouring in the sauce

Pork Tenderloin with Daikon Sauce (THB290)

zooming in a bit more

Katsu Don (THB220)

Bekku Tonkatsu @ Jasmine City, Bangkok - เบคคุ ทงคัทสึ @ จัสมินซิตี้ กรุงเทพฯ

Floor B1, Jasmine City
2 Soi Sukhumvit 23
Sukhumvit Road
Khlong Toey Nuea, Wattana
Bangkok 10110
Thailand

Open Hours: Mon-Sat from 11:00am - 02:00pm for lunch and from 05:00pm - 10:00pm for dinner

Tel: +66 (0) 2661 6003
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Bekku-Tonkatsu-436587219880450/

Narikura Tonkatsu (成蔵とんかつ) @ Takadanobaba, Tokyo

Cuisine: Tonkatsu

Map: Narikura Tonkatsu (成蔵とんかつ) @ Takadanobaba, Tokyo

Charged Price: JPY1,750 per person without alcohol

Visited: 9 November 2015

Food: 8/10

Atmosphere: 4/10

Value for money: 6/10

Services: 6/10
Scale: [1=poor ---- 5=average/standard ---- 10=outstanding/exceptional]

Looking for some of top class tonkatsu. Here is one for you. Narikura Tonkatsu is located in the basement of a building which is just a few hundred meters from Takadanobaba Station. This very tiny place can accommodate around 18 hungry guests at once. Now you know what I am going to say. Expect the usual queue and be prepared for it. The door is opened from 11am for lunch and from half past five in the evening for dinner.

As for us, we were lucky to be there around 10:45am. The queue had started up by the time but we were still in time to be seated during the first lot. I can tell you that after our lunch the queue was still at the same length (~ 25 people) but I am sure it will be more than half an hour queue. Narikura is definitely specialised in tonkatsu or deep-fried pork. However, its special menu is the tonkatsu with an inch thick. Yes, it was thick but still juicy tender. The pricing might look a little high for tonkatsu but it is worth a try in my humble opinion. By the way, forget about atmosphere here. It was just a super tiny joint with good food with simple layout. The entertaining part is looking over the counter to see the owner chef and his team perform their role professionally and efficiently.

Narikura Tonkatsu (成蔵とんかつ) @ Takadanobaba, Tokyo

do expect the long queue

tiny dining room with < 20 seats

the cool chef and owner

sauce and dressing

Since there were only two of us. We chose to opt for Large Tonkatsu (8/10), which comprised of pork cutlet ~ 230 grams / 3 cm. thickness, and Mix Katsu (8/10), which came into 3 pieces of prawn, beef, and pork. For the large tonkatsu, it was juicy and tender. Flavour did explode out of the fried pieces of pork. Ones may expect this to be very crisp. I am afraid not. It was not that super crisp type of tonkatsu but nicely fried to give enough mouth-feel and texture. The set also came with rice, which you can always ask for refill, condiments, and miso soup. The miso soup also filled with small pieces of pork belly. Very nice though. For mix katsu set, it was not different but just came with variety to be savoured. I think pork is still the best choice for this place. Prawn was enjoyable. But natural smell of beef does not seem to balance out with this kind of dish so far.

Well, this is a place to return if the queue is not the obstacle. Itadakimasu!!!!!

Large Tonkatsu (JPY2,180)

~ 3 cm thickness

Mix Katsu (JPY1,400)

Narikura Tonkatsu (成蔵とんかつ) @ Takadanobaba, Tokyo

Floor B1
1-32-11 Takadanobaba
Shinjuku
Tokyo 〒169-0075
Japan

Open Hours: daily except Sunday and Thursday from 11:00am - 02:00pm for lunch and 05:30pm - 09:00pm for dinner

Tel: +81 (0) 3 6380 3823