Tonkatsu By Ma Maison

Hello! If you're wondering what to eat this weekend, look no further! This is my very first post about real food (Rotiboy counts as a snack)! So get ready to wipe that drool off your pillow for a..

I actually went up to Penang for a food trip last Thursday but this post is not about Penang (maybe next week) because the superstar today is this!

Unassuming typical Japanese fare

Tonkatsu By Ma Maison (TMM) is a Japanese restaurant located on the top floor of Isetan One Utama. This restaurant can be pretty hard to find as it is tucked into a corner. TMM's main attraction is their tonkatsu aka fried pork cutlet. Yup, you read that right. PORK. Not chicken.

TMM's Tonkatsu sticks close to its Japanese roots. I'm a Crayon Shin Chan fan and in one episode, Shin Chan wanted sushi, but got lured into the next door Tonkatsu restaurant instead.

What I had vs what Shin Chan had

Both sets consist of the main dish; tonkatsu, accompanied with cabbage, rice, miso soup and a small side dish. Oh and note that the cabbage, rice and soup are unlimited; like a buffet. Unfortunately, normal restaurant rules do apply to the meat. Dang it.

I actually had TMM twice this week; before the Catching Fire premiere screening and after coming back from Penang. Once was not enough for me! Both times, I ordered the Jumbo Hirekatsu set (RM32.90). For me, the portion is really big (I know it does not seem big in the picture above). The hirekatsu is so thick that it’s thicker than my friend’s thumb!

The thumb was about 1.5cm thick and this tonkatsu was thicker than that

So you can picture my amazement when I saw some other patrons finishing one whole set on their own. And they even had refills of the cabbage and rice. Okay la, I refilled my rice too. But in my defence, I was sharing!

Anyways, there are several different condiments that go with different parts of the tonkatsu set. With other food, I usually dislike condiments on them. I eat my Ramly burger without chilli, ketchup or mayo, and my fries are only lightly seasoned with salt. Why? Because I believe that the condiments cover the taste of the food, instead of complementing it.

Surprisingly, I liked TMM’s condiments. TMM recommends dipping the tonkatsu in three different condiments: rock salt, sweet sauce and a spicy sauce. I tried all three condiments and all three complemented the tonkatsu’s taste well.

Left compartment for rock salt, center for sweet sauce, right for spicy sauce

Being a carnivore at heart, I wouldn’t normally touch the cabbage. But the sesame dressing successfully made this carnivore eat cabbage! Another condiment I found interesting was this small yellow-ish mush. I initially thought it was mustard, but it turned out to be wasabi. Silly me.

Lastly, the tonkatsu set also comes with Japanese roasted barley tea. After drinking the tea, I didn’t feel overstuffed and bloated. Instead, the tea somehow manages to lubricate my insides and wash away the stuffed feeling.

However halfway eating, I did find the tonkatsu to be a little dry. I wish there's like eggs or more sauce to make it a little less dry.

All in all, I’m a very satisfied customer and would definitely go again!