Find out what the craze is about and experience the one true house of Katsu that is fulfilling and authentic.

It has been said: the proof of the pudding is in the eating. In the case of Yabu, it's definitely in its Katsu, short for Tonkatsu, or pork cutlet. The restaurant opened on November 11, 2011 (that auspicious 11.11.11 day!), and the owners are not at all complaining. Packed to the brim, the restaurant always has hordes of diners waiting by and no one cares if it's lunch or dinner. They just want to try the authentic Katsu anytime of the day. Whether out of curiosity or simply to follow the Katsu craze, the owners said there has been no let-up. I got there at past 8 in the evening and noticed that incoming patrons continue to pour into the restaurant. As soon as a table gets vacated, two or more parties are waiting to be seated.

 

 

On the day I tried it out, I was graciously received by none other than the restaurant's co-owners and the one who dreamt about bringing the authentic Katsu experience to Manila -- Mr John Concepcion of the Selecta fame. His wife Peachy intimated to me in an email that it was on a trip to Osaka, their first time in 2009, that they got to try one Katsu restaurant situated under the Osaka train station. Captivated, John uttered to himself "I'd love to bring this to Manila one day." Together with Peachy and good friends Gerry and Jojo Santos, that "one day" happened three years later as they opened Yabu, taking the Japanese dining scene by surprise.

 

 

To bring in the same quality and authenticity of the Katsu he tried in Osaka was no easy task. John had to ask for help from Kazuya Takeda-head chef of Tonkatsu Takeshin, a popular tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo. Takeda is Yabu's expert consultant on all things katsu, and so it was his expertise lent to Yabu that makes all the difference.

 

The first difference starts with the choice ingredients. Sourcing only from the best, Yabu features the "kobe beef" of the pork world known as the Berkshire Black pig that takes centre stage as the restaurant's signature dish -- the Kurobata Pork set. The tonkatsu tastes clean with none of the usual rancid oil that goes with deep-fried dishes and because it's a well-marbled pork, its tenderness is unmistakable, the flavour so savoury while the crispy breading completes what a tonkatsu is all about.

 

 

Regular tonkatsu sets are also on the menu with Rosu (pork loin) or Hire (pork tenderloin) cuts. Yabu also serves an excellent selection of seafood katsu, chicken katsu and curry. Each Yabu set meal comes complete with miso soup, Japanese rice, Japanese pickles, unlimited cabbage with sesame dressing and a bowl of fruit.

 

True to its Japanese essence, every step of every detail is well thought out. The Yabu experience, John and his partners want to emphasize, is more than a gastronomic fill. It is the totality of the experience - the ceremonial presentation of a bowl of sesame seeds to grind them, the nuttiness of the ground seeds that send signals to your brain for the inevitable deliciousness to come, then pouring and mixing the katsu sauce with the ground sesame seeds -- all lead up to the anticipation of the Katsu dining experience -- a great and an authentic one at that.

 

 

YABU

2/F Mega Atrium 

SM Megamall

Mandaluyong City

Tel: +632.576.3900 

 

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