Ginza Bairin

If ever you want to indulge in the happiness of seeing hearts in the eyes of your significant other, take them to Ginza Bairin in the neighborhood of Sagan-dong and feed them the Katsu Sandwich. It’s an extremely simple and surefire method. Donkatsu (deep-fried, breaded pork cutlet) made from Jeju Black Pig pork is slathered in sauce and placed between two succulent pieces of bread. There’s no division of opinion—it’s just that good. The Ginza Bairin in Sagan-dong is the Korean location of a famous donkatsu (bread pork cutlet) restaurant that opened in Ginza in 1927. The Katsu sandwiches are good, but at Ginza Bairin you can also try other items on the menu, such as the hirekatsu (deep-fried, breaded pork fillet) or the “Special Katsudon" (a bowl of rice topped with tonkatsu, egg and condiments) and experience the essence of Japanese-style donkatsu. The owner of the Ginza Bairin in Japan visits at least three times a year, to fine-tune recipes and the menu, and to ensure that the taste matches up perfectly with the taste at the original Japanese location. With ingredients like the Jeju Black Pig pork, and a superior brand of rice called “Cheolsaedoraeji,” the quality conforms to that of high-quality hotel standards. The artisan spirit can be fully felt even in the production of the breadcrumbs used, which are made in-house. This is because the breadcrumbs must be near-tasteless to truly let the flavor of the meat shine. But breadcrumbs found in the Korean market are usually seasoned, preventing full enjoyment of the meat, which after all is the primary ingredient in donkatsu. This establishment bakes its own bread with high-grade hard flour, and after letting it dry for 15 hours, discards the crust and grinds only the bread within for breadcrumbs. The top-quality ingredients, the high level of expertise and the wholeheartedness on top of all that should speak for themselves without any need for a description of the taste. Two thumbs up!