A Bib Gourmand-rated restaurant in the latest Michelin guide, Ryogoku stalwart Tonkatsu Hasegawa uses premium Hiraboku Sangenton pork from Yamagata. As such they would advise you to enjoy the meat with pink salt to bring out its natural sweetness, instead of dousing it with the regular or spicy tonkatsu sauce (which are also available, if you insist). The house-made panko breadcrumbs are outstanding as well – they produce a golden crispy crust that is light and never oily.
The lunch and dinner menus are similar, but for lunch, certain sets (which come with rice, miso soup and pickles) are offered at a lower price. For example, a regular pork-loin cutlet meal is ¥1,450 at lunch, instead of ¥1,800 for dinner (although the dinner portion is slightly bigger).
But if you’re looking go the whole hog, so to speak, get the super deluxe pork-loin cutlet meal (¥2,800 for 180g; pictured). The thick slab of pork is beautifully marbled while the creamy white fat is meltingly good and packs lots of umami flavour. The accompanying mustard and fresh grated wasabi make a good relief to all that richess – so you can keep going back for more.