The Causeway Bay opening of 勝博殿 (Saboten) is a blessing to local tonkatsu fans being granted their wish of discovering yet another authentic fried pork-chop experience. Although there has been another local Saboten outlet for a few months already, confined within the restricted areas of the HK Airport, this is the first time it became accessible by everyone at will! Saboten in Japan is not really considered a top tier Tonkatsu shop - it’s affordable, but certainly less famous than the likes of Maisen (まい泉), the 40 layered tonkatsu @ Kimikatsu (キムカツ 恵比寿本店), Ginza Bairin 梅林, Tonki (とんき, vastly over-rated!) or even the chain stores of Wako (和幸), etc.
Personally I found a lot of the branded name Tonkatsu shops in Japan to be quite over-rated anyway… so whether a shop is any good or not, should be judged purely on taste, not by brand!
Roasted Tea -
キャベツの千切り (Refillable Cabbage) -
With 2 types of dressings…
Not that sweet, but at least sliced very thinly!
Tonkatsu Sauce and Grinded Black & White Sesame -
Pretty decent. Better than Ginza Bairin in my opinion…
”雪 ”- 元祖梅紫蘇ヒレ巻きかつ、 海老フライ、 ロスかつ(小) $168 -
The fluffy bread crumbs are made in-house, and are a whole heap more better than the flat-type Tonkichi (豚吉) version. There were small problems with the panko layer separating from the meat, but THAT HAPPENS in the best of the best tonkatsu shops in Japan as well. ~ 7.5/10
Pork cutlet was ok-juicy, the Rolled Fillet Maki was appetizing with the Shiso and Plum filling. Fried Prawn was slightly mushy but better than a lot of local shops already. Mustard was of the powdery type, rather than real Japanese Karashi mustard. Acceptable quality vs the price point! I mean with all the pickles, cabbage, soup and rice being refillable!!
漬物 Pickles -
Not bad, and with unlimited refills too!
御飯 (White Rice) & 麦飯 (Rice with Wheat) -
The former is ‘too wet’, and doesn’t have much taste. The latter seems to be better on this occasion. Unlimited refills as well! ~ 6/10
味噌汁 Miso Soup -
With a bit of nameko mushrooms and seaweed, but no signs of tofu.
This can also be topped up, but quality was only passable ~ 6/10
@ HK International Airport, the 1st Terminal 1 Store -
There’s less selections than the bigger Causeway Bay store here. But it’s also a little cheaper.
Similar to Burger King in HK, the Airport outlet is run by a different franchise company. On average the Tonkatsu and Furai Sets are around $40 less per order at the airport store.
Price: $168 Per Person + 10%
Score: ♕♕♕♕
Opening Hours:
Mon to Friday - 12:00pm - 15:00pm, 18:00pm - 23:00pm
Sat to Sun - 12:00pm - 15:30pm, 18:00pm - 23:30pm
Address: 銅鑼灣恩平道42號亨利中心地庫
Lower Ground Floor, Henry House, 42 Yun Ping Road, Causeway Bay
Ph: 2895 4111
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