杏子 Anzu Tonkatsu - (Taipei)

 Anzu 杏子 is more often than not highly recommended by most Hong Kong foodies who frequently travel to Taiwan.   A couple of close friends of mine however have secretly told me it is over-hyped up,  so I and a foodie friend decided to check it out as a real test.   I was secretly hoping that this would be a good tonkatsu…

 

 

Appetizer -
Some kind of finely julienned pickled veggies,  which was not very authentically Japanese.  ~  4/10

 

 

Tonkatsu Sauce -
The sauce was overly thin and you can visually see that when pouring it.  It was also too fruity tart,  there wasn’t enough of the Worchester sauce influence or depth.   Would say it’s not very balanced and the consistency quite a bit off.   ~  3/10

 

Side Salad -

 

Thick Cut Pork Ribeye – [厚切りロースかつ膳]　NT 350
The default rosu katsu item is the real litmus test,  no stuffing of mentaiko or cheese this time.  The panko crust wasn’t as evenly pointy as some of the best shops in Hong Kong or Japan.  Although the pork meat was very soft to the point it offered little bite resistance,  it was devoid of ANY pork taste and was obviously so tender by being overly brined,  you will instantly recognize it if you are used to eating brined meat.   ~  7/10

 

You can visually tell by this photo it’s brined to the point the tissues have broken down,  there’s even water seeping out …

 

 

White Rice with Miso Soup -
The rice arrived a bit too wet for my liking.  I am not sure if the miso soup is actually a pork version [豚汁] as it was rather subdued in taste and ingredients.  Not very authentic in taste overall.  ~  5/10

 

 

Red Rice – [赤米]
This was much better than the very wet white rice above.   We appreciate that they offered this as an alternative carb for the set meals!   ~  9/10

 

 

Taiwan grown Black Kurobuta Pork Ribeye Tonkatsu – [黒豚ロースかつ]
The above normal pork version had zero taste at all,  so we ordered a higher end Taiwanese grown Kurobuta.  Although this fared slightly better, that signature Kurobuta-only ‘sweet potato like fat sweetness umami’ was very faint and this remained way over-brined.   I can see how some people like them as served here.  They are thicker than anything you can get in Hong Kong,  it’s slightly pink in the middle and it is tender – that is it’s advantage.   But ultimately I think it’s not presented very naturally and this approach to tonkatsu isn’t how the top shops in Japan operate either.  The mediocre peripherals and sauce kind of killed my interest to return in the future! 

 

 

Price:   TWD $350
Food:  ♕♕♕1/2 to ♕♕♕♕
Ease of Access:  4/5 

Opening Hours:
TBA

Address: 台北市复兴南路二段271巷2号, level 10
Fuxing, Sogo Shopping Centre