The best sandos in Hong Kong

After the success of Ecriture and Bibo, Le Comptoir went on to open Silencio, a contemporary izakaya featuring live jazz music, embellished with an art-centric interior of a monochrome black space and abstract paintings by Tokyo-born artist, Tomoo Gokita to create a unique, izakaya-dining atmosphere. Executive chef Sean Mell, an alumnus of Nobu Hong Kong teams up with Korean-born, Toronto-raised Yong Soo Do to serve refined renditions of traditional Japanese izakaya dishes. Whisky-cured foie gras with maple syrup braised daikon and sushi rolls filled with Singaporean chilli crab and egg yolk gel aren’t the only specialties here. Their signature wagyu katsu sando ($350), a Miyazaki wagyu tenderloin cutlet glazed with kewpie mayo and tonkatsu sauce, cushioned in between two, crispy thin milk bread is the ultimate showstopper. 

Wagyumafia was founded by self-taught chef turned wagyu expert Hisato Hamada and entrepreneur Takafumi Horie in Tokyo. After the initial success in Japan’s capital, the two later launched their first overseas outlet here in Hong Kong. Taking signature elements from its Tokyo restaurant, Wagyumafia Hong Kong offers a unique progressive omakase kaiseki course set ($1,800) that focuses on the purity and authenticity of premium wagyu. The restaurant’s signature dish is also in-line with this focus on wagyu, as the world’s most expensive wagyu katsu sando. Wagyumafia uses the most premium part of a Kobe beef, the chateaubriand, for their wagyu sando. The finely-marbled, tender fillet is deep-fried in panko crust and smeared with Wagyumafia’s secret katsu sauce. Served between two slices of chargrilled milk bread, this mouthwatering sando is explosively flavourful and outrageously decadent. 

(Reservations are open for members only, with a membership fee of HKD$1000. Benefits include access to all Tokyo Wagyumafia outlets, Butcher Service, priority bookings for special events, pop-ups, exclusive cuts including Champion grade Kobe and more.)

Implementing a farm-to-table concept, Maruju is a yakiniku restaurant committed to providing high-quality, diversified wagyu beef where whole wagyu from farms of different places gets directly delivered to Hong Kong. Besides offering premium M9 wagyu cuts for barbequing, Maruju also has its own wagyu katsu sando using grass-fed, pure-blood Australian wagyu at an affordable price point ($158). 

Wagyu Vanne is a novel and refined reinterpretation of a yakiniku restaurant inspired by Celebrity Chef Vanne Kuwahara, the mastermind behind his famous-across-Japan restaurant, Yoroniku Vanne in Tokyo. Wagyu Vanne sources its beef from Hiyama (a top Japanese wagyu supplier), and features the chateaubriand, the most tender cut of a wagyu, for their signature katsu sando ($498). Limited to only 10 servings per night, the beautifully crafted, thick wagyu cutlet is sealed with a house-specialty demi-glace sauce and sandwiched between two thick, crustless grilled milk bread that is unforgettably scrumptious.  

As the franchise of a popular burger joint in Japan, 5019 Premium Factory prides itself on using premium beef from Kochi prefecture in Japan. Besides their signature American-style wagyu burgers, 5019 has also created their own wagyu katsu sando in a similar manner – the Wagyu Minced Beef Cutlet Sandwich ($168). The cutlet is less fatty than its OG version but nonetheless rich in flavour. This mouthwatering sando is divinely composed using Japanese mustard tonkatsu sauce and two perfectly toasted slices of milk bread.

This lively and eclectic izakaya in Soho not only serves playful and innovative dishes, but also an excellent-tasting Wagyu Katsu Sando ($208). This off-menu item features the zabuton, a premium, beautifully-marbled cut of Kobe beef that’s deliciously rich and buttery in flavour. The panko-crusted wagyu still bears a pleasingly rosy pink centre, with mustard sauce and toasted milk bread to leaven out the grease. It is undoubtedly the perfect snack to match with a zesty highball.