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Located in the unassuming foodie neighbourhood of Kyomachibori, Kyomachibori Nakamura has elevated the humble tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet) into an omakase-style tasting course. The Bib Gourmand-rated restaurant achieves this in two ways: provenance and technique.
The provenance part is on full display the moment you walk into the elegant and surprisingly spacious restaurant, where diners sit around a counter facing the chef at work. Resting on the table is a platter of the day’s pork – an impressive array of cuts from various premium, brand-name pork sourced from across Japan.
To highlight the pork’s natural characteristics, the meat is deep-fried using a laborious, low-heat method. This patient process, which can take up to 20 minutes, yields a beautifully airy and golden panko crust wrapped around perfectly tender meat that’s still gleaming with juices. Timing has to be precise, too, as the tonkatsu is served piece by piece fresh off the fryer to allow diners to compare and contrast the varying textures and flavours.
And the differences are striking. During my visit, the Hirata Farm Berkshire 50 chateaubriand from Yamagata was exceptionally tender and delicate in flavour, while the Tokyo X shoulder loin from Yamanashi offered a more savoury depth and a firmer bite. The loin from Fukushima’s LD Mangalitsa pork, on the other hand, delivered the most luxurious mouthfeel with its sweet, melty fat.
This succession of deep-fried pork is best enjoyed with the bowl of white rice, tonjiru (pork miso soup) and pickles on your table, alongside a selection of condiments including soy sauce, mustard and a bright, tomato-forward tonkatsu sauce. But don’t go dipping indiscriminately; it pays to wait for the chef’s guidance on the best pairing for each cut.
For the grand finale of the meal, I was tasked with a difficult choice. I could go for the comforting pork katsudon rice bowl, where the deep-fried cutlets are simmered in the restaurant’s signature sweet-and-savoury sauce and covered in a velvety, barely set egg. Or the punchy menchi-katsu curry rice, with its juicy piece of minced pork patty sweetened with onions, deep-fried until its crust is suitably brown and crisp, and then drenched in roux. I went with the latter, and the sweet-spicy-peppery curry was utterly moreish. However, if you’d rather not choose – and I won’t blame you – you can enjoy both for an additional ¥800.
Lunch at Kyomachibori Nakamura is priced at ¥6,600, and it features eight pieces of tonkatsu. Dinner, at ¥9,900, adds a few extras including a seasonal appetiser and the chef’s signature pork cutlet sandwich. Unsurprisingly, this is one of the hottest tables in Osaka and reservations get snapped up fast.