It sounds easy enough: you get a good piece of beef, cover it with breadcrumbs, and deep fry it ’til the crust reaches a golden brown. Yup, the Japanese invention sounds pretty unusual, but Ginza Kushi Katsu proudly stands by its first-in-Singapore claim of bringing the crisp-jacketed, red-in-the-middle cuts made popular by restaurants like Gyukatsu Motomura and Gyukatsu Okada in Tokyo to a spot here with basic pine-toned interiors.
The main reason for stepping into the fast-casual restaurant, unfortunately, leaves us feeling a little moo-dy. The featureless, un-mottled Australian beef fillet ($24.80/90g set, $34.80/180g set) fails to punch through the pong of vegetable oil cooked into the crumbly crust, and we're forced to plonk the grey half of the steak on a sizzling grill to keep things appetising. Having a steak with chopsticks calls for a tender-to-the-teeth cut, but we're left unglamorously pulling at sinewy meat here – maybe plan your dates somewhere else.
The rest of the menu covers the whole gamut of Japanese fare, with three types of ramen broths and seasonings ($18.80 with a side dish), fragrant hamburg steaks ($18.80/set), baked salmon ($18.80) and pork sukiyaki ($18.80) cooked in a foil wrapper, and a healthy option of pork and vegetables served in dim sum baskets ($16.80/set).
If you do find yourself ducking in after ditching the Din Tai Fung queue, aim your fingers instead at the breaded kushiyaki sticks on the iPad ordering system. Skewered and not-too-oily pork loin ($2.90), salmon ($3.90), gyoza ($2.90), prawn ($4.90) and even cream cheese ($2.90) are served with meaty demi glace ($5.90) or cheese fondue ($5.90) for dipping. Finding a solid, well-priced restaurant to pop into between mall hopping in Orchard Road is always a struggle. Even with Ginza Kushi Katsu in the mix, it still is.
Time Out Singapore reviews anonymously and pays for all meals. Read our restaurant review policy here.
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