Popular tonkatsu restaurant Hajime opens a second outlet, now offers shrimp katsu rice
Renowned tonkatsu outlet Nihonbashi Tonkatsu Hajime has opened its second venue just a two-minute walk away from its first. The original location, which opened in May 2022, is wildly popular for its chunky deep-fried pork cutlets served with an omelette on rice – so much so that the queue can sometimes stetch to three hours long during peak times.
Here at Hajime Hanare, pork is still the main attraction, and you'll find three types on the menu: a premium Yongenton pork that’s been aged for ten days, whey-fed pork from Hokkaido, and Kobe premium pork that’s been raised on bread and mineral water. All three are prepared in two or three different ways depending on whether you want a rice bowl or set meal. So yes, you can also get the deep-fried pork and egg rice bowl that propelled them to culinary stardom here at this new outlet.
Many visit this restaurant for the atsugiri yaki katsudon (¥1,980), which features a thick slab of pork that’s almost triple the size of your average tonkatsu. If you’re lucky, you can even try the premium atsugiri rib eye yaki katsudon (¥2,480) – this one has an even richer taste and is only available in limited quantities.
Delve a little deeper into the menu and you'll find the Hanare-exclusive shrimp yaki katsudon (¥3,380). Prepare yourself for a hefty rice bowl topped with a layer of egg and two gigantic deep-fried shrimp katsu, each one containing three strips of shrimp wrapped in thin layers of pork. In addition to tonkatsu sauce, it’ll be served with a side of tartar sauce for dipping.
Lighter options are available in the form of the teishoku set meal, which starts with 140g of meat instead of the 220g with the katsudon. The teishoku also comes with a serving of cabbage and rice, and you can ask for seconds for free. Both the katsudon and teishoku are served with a side of miso soup and pickles, too.
Still feeling hungry? Order up some additional deep-fried items like anago eel (¥500), pork fillet (¥550), shrimp (¥400), squid (¥200) and even crab claw (¥600).