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Ginza Bairin, a closer look
Aloha!
1/26/09 - Aaah, katsu, one of the true staples of local plate lunch! It's basically the same as a cutlet, except instead of breadcrumbs or batter outside, panko flakes are used. Actually, panko flakes are breadcrumbs, but that's a term more typically used for American-style breadcrumbs, which are more rounded, crumbly, and use both the outer brown and inner white sections of bread, while panko flakes are, well, flaky, and use only the white's.
Ever make a chicken, pork, shrimp, fish, or even beef katsu at home before? It's unbelievable, I tell you! When done right, fresh from the fryer, chances are it'll blow away any plate lunch katsu you've ever had before! As I've said on several occasions before, most plate lunch houses bread their katsu before-hand, then either refrigerate or freeze them for later use. I don't blame them, however, as the prep-work involves a bit of a time-consuming process, first having to season, then flour, then dip in egg-wash, then, finally, coat each piece with panko flakes before dropping 'em in the fryer.
Not that you can't get katsu as good or better than at home when eating out, as most Japanese sit-down restaurants bread fresh. If you wanna be assured of a really good katsu, though, there are a few among them that stand out even more than the rest. Ginza Bairin on Beachwalk St. in Waikiki happens to be one such place. First opened in Ginza, Japan, way back in 1927, this popular restaurant has had a lot of time to refine their craft, their very continued existence though the years serving as a testament to the quality of food found here.
I don't know what's the deal with those ladders all over the exterior, but the inside of the restaurant is clean and stylish, with dark, rich tones of wood, straight lines, and strategic lighting, all combining for a hip, modern atmosphere that is both comfortable and attractive.
Being that we were with my vegetarian brother, Ginza Bairin was nice enough to whip up something off-menu, which was a mix of thin-sliced cabbage, red bell peppers, daikon, myoga, tomatoes, cucumbers, Italian parsley, and who knows what else? Sorry, but this is not the sort of dish that really peaks my interest, or I'd get into it a little more! What the heck, anyway - forget the play-by-play - you just wanna see the pics, right?
My other brother's wife was also there, and she loves a good karaage, even though she was also a vegetarian at one point in her life. It's a good thing she's seen the light!
When it comes to karaage, it's not like you can get super-fancy or dress things up so much, as they are simply marinated (though sometimes not), boneless chicken pieces deep-fried in batter. Such being the case, the only things left to judge are pretty much the same for all deep-fried items - how fresh is the meat, how crispy is the batter, and did they overcook or not? At a restaurant like this, we just assume that any chicken is not freezer-burned and of a decent quality, so the factors contributing to a good karaage are usually found in using a hot-enough oil and never over-cooking. Both, when not implemented, leave you with stale, greasy coatings and dry, tough chicken.
As expected, as dishes began arriving across our large table of seven adults and four children, we all found that Ginza Bairin does, in fact, know a thing or two about frying, and this chicken karaage was no exception. Tender. Crispy. Juicy. Flawless, it was.
Before getting to Ginza Bairin's specialty, katsu (and especially, tonkatsu!), there are several condiments found to jazz things up a bit. The first is the funnest, with a mini mortar-and-pestle, or suribachi and surikogi, restpectively, meant for you to grind up sesame seeds that are then sprinkled into your sauce, directly opon your katsu or salad, or anything else you so desire. The seeds do not break down into a paste, but instead remain dry and crumbly, and, while yet containing the earthy taste of sesame, was much lighter and less nuttier than I expected.
The main condiment tray featured a large container of house-made tonkatsu sauce, put together from a selection of different spices, fruits, and vegetables. It is the main sauce used for any type of katsu, and is sometimes referred to as Japanese Worcestershire. Actually, it is much thicker, much sweeter, not nearly as strongly-flavored, and very different, but aaah, they do kinda share that same dark color and fruity/tangy zing. Local plate lunch houses often mix it with ketchup, and sometimes wasabi or horseradish, to use as katsu sauce, but traditional restaurants like this don't dilute at all.
Other condiments included are a mustard paste, chili flakes, and togarashi, which is another type of chili, but ground.
Mom ordered shrimp katsu, which, after one look, left me envious and wanting. The giant pieces of shrimp were not slit down the center and halved, but left whole, slit cross-wise down the entire back to prevent curling, and katsu'd as beautifully as I'd seen anywhere. And we're not talking all breading here, as is often the case - take a look at the thick, meaty chunks of sweet, white flesh - I thought she'd ordered giant King crab legs, instead - you know, the ones where one leg weighs about a pound each? I didn't ask for a piece since she already gave away a bunch, but judging by the looks of everyone who tried it, this restaurant should be known for shrimp just as much as it should for pork! Check out the size of these buggah's - Next time, gaurantee!
These same, succulent pieces of shrimp are also featured in another dish that looks just as delicious, which was my other sister-in-law's shrimp katsu donburi, something you don't see all too often. Donburi is made by quickly stewing a particular type of meat with onion, green onion, and partially-cooked eggs in a dashi/soy/mirin base, then placing the entire mix onto a bowl of hot rice. When ordering donburi, for some reason, if you want chicken, you'll get it stewed and not katsu'd; and if you want shrimp, you'll get it as tenpura, and again, not as katsu. Two of life's great mysteries, they are. You'll find the tenpura version, called tendon, all the time, but try asking for shrimp katsu don (short for don-buri), and you'll only confuse your server, or find her scuttling back to the kitchen to ask Chef about the feasability of such a request!
One big reason I don't often order tendon is that all you get, normally, are two pieces of shrimp tenpura on rice flavored with a little soy or a sweetened soy sauce. No eggs, no sliced onions, no dashi-flavored sauce to flavor all that rice. Just seems a little meager to me - I'd be better off getting a full shrimp tenpura plate! I understand that a thin tenpura coating would never hold up to the traditional mix of donburi items just mentioned, but a katsu coating definitely would! Why not shrimp katsu donburi, and chicken katsu donburi, as well, instead of just pork katsu donburi (tonkatsu)???
Doesn't this following dish just make a whole lotta sense? My sister-in-law sure enjoyed it...
Despite such rantings, I had to try the pork, as it is their signature dish! I actually didn't get the much-acclaimed, top-shelf Kurobuta pork loin katsu, mostly because mom was paying for all of us and, well, I just couldn't! Bad form, you know...
At almost $40, I went instead with the much cheaper, lesser grade of tonkatsu. I've had a trusted, very food-savvy friend say that both cuts are excellent, and the difference between them arguable in comparison to the giant price swing. I can see his logic, as when even your standard cuts are quality cuts, one-up'smanship becomes tougher and tougher to achieve.
My less-expensive tonkatsu set was easily in a different class from anywhere else on the island (except for Kaffe Imperial, I know!). Served on an elevated wire grill so not a single blip of your katsu becomes soggy, Ginza Bairin even uses a high-quality cottonseed oil that won't weight you down nearly as much. The slices of pork are thick, juicy, and tender, an achievement you surely ain't gonna get from thick-cut supermarket pork. When cooking tonkatsu at home, I'd never attempt thicker cuts that are prone to drying out, but always pound and flatten my pork into thin slices that are cooked quickly and tear easily, instead. Here, you don't have to worry about dry centers. Nor greasy outsides. It's the real deal, for sure, made possible only by high-quality meats and skilled chefs.
Wifey's order was basically the same as mine, except she ordered it Wafu-style. What's the difference? Well, I'll let this next pic tell you...
Yup, that's the only difference right there! A small bowl of a soy-based sauce, green onions, and grated daikon (suri).
We all left the restaurant that fine evening impressed with the quality of dishes, cool atmosphere, and helpful service. The only cause for concern was in prices, which are a bit on the high side even when not ordering the top-shelf Kurobuta pork loin. Everyone, however, should try this place at least once, just so you know how real katsu is supposed to be done!
Sorry for the long wait in putting out new pages - my computer was down for the last several days! Much Mahalo's to the gang down at Personal Touch Computer (right across the old Comp USA on Keawe St.) for the job and making my computer sing again! I couldn't be happier!
Hope you're all having a wonderful day! Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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