Yabu - House of Katsu

Katsu is short for katsuretsu which refers to cutlet; sliced piece of meat that is breaded and deep fried. In the beginning, only beef was used but now the pork is just as popular giving rise to dishes called Tonkatsu ("ton" meaning pork).

As soon as we sat, they presented us with a bowl of white and black sesame. We were to grind it with the pestle until the it released the aroma of the sesame seeds. Then we were to pour the katsu sauce over it. Dino and I decided to share pork and a chicken katsu. It came with a cabbage salad with your choice of dressing. We used the "goma"  dressing which was the best and quite addicting. Both pork and chicken katsu looked appetizing; it exuded a bright, crisp golden color and was not greasy at all. I was informed that the katsu is cooked at precisely 165 degrees Celsius and allowed too rest properly. The rice they use Koshihikari which is supposedly the finest rice in Japan. Some may not like it as it was a bit mushy.

Yabu is honored to have Chef Kazuya Takeda as Yabu's partner on all things katsu. As the head chef of Tonkatsu Takeshin, a popular tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo, he has graciously passed on this knowledge of katsu to their chefs.

Yabu is located in the ground level of the Robinson's Magnolia Building in Quezon City in the Philippines.