Yabu: The House of Katsu

A dinner date with my sister at Yabu: The House of Katsu made me see katsu in a whole new light.  Browsing through their menu, I learned that the Japanese term katsu or katsuretsu actually translates to cutlet and "ït generally refers to a sliced piece of meat that is breaded and deep-fried".

Since we weren't super hungry, we decided to share an order of the Hire Set which consisted of 2 pieces of pork tenderloin, rice, miso soup, cabbage, pickles and a fruit bowl.  The breading of the pork tenderloin was crisp and the meat was so soft and juicy.  This paired with the katsu sauce and soft fragrant rice was heaven in my mouth.

Hire (Pork Tenderloin) Set
P365 for 150 grams or P295 for 100 grams
3/4 inch thick and flaky hire (Japanese for pork tenderloin) where the pork has no fat attached to it

Aside from the usual salt and pepper, the salad dressing and katsu sauce were on the table.  The sesame mayo dressing was perfect for the unlimited shredded cabbage.  The menu also illustrates how to prepare your katsu sauce. GRIND the sesame seeds (which will keep you preoccupied while you wait for your food). POUR in the katsu sauce. MIX them together.  DIP your meat.  

We also had an a la carte order of the chicken breast.  I usually prefer chicken more than pork but in this case, the pork tenderloins won me over.  Watch out for that yellow dot on the side!  I swiped a generous amount thinking it was honey mustard dressing and was surprised that it was a spicy horseradish sauce.

Chicken Breast P95 for 60 grams

We were delighted to get appetizers on the house for being an SM Advantage Cardholder.  Free appetizer for an order of a katsu set just by presenting your card.  I didn't notice the promo duration though.  We were very pleased with the crunchy Wakame but the Potato Salad was just ordinary. 

Appetizers - choose any two for P175
Wakame - seaweed salad topped w/ ebiko
Potato Salad - potato cubes tossed in creamy mayonnaise mustard dressing
Hiyayakko Tofu - cold silken tofu cubes in ponzu sauce, sprinkled w/ bonito flakes
Edamame - young green soybeans

I will definitely come back here with my pork loving husband who appreciates anything that is fried.  I want to try their seafood offerings and the curry katsu too.

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Yabu:  The House of Katsu
2nd Floor Mega Atrium
SM Megamall