Busan tonkatsu restaurant with limited YBD sang loin: Hets Jeonpo

Hets, a katsu specialist I found in Jeonpo

It had been a while since I'd had really good tonkatsu (Japanese-style breaded pork cutlet) in Jeonpo, and Hets was the place I came across while looking. I was curious what a katsu specialist would taste like, so I visited looking forward to its clean atmosphere and variety of katsu dishes.

Hets Jeonpo Branch location and hours

It is located at 201, 2F, 225 Jeonpo-daero, Busanjin-gu, Busan, South Korea, and is open daily from 11:10 to 20:30. Break time is 15:30 to 17:00, and last orders are at 15:00 and 20:00.

Hets is located between Seomyeon Station and Jeonpo Station, so it is very accessible. It's a nice place to visit while enjoying Jeonpo's lively atmosphere, and I'd also recommend it as a meal spot when you have plans in Seomyeon or Jeonpo.

The interior felt clean and well organized overall. It isn't a huge restaurant with tons of seats, but bar-style seating around the open kitchen lets you watch the katsu being made up close.

Ordering YBD sang loin katsu and hire katsu

At Hets, you can try katsu made with Jeju black pork as well as YBD katsu. YBD is said to use pork from three breeds: Yorkshire, Berkshire, and Duroc.

That day, we ordered the YBD sang loin katsu and YBD hire katsu. Just so you know, sang loin katsu is sold in limited quantities, so it seems best to arrive a little early if you want to try it!

After ordering and waiting, the jang-guk broth and rice arrived first, followed by the main katsu.

Two kinds of katsu, crisp outside and juicy inside

The katsu finally arrived! It looked incredibly appetizing from the start. The exterior was fried crisp while the inside looked moist and perfectly cooked. Looking at the cross-section, I could see the juices and tender grain of the meat, and it made me want to dig in right away.

The rich, chewy flavor of sang loin katsu

Sang loin katsu is a cut with gabrisal, or pork jowl meat, attached, so it had a richer, nuttier fattiness than ordinary loin katsu. With the first bite, that savory richness came through strongly along with the meat's pleasantly chewy texture.

It was delicious on its own, but it was also fun combining it with the different ingredients on the table. Mustard or wasabi gave the pork a different character, and it was tasty with extra pepper too. My personal favorite, especially, was adding just a little truffle oil. The truffle aroma made the sang loin katsu's characteristic rich flavor feel much deeper.

The tender, clean appeal of hire katsu

Hire katsu had a distinctly different appeal from the sang loin. Above all, its texture was really tender and moist. It chewed softly without being tough or dry, with a clean flavor, so I think hire katsu would suit anyone who likes lighter-tasting katsu.

The sang loin katsu was rich and full-flavored, while the hire katsu was tender and clean, so ordering both was great because I could compare their different charms as I ate.

Spicy jang-guk broth that cut through the richness

Lastly, the jang-guk broth was especially memorable. Rather than the mild broth you usually get at a tonkatsu restaurant, it had a lightly spicy kick, which I loved. After eating katsu for a while, the richness of the fried coating and pork can build up, but sipping the spicy broth in between cut through it and refreshed my palate. In the end, I couldn't resist mixing rice into the broth too.

Overall, I was happy not only with the food but also with the restaurant's atmosphere and location, so I think it will come to mind again when I'm looking for a neat meal in Jeonpo. In particular, if you love tonkatsu or prefer katsu that lets you really taste the pork itself over the usual Korean-style pork cutlet, it seems well worth a visit.