Yangju tonkatsu restaurant with cheese katsu: Himawari

Return Visit to Himawari in Okjeong and Visitor Information

It is located at Unit 105, 108 Okjeongdong-ro 7da-gil, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Hours are 11:00–21:00, with last orders at 20:55. Three hours of free parking are available.

I had enjoyed it when I tried it once before, so I came back to try some different dishes this time. Once again, I was pleased by the quality of the tonkatsu frying.

Himawari is a Japanese-style tonkatsu specialty restaurant in Okjeong-dong, where you can enjoy crisp breading and tender meat together.

Ordering Mixed C and Hire Katsu

Since this was a return visit, I switched up my order this time!

• Himawari Mixed C ₩15,500
• Ebi fry → cheese katsu swap +₩500
• Hire katsu ₩14,000
• Total ₩30,000

There were lots of people when we went. They kept coming in afterward, too.

When the place is full, people join the waitlist through Catchtable and wait.

Before the food comes out, you can grind sesame seeds and mix in the sauce yourself. Haha, and before you know it, the food arrives.

The Mixed Set with a Cheese Katsu Swap

First, the mixed set was great to order when you want to taste several kinds of tonkatsu at once. This time, especially, I swapped the ebi fry for cheese katsu,

If you like cheese katsu, I really recommend making this swap, haha. The cheese was so soft and wonderfully stretchy that I thought it was among the highest-quality cheese katsu I've had.

The hire katsu, made mainly with lean meat, was nice and light to eat, and I liked how cleanly fried the breading was overall.

Crisp Breading That Did Not Feel Heavy

Personally, one thing I liked about Himawari was the quality of the frying.

Rather than being overly thick or greasy, the breading was crisp without feeling heavy, so the tonkatsu did not become cloying while I ate it. Breading can make or break tonkatsu, and its crunchy texture came through nicely, so I was satisfied even on a return visit. The salad served alongside was delicious, too! When eating tonkatsu, you really need salad or another side midway through, and this one was crisp and refreshing, making it perfect with the tonkatsu.

Review-Event Chicken Katsu and a Hearty Portion

This time, I also received chicken katsu through a review event.

It is normally a ₩4,000 menu item, but getting to eat it through the event alongside our order gave us such a great variety of dishes, haha.

At first, I thought we could finish everything, but once we started eating, the portion was more substantial than expected.

With several kinds of tonkatsu plus chicken katsu, we got quite full and ended up packing the leftovers to take home. Rather than feeling insufficient for one meal, it felt like a place where you can fill up properly. I think it would be especially well suited to anyone who wants several kinds of tonkatsu at once or loves crisp Japanese-style tonkatsu.