Irwon-dong tonkatsu on a house-hunting walk: limited sirloin, Sioldon

Why Sioldon Irwon Branch on a house-hunting trip near Samsung Seoul Hospital

Sioldon Irwon Branch (시올돈 일원점) is an aged tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) restaurant in the Irwon-dong food district, across the road from Samsung Seoul Hospital. I'd heard that with the population aging fast, areas around big hospitals are going to be the next hot thing, so I went to Samsung Seoul Hospital to scout the area. It sits where Gaepo, Daecheong, Suseo and Irwon-dong meet. I'd thought the area around Suseo Station was a great place to live, and it has a major hospital too!

Before looking around, let's eat. Across from the hospital in Irwon-dong there's a food district (?) even bigger than a regular food alley. I'm craving tonkatsu. Been a while, let's go! The sign says aged tonkatsu? So they age the meat.

Is there parking at Sioldon Irwon Branch?

In front of Sioldon Irwon Branch there's parking for about two cars. I arrived around 1 p.m. and there was a spot ^^ Only room for two, but hey, better than nothing!!!

Hehehe, so many kinds of katsu. Wait for me! I'm about to eat you!

Lunch wait, ordering ahead and handy extras

At Sioldon Irwon Branch, cooking starts as soon as you order and takes about 15 minutes, so while you wait they take your order in advance and time the food to when a seat opens up. Once you step inside you can see the waitlist. I went after 1 p.m. and more than half the tables were still full, so peak mealtimes must have a long wait.

Maybe because it's right in front of a hospital and a school? They even have mouthwash and hair ties out!

How to order at Sioldon Irwon Branch and choose from the menu

You order at the kiosk by the entrance. Don't forget your number ticket~ There's a good-value set too. But I know what I want!

Before picking, check the country of origin first~ Ooh, everything is domestic except the chili powder.

Limited special sirloin katsu with cheese katsu and tenderloin katsu added

This day I ordered the limited-quantity special sirloin katsu, adding cheese katsu and tenderloin katsu. The words "limited quantity" on the poster outside caught my eye as I walked in. Can't walk past that, haha. I'm normally a cheese katsu lover, but a limited quantity means I'm going with the special sirloin this time.

Still, I can't give up cheese katsu. There's no add-on for the special sirloin, but there is one for cheese katsu, haha. So I added cheese katsu and tenderloin katsu to the special sirloin katsu. Ugh, I should have added one more cheese katsu. Spoiler: it was the best cheese katsu I've ever had!!

Takeout at Sioldon Irwon Branch gets you ₩2,000 off, but you have to pay at the counter. ₩2,000 off, wow!!!!

Aged pork and seating at Sioldon Irwon Branch

So this must be what the "aged tonkatsu" on the sign meant. Pork, aging away~

Seating at Sioldon Irwon Branch is 4-person tables, 2-person tables, and solo or couple seats. I usually take a solo seat, but today I tried a 2-person table deep inside.

The tables were nearly full, and everyone but me was a man ^^; They say tonkatsu and jeyuk-bokkeum (spicy stir-fried pork) fight for the top spot among men's favorite foods... and that opening a tonkatsu place in front of a boys' school does well... that wasn't just a saying, haha. The students in uniform look so cute. They're boys, though, haha.

Write a Naver receipt review and you get a free can of cold soda~

I'm glad there's cold tea instead of plain water. And they stick Wi-Fi info at every seat, nice touch! No awkwardly standing up to hunt for the Wi-Fi details~ After eating, put your dishes from the tray into the return station.

Sioldon cheese katsu: does the cheese still stretch once it cools?

The food really did come out in about 15 minutes. Eeeek~~~~! It looks delicious~~~

The add-ons.

In Sioldon's cheese katsu, the meat, cheese and coating are stuck together like one body, and even after cooling the cheese didn't harden or separate. A quick bite before the cheese cools~ Wow~~~~ a masterpiece! Usually even fresh out of the fryer the cheese does its own thing, but here it's all one. The cheese isn't salty either, just rich and nutty~

I ate a leftover piece that had gone cold while I was eating the others, and the cheese hadn't hardened or separated, it still stretched, which was amazing. Of course, you have to bite from the side so your front teeth don't touch the cheese. The crunch held up too.. Next time I'm definitely eating loads of cheese katsu~~ So sad I only added one ㅜㅜ

Tenderloin katsu: the crust and cross-section

Sioldon's tenderloin katsu has a coating that's clearly different in thickness from other tonkatsu at a similar price. Look at that coating. The cross-section looks slightly glazed too. A reddish tint is a sign of fresh, good-grade pork~ So that's why the cross-section looks glossy and coated!

How the limited special sirloin katsu tastes

Sioldon's limited-quantity special sirloin katsu is pounded thin and well, so it's a nice bite-size thickness, haha. Look at how thin the coating is here too. There's no gap at all, it clings right to the meat.

The left part seems to be a special cut. Glossy and chewy. For anyone who loves fat, this texture will drive you wild, haha.

Best ways to eat tonkatsu at Sioldon Irwon Branch

Every table has instructions on how to eat it best.

First, a quick bite of the tenderloin. Enjoy the plain taste and texture of the tonkatsu without sauce~ Mmm~~~~ tender and moist.

They have whole-grain mustard, wasabi and pink salt. I tried it with wasabi and whole-grain mustard on top.

The sauce already has a little wasabi in it and that's good, and dipping it with whole-grain mustard is good too~ If you want more sauce, ask the staff and they'll give you some, just so you know.

After that I was inhaling it so fast there are no photos. I totally wiped the plates out, haha.