Low-temperature tonkatsu in Mapo, Seoul: Kitto's tender cuts

Low-temperature tonkatsu at Sangam DMC’s Kitto

I heard a new tonkatsu hot spot had opened near Sangam DMC, so off I went today. Kitto serves tonkatsu using a low-temperature method, frying it for a long time at a lower heat, and it was the best tonkatsu I’ve had in ages!! My partner thought it was so, so, so good too, and raved that they were still thinking about this tonkatsu days later.

It is close to Exit 9 of Digital Media City Station, in the cluster of restaurants near the Sangam-dong Community Service Center.

• Mon–Fri 11:10–21:00 / Sat 12:00–21:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Last orders: 14:00 and 20:00
• Closed every Sunday
• There is no separate parking area, so you will need to use a nearby public parking lot.

What are the seating and ordering like?

The restaurant is not huge, but it has a fair number of seats. There are bar seats where you can eat at a window-side table, plus two- and four-person tables. Inside, it has that neat, orderly feel of a Japanese restaurant.

Each table has a paper menu, and you can order by QR code. When I opened the QR menu, I found the special tenderloin katsu, which was not on the paper menu. It seems the paper version has not been updated yet. I had seen reviews from people who ate the special tenderloin katsu before going, but it was not on the paper menu, so I had been wondering about it. Then there it was in the QR menu!

Ordering special tenderloin and sirloin katsu

Whenever I visit a place that sells premium sirloin, I always make sure to order it, but it was sold out, so I will have to try it next time. Such a shame, but regular sirloin katsu it was today!

• Special tenderloin katsu ₩20,000
• Sirloin katsu ₩15,000
• Curry ₩4,000

Because it is fried using the low-temperature method, it takes around 10–15 minutes to arrive. It takes a little longer than at a typical tonkatsu restaurant, but it did not feel like an especially long wait. I had tried low-temperature tonkatsu once in Fukuoka ages ago, and this was my first time having it in Korea.

Special tenderloin katsu packed with juices

Isn’t the special tenderloin katsu visual insane? Tenderloin that looks moist, with a vivid pink-red color and so much juice you can practically see it...

I had ordered sirloin, but I tried my partner’s tenderloin first. I took a bite with the smoked Maldon salt on the table, and the juices were just unbelievable... It was incredibly tender, with juices bursting out inside, and it practically melted in my mouth. What a movingly delicious bite.

They advised eating it first on its own, then with salt, and after that with wasabi and tonkatsu sauce. It really is perfect in that order. It lets you taste the meat itself and properly appreciate how it works with the sauces too.

Clean-tasting sirloin and truffle sauce

The sirloin has more texture than the tenderloin and a clean flavor that lets the meat itself come through more clearly, but it is still extremely tender because it is fried at a low temperature. I can only imagine how good the premium sirloin must be....

There is something like yuzu wasabi beside the regular wasabi, and it goes incredibly well with the katsu. This restaurant’s tonkatsu sauce has truffle in it, so its flavor and aroma are wonderful. At first I thought, “Oh? This tastes a little unusual,” then I realized it seemed to have truffle in it. I normally do not eat much tonkatsu sauce and stick to salt and wasabi, but this sauce was so good that I got a little more to dip with.

Clear clam soup, curry, and sorbet

Instead of miso soup, they serve a clear clam soup. My partner and I were both surprised after the first sip, haha. Oh, it was spicy and so delicious. There was one clam in it, but it was plump, and above all the soup had a warming kick that cut through the richness of the tonkatsu—such a great pairing.

The curry we ordered as a side was rich too, with lots of meat inside. So good!!

And finally, we finished with the sorbet!! It was more tart than I expected, but that actually felt just right. It was not sweet, only sour, for a clean finish that swept away all the richness from what we had eaten before.

Kitto is a Sangam tonkatsu restaurant I think I will keep thinking about for a while. It may be the best tonkatsu I have had lately.