Gangdong tonkatsu restaurant for premium pork cuts: Riae Premium

This time, I visited Riae Olympic Park Branch! I’d been here once before, and on coming back, it was still delicious and satisfying, so I had to write about it. I was looking for a nice place to eat after working over the weekend, remembered this spot, and came back—and yep, it definitely didn’t disappoint. 🧡

Premium Loin and Tenderloin Platter with a Cold Soba Set

That day, I ordered the premium loin + tenderloin platter and the cold soba set with loin.

The premium loin had little layers of fat throughout, so it was much more tender and tasty. The breading was fried up beautifully crisp too, and it felt full of juicy goodness. The regular loin and tenderloin, on the other hand, were totally clean-tasting!

Even though they’re both loin cuts, I could clearly taste the difference between the premium loin and regular loin.

Personally, I recommend ordering the platter so you can choose according to how you’re feeling and what you’re craving that day. 🫶🏻

Sauce Pairings for Each Cut

One of the truly great things here is the huge variety of sauces. There’s salt, wasabi, truffle oil, and tonkatsu sauce, so you can dip to your own taste. It was such fun trying different sauces with each cut and comparing the flavors. My personal favorite was the salt + truffle oil + wasabi combination: the aroma gently soaked in and really brought out the flavor without overwhelming the meat itself.

Every side dish that came with it was delicious too. There was kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), pickled gungchae, pickled peppers, and danmuji (pickled yellow radish)—such a nice variety, all seasoned just right rather than too salty, so I kept reaching for them!

And the soup wasn’t just broth—it was packed with meat, radish, and vegetables. It honestly felt like something a mom in a Japanese home would make.. Doesn’t that one detail alone show the care that went into it? Haha.

The cold soba had bouncy noodles and a refreshing broth, and it paired so well with the fried cutlet. 🥰

Mini Tokyo Spicy Curry and Cabbage

I also ordered the Tokyo spicy curry in the mini size. It had quite a lot of ingredients, with a gentle curry heat that wasn’t harsh. The sauce was rich and fragrant with spices too—almost like CoCo Ichibanya. 😌

Oh, and the cabbage! It had such a lovely fluffy texture and was so tasty. Cabbage at tonkatsu restaurants often feels like it’s just there on the side, but here, I could tell they put care into even that.?! It was good enough to eat plain, without any sauce.

Kind Service and Available Parking

The staff were just as genuinely kind as they had been on my previous visit. You could feel their consideration in every interaction, and I was comfortable throughout the meal. They explained the menu in detail, and when I was curious about the sauces, they recommended them one by one, so I think first-time visitors can enjoy it without any pressure. And personally, a huge plus is that parking is available. Parking can be such a stressful part of dining out, but it was nice to visit comfortably here without that worry.

Overall, the food quality, service, and convenience all came together so well, and I left satisfied again. It’s rare for a place to preserve the impression of a first visit even when you come back, but this is definitely one of those places. Next time, I should try another cut too. If you’re looking for great tonkatsu or Japanese-style food near Olympic Park, I highly recommend Riae!