Yangju Okjeong tonkatsu lunch with a kid: spicy nabe set at Himawari

Why we chose Himawari for lunch with a child in Okjeong, Yangju

Himawari, a tonkatsu spot in Yangju Okjeong — spicy nabe set, hire katsu (fillet cutlet), cheese katsu. I was looking for somewhere to eat lunch with my daughter in Okjeong, and since she loves tonkatsu, we headed to Himawari. I picked the spicy nabe set plus a side of cheese-loaded katsu, and my daughter ordered the hire katsu — each dish had such a different vibe that they were great to share. My daughter still talks about it as one of her all-time favorite meals, so I wanted to write it up.

• Open daily 11:00–21:00 / last order 20:55
• 🅿️ Building parking available
• 🚻 Restroom located inside the building
• 👶🏻 High chairs and kids' spoons/forks available
• ✅ Naver reservations available (from 2pm)

It's located in the central shopping area of Okjeong and about a 5-minute walk from Okjeong Lake Park, so it's easy to eat and then stroll around the lake afterward!

It's a small, cozy spot, with a sign out front reading "premium tonkatsu specialty restaurant."

A big banner by the entrance announcing a grand prize win in the food service industry caught my eye — seeing an award like that raised my expectations for the food a bit 😌

There's also a menu board out front you can casually check while walking by, so we looked it over before going in haha. If there's a wait, you can queue up through Catch Table.

Seating and high chairs inside Himawari

Himawari has about 8 two-person tables, and if you have 4 or more people they'll push tables together — plus they have high chairs, so it's good for family visits. There's no break time between lunch and dinner either, and even well past lunchtime, customers kept streaming in hahaha.

What's on the menu at Himawari

You order easily via tablet! The menu was varied — rosu katsu (loin cutlet), hire katsu (fillet cutlet), fish katsu, sweet potato cheese katsu, skewer udon, spicy seafood udon, kimchi katsu nabe, katsu curry, cold soba, and more.

They also have 3 kinds of Himawari assorted sets if you want to try several dishes at once, so if you can't decide, I'd recommend going with an assorted set. They also serve draft beer and highballs, so it seems like a good spot to visit in the evening for a drink 🍻 I wanted something spicy so I picked the spicy nabe set, and my daughter chose the hire katsu. And since I figured it might not be quite enough, we also ordered the à la carte cheese katsu that comes with 2 pieces hahaha.

Grinding your own sesame tonkatsu sauce at the table

There was a bowl of sesame seeds on the table — you grind them well, add the tonkatsu sauce, and mix. I made mine while waiting for our order hahaha. They also had sesame dressing and yuzu dressing for the cabbage, plus shichimi pepper and mustard.

Hire katsu set: the dish my daughter called her best meal ever

A neatly plated hire katsu set, plus the cheese katsu side we ordered!

Can you feel the juiciness from the photo?? 🤤 Low in fat but tender and moist fillet! The meat was thick and the batter thin, so it was truly a crispy-outside, juicy-inside tonkatsu. My daughter took one bite, gave a thumbs up, and — from wherever she picked up the phrase — declared it the best restaurant of her life, saying we absolutely have to come back with her dad and little sibling 😋

Cheese katsu, 2 pieces, as a side

The cheese katsu was packed with mozzarella and had a bit of cheddar mixed in too! I loved how generously they filled it — the cheese oozed out the moment you picked it up with chopsticks — and the savory-salty balance was really well done 👍🏻

What does the spicy nabe set at Himawari taste like?

Next, the spicy nabe set had a hearty broth with tonkatsu soaked in it, moist all through — the spiciness was just enough to feel good, making it easy to eat with rice.

I popped in the soft-boiled egg and ate it together, and there were a good amount of mushrooms and onions too, so I enjoyed it a lot haha. The spicy nabe set was too spicy for my daughter to share, but we split the tonkatsu pieces one by one, so it ended up being a satisfying lunch with my kid!

If you take part in their Naver review event, you can get a fish katsu, chicken katsu, or drink of your choice, so it might be worth joining in and trying that too.

Is Himawari worth it for a lunch with kids?

Overall, Himawari, a tonkatsu spot in Okjeong, was a solid choice when I wanted to enjoy tonkatsu done cleanly. From the hearty spicy nabe set to the lighter, cleaner hire katsu, each dish had a different feel, which was great — and since my daughter loved it so much, I'm planning to come back for another family meal 😄