Tonkatsu near Samjeon Station: Duroc loin vs single cuts, Pine Katsu

What kind of tonkatsu restaurant is Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch?

Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch is a tonkatsu place near Samjeon Station where you can try Japanese-style pork cutlets by breed and by cut. Oh, and John Dory fish katsu too! It's hard to find a place in Korea that makes fish cutlets from something other than the factory-made pollock fillets.

On weekdays between 4 and 5 PM, there's also an event where you can eat Pine Katsu for ₩10,000.

Atmosphere and the owner's hospitality

The interior of Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch feels clean overall. There's a big table where the dishes are prepared, with seats around it.

The owner's service is really good. You can sense pride in the food, and the explanations and service were very friendly. It doesn't end with just handing over the food; you feel the owner cares about what they make, which put me in a good mood throughout the meal.

Kiosk ordering and the Pine Katsu menu

You order at Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch through a kiosk, and if you poke around on it, information like menu descriptions and the Wi-Fi password shows up.

As I mentioned, starting with the John Dory katsu, there's a wide range of fried dishes by breed and by cut. Personally, I think it'd be even more fun if a lineup like Berkshire K were added.

Why order single-item katsu to compare cuts?

This time at Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch, I ordered the Duroc premium loin katsu (₩19,000), a single-item loin katsu and a single-item tenderloin katsu to compare the cuts. Single items are much cheaper, yet you still get to try each cut as a whole piece, so I recommend it.

The tenderloin is ₩7,000 as a single item and ₩16,000 as the regular one. (Of course, the portion may differ.)

Wow... just look at that!

The basics: spicy soup, kkakdugi (radish kimchi) and sweet tonkatsu sauce

Starting with the set at Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch: the soup tasted a little spicier than ordinary miso soup. It wasn't heavy with the tonkatsu and was good for cleansing the palate.

Cabbage salad, pickled chili peppers, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and tonkatsu sauce come along too. I liked the kkakdugi more than I expected. It has a sweetish taste, and having it between bites of tonkatsu cuts the greasy feeling in your mouth. Eating fried food and meat continuously can get heavy, so a side like this matters more than you'd think.

The tonkatsu sauce was generally the sweet type. But for someone who loves sauce, the amount in the first small dish felt a bit lacking. (They give you more if you ask.) Of course, that's just because I like to dunk my tonkatsu generously in sauce, haha.

How does the Duroc premium loin katsu taste?

The Duroc premium loin katsu at Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch has seriously big pieces to begin with. It's practically impossible to eat in one bite, a brutal size that makes you enjoy a mouthful of meat, hahaha.

It was fun how the texture and flavor of the premium loin change depending on the part. The lean side keeps a tender texture while filling your mouth with the aroma of pork, and the side with fat has a different charm.

The fat melts just right, and its rich flavor seems to coat the roof of your mouth. It doesn't stay heavy, though; it just deepens the pork flavor, which I liked. Alternating between the lean meat and the fatty part lets you enjoy different tastes within a single cutlet.

Personally, I'd recommend eating it with the sauce on the mustard side. The sharpness of the mustard added to the fattiness and meaty aroma of the premium loin balances the flavor nicely.

Curry on the side

The curry at Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch is topped with breadcrumbs and green onion, which adds a crunchy texture and a nice green onion aroma. The curry is slightly spicy with plenty of savory depth.

The meat is stewed until it falls apart, so it melts softly on your tongue rather than being chewy, and you can taste the deep flavor from slow-simmered vegetables. It's a curry meant to go with tonkatsu, but it was quite appealing even on its own.

How is the katsu coating?

The moment you start eating, you notice the difference in the coating. Overall it's very clean and crunchy. It felt like it was fried in fresh oil, since the oil smell wasn't bothersome at all, and the meat and coating go well together.

Single loin katsu: a familiar, satisfying chew

The single-item loin katsu at Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch is also thick, so it has a definite chew. It isn't the dry, lean-only kind; the fat is nicely present, giving a rich, nutty flavor.

If the premium loin's appeal is the melting richness of the fat and the satisfaction of big pieces, the regular loin was good for enjoying the familiar chew of loin katsu.

Single tenderloin katsu: soft enough to melt away

The tenderloin katsu at Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch was really tender. The meat is well tenderized, so you don't need to chew hard; it just softens and disappears in your mouth. I was impressed that despite the thickness, it had almost no toughness or dryness. Like it just melts away, you know??

After eating all three, my impression is that Pine Katsu pays a lot of attention to tenderizing and cooking so you can enjoy the meat softly. Thick tonkatsu can be a burden to chew, but Pine Katsu keeps the presence of the meat while letting it go down smoothly.

Dipping it in the curry is delicious too~

Duroc premium loin vs loin vs tenderloin: which is best?

At Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch, I could compare the Duroc premium loin's rich pork aroma and fatty flavor, the loin's chew and the tenderloin's softness. It's nice to experience how the charm of tonkatsu differs by cut, and above all, what all three shared was being tender for their thickness.

If you're looking for tonkatsu near Jamsil or Samjeon Station, I think Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch is worth a visit. Especially if you want to compare the premium loin, loin and tenderloin yourself, ordering the single-item menus together is a good way to do it.