Sous vide tenderloin katsu with soba at Samjeon, Songpa: Pine Katsu

Lately I've been having fun hunting down good pork cutlet spots, and this time I visited Pine Katsu, a Samjeon-dong, Jamsil restaurant a friend recommended to me.

Why I went: curious about sous vide pork cutlet

I do like pork cutlet, but I'm not a big fan of the overly greasy or dry-meat style, so this time I wanted to try something softer and cleaner-tasting. I heard Pine Katsu cooks its meat sous vide, and that got me curious.

4 minutes from Samjeon Station, easy for solo diners too

📍 Pine Katsu 35 Baekjegobun-ro 21-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 101 About a 4-minute walk from Samjeon Station Exit 2

It's close enough to the station that it wasn't hard to find. The place felt clean and comfortable, the kind of spot that seems fine for solo dining too, and good for a casual lunch or dinner.

I came in right after break time ended so it was fairly quiet. There's a good range of sets, plus a happy hour ₩10,000 sirloin katsu deal (4–5pm).

I ordered cheese katsu + tenderloin katsu, plus soba

That day I ordered cheese katsu + tenderloin katsu.

Pork cutlet alone can get a bit heavy, so I also ordered cold soba (buckwheat noodles) on the side — turned out to be a really good call. I tried the soba first, and it was clean and refreshing, a great match with the cutlet.

Especially after biting into the crispy breading, a bite of cold soba in between felt like it reset my palate, so I kept going back and forth.

The tenderloin katsu was moist, no dryness at all

And finally, the tenderloin katsu I'd been looking forward to!

Of everything I ate that day, the tenderloin katsu was my favorite. The first bite made the meat's softness obvious right away. Thanks to the sous vide cooking, the meat was very soft and moist. Tenderloin cutlet can sometimes turn out dry if it's not handled well, but this one had almost none of that.

I dipped the curry side properly too, bite after bite. It broke apart softly instead of being chewy, and best of all, it was clean-tasting without feeling heavy. When I eat pork cutlet I prefer tasting the meat itself rather than dousing it in sauce, and Pine Katsu's tenderloin katsu suited my taste well in that respect.

It also went well with the basil salt. Clean-tasting but with a savory depth to the meat, so it tasted great even without much sauce.

Cheese katsu: richer and more savory

Then I tried the cheese katsu I'd also ordered.

If the tenderloin katsu is clean and light, the cheese katsu is richer and more savory! Cheese tucked inside the crispy breading hit me with a burst of savoriness on the first bite. Alternating between the tenderloin katsu and cheese katsu made the contrast really clear, which made the meal more fun. Personally I lean clean-tasting, so I liked the tenderloin katsu a bit more, but cheese lovers would probably go for the cheese katsu.

And eating soba alongside the cutlet turned out to be a better combo than I expected.

Switching between the crispy, warm cutlet and the cold, clean soba cut the greasiness and let me enjoy the whole meal to the last bite.

Would I go back for pork cutlet in Jamsil?

These days, for pork cutlet, I care more about tender meat and a clean taste than just a crispy coating, and in that regard Pine Katsu was pretty satisfying. If you're like me and not into dry tenderloin cutlet, it's worth trying at least once.

If you're hunting for good pork cutlet around Jamsil, it might be worth the short trip out to Samjeon-dong for Pine Katsu. It's close to the station so it's easy to get to, and being able to eat soba with your cutlet is a plus! Above all, the tenderloin katsu I had that day stuck with me.

Maybe because it's sous vide, the meat was really soft and clean-tasting, easy to eat without feeling weighed down. On a day I want clean, soft pork cutlet in Samjeon-dong, Jamsil, tenderloin is a must!!? I'd go back to Pine Katsu for the tenderloin katsu again :)

Pine Katsu Jamsil Main Branch: visit info

• Address: 35 Baekjegobun-ro 21-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 101
• About a 4-minute walk from Samjeon Station Exit 2
• Hours: 11:00–21:00
• Break time: 15:00–16:00
• Last order: 20:40
• Closed on Sundays