Yongsan pork cutlet restaurant with a kid: cabbage salad at Onjeong

I'm introducing a restaurant we ate at for lunch while out with my kid in Yongsan: Yongsan Donkatsu Onjeong Gyeongyang Sikdang, Yongsan branch. It's the best pork cutlet I've eaten out in a while — good enough that I really want to go back.

There were plenty of solo diners, and a lot of people picking up takeout too. The location is great, so if you're near Hyochang Park, it's worth a visit.

Ordering and seating: window counter seats side by side with a child

At Onjeong Gyeongyang Sikdang's Yongsan branch, you order at the kiosk. There are seats facing the window, so my kid and I sat side by side there.

Sitting across from each other at a two-top is often awkward, so I prefer sitting side by side whenever possible. The restaurant was tidy and well organized, with a kids' chair and disposable apron on hand. And the self bar let us refill rice and cabbage salad, which was great. I'm not usually a fan of raw vegetables, but I can barely eat pork cutlet without cabbage salad, haha. So pork cutlet plus cabbage salad is always a win for me!

What's on the Onjeong Gyeongyang Sikdang menu in Yongsan

The menu includes classic pork cutlet, Onjeong spicy pork cutlet, cheddar cheese pork cutlet, Onjeong curry pork cutlet, udon & pork cutlet, soba & pork cutlet, fried tofu fish cake udon, and green tangerine cold soba. My four-year-old and I ordered the classic pork cutlet and the green tangerine cold soba, and it was such a good choice.

Oil management and the steam-injection fryer at Onjeong

One thing that set Onjeong apart from other places: they only use thick-cut meat prepped that same day, and manage their frying oil fresh every day. I actually worked a part-time shift at a pork cutlet place once and quit after a single day because the state of the oil and the kitchen shocked me so much, haha — I couldn't even eat pork cutlet for about nine months after that. So it seems Onjeong is genuinely serious about oil management. I'd never heard of a 'steam-injection fryer' before, but apparently it keeps the oil clear for longer, keeps the crispiness consistent, and greatly reduces harmful byproducts.

Oh! And there was an origin label — rice domestic, pork Korean hanwoo pork, diced radish kimchi domestic, vegetables domestic~ That's so great these days, ㅠㅠ. Lately my husband and I keep hoping more places will use domestic vegetables — especially domestic red pepper powder and domestic napa cabbage — even if it means higher prices...

Green tangerine cold soba arrives first

After a bit of a wait, the green tangerine cold soba came out first.

I liked that the wasabi came served separately. But since I had my kid with me, I didn't add any wasabi at all, haha.

Salad, diced radish kimchi, and pickled radish came out alongside it. My kid must have liked the salad dressing because she tried cabbage salad for the first time and kept saying 'more, more' — I was surprised. It had a refreshing flavor, just right to eat with pork cutlet.

Topped with seaweed flakes and ice cubes~ Eat plenty before summer ends!

It was so good to eat between bites of pork cutlet. The combo of meat and noodles is always welcome~

Classic pork cutlet with its sauce, bread and mushroom soup

And now the classic pork cutlet!!! These days it seems like Japanese-style tonkatsu is more common, but I really love the classic Western-style version too. And the sauce here is seriously amazing ㅠㅠ

Bread came out too, which my kid ate. It came with Ottogi strawberry jam, which was a nice touch.

Broth and mushroom soup too~ The mushroom soup was on the thin side, probably with a lot of milk or some other liquid mixed in, and my kid ended up mixing rice into it;; after tasting it she said, 'Mom, mix some rice in for me,' hahahaha... She doesn't like mushrooms so I ate them all myself.

Eating pork cutlet with cabbage, sipping the broth, and finishing off with the soba as a palate cleanser made me so happy, hahaha. It was hot out, so eating soba with the AC on while enjoying pork cutlet was genuinely a delicious meal! This is a place I want to visit again, so I recommend it.