Tonkatsu in Mapo, Seoul with a juicy pink center: Kitto

We’ve both been so busy with work lately that my work bestie and I barely had time for our little chats. Then today we made plans: “Let’s get dinner after work!” Looking for a good place in Sangam-dong that we could walk to after clocking out, we went to Kitto. To give you the conclusion first... this has reset my personal tonkatsu ranking.

Kitto in Sangam: location and hours

Kitto

• Address: 23 Maebongsan-ro 2-gil, floors 1–2, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Location: About a 3-minute walk from Exit 9 of Digital Media City Station
• Hours: Mon–Fri 11:10–21:00 / Sat 12:00–21:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00 / Last order: 20:00
• Closed: Every Sunday

Hours may change, so please check Naver Map before visiting :)

I wondered what Kitto meant, and then...

KITTO (きっと): surely / KATSU (勝つ): win. Japanese knowledge +1, hahaha.

A Seongsu-like atmosphere in Sangam

Suddenly it felt like I was in Seongsu while still in Sangam. The atmosphere was so nice. Might even work for a first date..?

There are bar seats by the window, too. The large windows give you a clear view outside, so it looked great for dining solo as well.

Ordering by Toss QR and smoked Maldon salt

Every table has a QR menu! It was convenient because we didn’t have to call a staff member over.

There was smoked Maldon salt on the table. Apparently, this premium salt is cold-smoked over oak charcoal in Maldon, England, giving it a gentle smoky aroma and crisp, pyramid-shaped crystals, haha.

Ordering sirloin tonkatsu, tenderloin tonkatsu, and curry

The menu is just one page. As you’d expect from a great tonkatsu spot in Sangam-dong, there are exactly four kinds of katsu. We ordered sirloin tonkatsu for ₩18,000, tenderloin tonkatsu for ₩16,000, curry for ₩4,000, and two lemon sours at ₩6,000 each!

The instructions for eating were written on the left. First bite: katsu as it is. Second: with salt. Then kosho and tonkatsu sauce. It also said in advance that, because it is cooked at a low temperature, it takes about 10–15 minutes after ordering.

First, cheers with lemon sours~

While waiting for the food, we got our two lemon sours first. Full of ice, with a slice of lemon in each! It had been so long since we’d properly sat down and caught up, so we started with a cheers 🍋

Pale golden sirloin tonkatsu

First, the sirloin tonkatsu. Wow... when the plate came out, the color alone was different! The breading was a very pale gold rather than dark brown. (The oil must be clean!!) And the cross-section. The center was still beautifully pink.

The color is no joke, right?!

Six pieces of tenderloin tonkatsu

And then the tenderloin tonkatsu. Six pieces with round cross-sections!! The color was an even more delicate pink overall.

Is it okay if it’s pink? 🐷

In photos, the inside is such a pretty pink that you might think, “Uh...? Isn’t this undercooked?” I was curious at first too, so I looked it up! The red or pink color in meat is said to be influenced less by blood not being drained and more by a pigment protein in the muscle called myoglobin.

So even when pork is heated sufficiently, its interior can remain pink depending on the cooking method and condition of the meat. In other words, a pink cross-section does not automatically mean undercooked meat! 👀 So apparently, when you see this juicy pink cross-section at tonkatsu places these days, there’s no need to immediately assume, “It’s raw!” based on color alone :) And above all... that pink center made it look moist rather than dry, so I was excited before even taking a bite, haha.

A soft, tender first bite

Okay, they said to eat the first bite plain, so I took a bite without dipping it in anything. Wow. So, so tender!!!! Soft and tender.. the sirloin was tender and the tenderloin was tender too!! Usually, when you order both sirloin and tenderloin, one can be a bit dry, but both were tender here!

You can see all the grain in the cross-section!

Truffle tonkatsu sauce we refilled

I loved that there were so many things to pair it with! Three little bowls came out: truffle tonkatsu sauce, kosho, and pale green wasabi. Plus that smoked salt from earlier! This truffle tonkatsu sauce was seriously delicious, so we even got a refill, hahaha. Don’t pour the sauce over everything; add a little on top of each piece instead.

It was really good with wasabi on top, too!

You have to order the curry!!

I really want to emphasize this. The curry is ₩4,000. You absolutely have to order it! It comes topped with a generous pile of crispy breading bits.

It was delicious mixed into rice, and delicious spooned over the tonkatsu too, haha. At ₩4,000, there is no reason not to order it!

Rice, soup, side-dish refills, and cabbage

If you ask the staff, they will refill the rice, soup, and side dishes. You can also request ochazuke (rice with green tea) during your meal.

The cabbage comes piled high and very finely shredded. It is drizzled with dressing and whole sesame seeds, so I could keep eating this alone.

Homemade lemon sherbet after the meal

After we finished, sherbet came out. (So thoughtfully brought over!) A refreshing lemon finish! It really cleanses your palate, haha.

Kitto, where I want to return after work

Kitto, where I went with my work bestie after clocking out. Truly... it is my all-time tonkatsu.. Soft and tender! Neither of the two we had was a miss. It was fun eating each piece differently—salt → wasabi → sauce—and we even refilled that sauce.

Seriously, order the curry! It’s ₩4,000, and I think I’d be really sad if it were missing. It paired well with the lemon sour too, but next time I definitely want to come back for Asahi draft beer 🍺 We scraped up every last bit of curry and left very, very full.