Self-serve pickle bar at Kkot Gatsu, a Dongtan pork cutlet restaurant

The restaurant I'm introducing today is a Japanese-style pork cutlet spot in Dongtan-dong, Hwaseong! A truly authentic handmade pork cutlet specialist — Kkot Gatsu Dongtan Main Branch!!

Where is Kkot Gatsu Dongtan Main Branch, and what is it like inside?

Kkot Gatsu Dongtan Main Branch sits near the main residential area of Dongtan-dong, so it's easy to get to. The exterior is clean from the outside, and inside, wood tones mix with calm yellow lighting for a warm, sentimental atmosphere.

The exterior of the Dongtan-dong Kkot Gatsu location is so clean!! Since it's near the main residential area of Dongtan-dong, it's easy to reach, and the place is clean and full of feeling, so it'd be great for a date or a family gathering~~ The interior also has that warm, sentimental mix of wood tones and calm yellow light, and there were actually a lot of couples on dates there!

They say Kkot Gatsu Dongtan Main Branch uses top-grade Korean pork aged for 10 days, along with house-made pickles, lemon salt, and clean, fresh oil to deliver a flavor that 'blooms' in your mouth~~ So that's why it's called Kkot Gatsu (flower cutlet)!!

Kkot Gatsu menu: Kkot cutlet is tenderloin, and sets require an udon choice

Here's the menu at Kkot Gatsu Dongtan Main Branch~~ There's a basic lineup of various cutlets, where the Kkot cutlet is the tenderloin cutlet, and there's also pork loin cutlet, premium loin cutlet, cheese cutlet, chicken cutlet, fish cutlet, plus a nice option for tasting two kinds of cutlet together~~

There are also set menus that pair Kkot Gatsu's cutlets with udon, plus a set where you can have cold soba ^^ When ordering a set, you must choose between hwa-udon (spicy) or su-udon (mild)! You can't swap in cold soba instead of the udon.

There were also good side dishes and drinks and alcohol to go with the cutlets, plus an option to order just extra cutlet without a set!! They even have beer, which felt perfect with pork cutlet~~

What is on the self-serve bar: house pickles, jalapeños, seasoned dried radish

Every cutlet dish at Kkot Gatsu comes with tonkatsu sauce, wasabi, lemon salt and truffle salt as standard, but there's also a self-serve bar for anything extra you need~! It's convenient to just grab sauces and utensils yourself.

And the self-serve bar had house pickles, jalapeños, and even a seasoned dried radish salad (mumallaengi muchim)!! This dried radish salad has its own charm when things start feeling greasy, so I went back for it a few times~~^^

Kkot Gatsu tenderloin cutlet (200g): juicy from the first bite

First up, my order of Kkot Gatsu tenderloin cutlet (200g) arrived~! Between pork loin and tenderloin, I usually go for tenderloin cutlet, so I ordered that again this time!!

Tenderloin has less fat than loin and is made of soft lean meat, so it's less greasy and stays tasty and savory all the way through!! Kkot Gatsu really does use top-grade Korean pork for their tenderloin cutlet too — the meat was so tender, completely free of any gamey smell, clean, and just bursting with juice haha

Every cutlet dish comes with salad, rice, miso soup, tonkatsu sauce, house pickles, lemon salt, truffle salt and wasabi, and the whole spread was well put together, filling and satisfying~~ Every dish and side was substantial and delicious!

Pork loin cutlet at Kkot Gatsu: fat layer meets lean meat

Then the pork loin cutlet I ordered arrived~~ The color was insane!! Amazing visuals. Again you could tell it was fried with fresh ingredients and clean oil, and it was a loin cutlet that maximized the rich, savory flavor of fatty loin meat!!

The combo of the loin's fat layer and the tender lean meat was insane!! With the crispy batter plus all the sauces, salts, and wasabi added in, it really was a flavor that bloomed like a flower in your mouth~

Is the mini curry (150g) worth adding?

We also ordered a mini curry (150g) as an extra! The rice that comes with the cutlet dishes is a pretty generous portion, so ordering curry to go with it was perfect~~ The curry also had a lot of that authentic Japanese curry flavor, so the combination was excellent ^^

The best combination, and the rice mixed with millet

Eating the tenderloin cutlet topped with lemon salt and wasabi was the most delicious way to have it! And Kkot Gatsu's tonkatsu sauce isn't your typical store-bought sauce flavor — it's a bit more refreshing and tangy, which made it unique and even tastier~

The rice served with the cutlet dishes isn't plain white rice either — it has yellow millet mixed in, which made it taste even better~!

It had been a while since I enjoyed Japanese-style cutlets and Japanese curry this much! This was Kkot Gatsu Dongtan Main Branch (Main Branch)~! If you want to try a clean, well-put-together cutlet spread made with carefully selected ingredients and a picky standard for quality, I recommend Kkot Gatsu Dongtan Main Branch (Main Branch) ♥♥