Sharikimon Chawanbu

Diners only go to Sharikimon Chawanbu to order the standard set meal: a cut of tonkatsu, cabbage, rice, pickles, and miso soup. Customisation is limited: guests simply choose their preferred cut — loin, filet, shoulder loin — and how thick it’s cut, but most would agree that that’s as much as is necessary. While the katsu curry comes a close second, the most popular is, of course, Sharikimon Chawanbu’s signature: a whopping 300g of select pork loin. The head chef’s history of service in a kappo restaurant — where food is prepared at the counter for guests to enjoy watching the process — serves him well at Sharikimon Chawanbu: he deftly slides each piece into the roiling oil, each one enveloped by a golden panko crust. And what pork it is. The primary meat used at the restaurant is the renowned Sangenton pork, sourced from the Yonezawa locality in Yamagata Prefecture. The meat is so flavorful that it is seasoned only with salt — not even pepper — to let guests best enjoy the pork’s inherent flavor. But on Fridays, a limited Meishan filet special is available for diners lucky enough to secure a spot. There are only about 100 Meishan pigs kept in Japan, so the meat is at a premium and handled with the utmost culinary finesse. Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand - 2021