Yabu: All Good Things Fried

Yabu restaurant at the Mall of Asia is truly worthy of their moniker House of Katsu. A peak at their menu reveals, what else? Katsu-galore: Tonkatsu, Chicken Katsu, Seafood Katsu, Katsudon .... the list seemed endless!

Black and white sesame seed which you can grind as much
or as little as you like

Pour on top with the sweet and thick Katsu sauce

101 lesson about Tonkatsu: It is salted pork fillet dredged in light flour, beaten eggs and coated with Japanese breadcrumbs before being deep fried. There are two main types, hire and rosu. You choose the first if you want your pork to have a bit of fat while the latter has the fat removed from it. Personally, (don't judge me) I prefer the one with fat. It makes the meat a bit more flavorful. 

Rosu Tonkatsu Set 150g P405

My friend decided to be a good girl and ordered the Rosu Tonkatsu Set. It had 3 fairly large Tonkatsu with Japanese organic rice, Miso soup, Japanese pickles, shredded cabbage and a small bowl of fruits. For each set, the rice, soup and cabbage is unlimited (yey!). 

The miso soup was so-so, the rice was nice and smelled good, the pickles light and crunchy, the fruits were okay but the cabbage with the sesame seed dressing was perfect. The best part is the Tonkatsu. It was crispy outside without being greasy and the meat was really tender and juicy. It could even stand alone without the sauce - it's that good. 

Hire Mixed Set P485

The Hire Mixed Set has Tonkatsu, black tiger prawn, cream Dory and scallop. Like the Rosu set, it also has the rice, soup and cabbage. First, the prawn is really a decent size and not the usual shrimp some restaurants pass of as prawn. The Dory was big enough, flaky but not oily on the inside. The scallop was very big which led me to believe (correctly) that it was sourced outside the Philippines. Again, no complaints. Everything really tasted good. 

ready to attack 

There is a bit of a wait especially during lunch and dinner hour. Their tables are on the small side and narrow spaces between tables can feel make you feel a bit crowded. Not really good for large groups since it's not the type of restaurant where you can linger long. The waitstaff is very attentive and accommodating but becomes easily distracted when the restaurant fills out.  

The Katsu meal we had, although very good, made me wish there were different items on the menu. Maybe more appetizers? The set meal is big enough to be shared by 2 persons but the menu said no sharing of rice, cabbage and soup. Easily solved by ordering an extra rice (P95) which is also unlimited. For the cabbage, just smile innocently at the waitstaff and be discreet about getting this from your friend. 

satisfied customers: mom and me

 The Verdict? 

Their Katsu meals are excellent and big enough to be shared. There is really nothing else in the menu except Katsu so if you're not a fan of fried food, tough luck. Restaurant is small and can be a  bit crowded sometimes. Waitstaff is attentive and accommodating  Price is reasonable if you share the meal. Otherwise, it's a little expensive. Expect to pay P300-P500. I will definitely come back for more!

Yabu 
2/F SM Mall of AsiaMain Mall Atrium, South ArcadePasay(02) 511-7202