Cheese can be such a wonderful addition to so many meals. I have found that when I travel, the amazing variety of cheeses that I have been able to eat have really made for some fantastic meals on various trips.
One of the ways that I really enjoy eating cheese is inside Tonkatsu (돈까스), or Donggas as we sometimes spell it here in Korea.
There are so many restaurants that serve this food. It is very popular with school children, and I remember getting Tonkatsu at least twice a month when I went to school.
I was out shopping the other day at a clothing mall called Moda Outlet. This is similar to a department store but lacks many of the frills and fancy trimmings of the larger department stores here in Korea.
Seeing as how it was dinner time, this might have explained why there weren’t many customers but seeing as how our Costco is right next door and it was very busy, I think that maybe its because the Moda Outlet isn’t very popular.
As for Nam-san Tonkatsu, it didn’t look like anything special from the outside, but I figured I would give it a try as there weren’t a lot of other choices in Moda Outlet.
After looking at the menu I chose Cheese Tonkatsu, and after going through the self-order process, I found a table, and then went to the self-service corner.
There, I picked up some pickled Daikon radish, and some kimchi. I also got some water in the little metal cups that are used in so many stores here.
When my meal was ready, I went and picked it up from the pick-up window.
The Cheese Tonkatsu was nicely laid out on a wire rack, and already sliced. It came with a bowl of rice, some more side dishes, a cabbage salad, some broth, and a small tray of Tonkatsu sauce. There was also some extra sauce available at the self-service corner which is very unusual here in Korea.
Digging in, I found that the tonkatsu was very nice! The meat tasted quite fresh, and the cheese was hot, stringy, and plentiful. The tonkatsu sauce that came on the tray was nice, thick, and sweet, although the sauce from the self-service corner was very different, being watery and not very flavorful. I found this to be very…interesting!
The cabbage salad was nothing out of the ordinary, although they did not put on too much dressing which can happen a lot here.
If I had any complaints about the food, it was that the tonkatsu was a little small for the price of 9,500 won (about $9 US). There were only seven small pieces, and the end pieces did not have nearly as much cheese as the five pieces in the middle.
I think that if I were shopping in Moda Outlet again, and it was mealtime, I would stop by Nam-san Tonkatsu. However, I would not go out of my way to eat there again.
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