돈까스 (Donggaseu in romanized Korean/トンカツ Tonkatsu in romanized Japanese) is basically a fried pork cutlet drowned in a brown savory sauce. In Korean restaurants that also sell Koreanized Japanese food (sushi, etc.) it's pretty good and Dahin, especially, loves it. Yet, we stumbled upon a restaurant run by a woman who lived in Japan for years and who makes 'real, authentic Japanese ramen and tonkatsu." The ramen, I will say, was the best I have ever had. This is not your Safeway/Kroger cup ramen. Korean ramen (라면/ramyeon) is really awesome stuff, especially when served with kimchi. But, Japanese ramen beats Korean ramen by a long shot. It is soooooo good and actually tastes healthy--buckwheat noodles, little slivers of pork, lots of veggies---heaven! The Japanese have taken ramen to a new level; it is culinary art, Japanese style. While the same cannot be said for tonkatsu (which probably is some remnant European culture importation--see more at the scholars' anti-Christ, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonkatsu), it was still really, really good. I can say without hesitation that it beats the Korean style stuff which is usually drowned in tons of sauce and, these days, also stuffed with cheese (although you can order a plain cutlet). Above and below, Dahin has her first taste of Japanese tonkatsu and can't believe her taste buds. She kept saying, "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! This is so good." Now we know where to take her on her birthday.
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