The first Saboten was opened in 1966 in the neighborhood of Shinjuku in Tokyo. It is one of the largest Tonkatsu chains with over 500 shops all over the world in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Canada. They have a store in Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, now they have expanded into the new food court section of the Amazing Brentwood Mall (previously Brentwood Town Centre).

Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep fried pork cutlet. It involves coating slices of meat with panko (bread crumbs), deep frying them in oil, and then serving with rice and shredded cabbage. The two main types are fillet and loin, but there are variations which includes the use of chicken, shrimp or beef. This type of Japanese restaurants are amongst one of the most popular food in Japan.

WHAT I ATE

Shrimp Katsu Curry Set $13.95

I wanted a saucy Japanese curry katsu dip that goes well with the large sized panko breaded shrimp. The fried batter came out well, it was crispy and not overly fried (the oil seemed to be clean), the crunch was just right. It comes with a Japanese style curry sauce over short grain white rice, it also complimented very well with the Japanese shrimp cutlet. The curry sauce has a deep flavor and it did not taste too salty.

Chicken Katsu Set $17.50

If you are not a fan of eating pork then this is an option for you to eat. The portion size of this is dish fair, biting into the panko breaded chicken provides a crunchy and juicy satisfying taste. All their set menu dishes comes with miso soup, shredded cabbage and white rice as that is the classic way to serve katsu.

Final Thoughts

Saboten Express is one of the better choices in the Brentwood food court at the moment, I would recommend you eat here if you crave Japanese style fried foods. You can’t go wrong with any types of deep fried foods, they taste good!

Address: 4567 Lougheed Hwy., Burnaby, BC