Top 3 Tonkatsu in Gyodae, Seoul: Katsu Gongbang
Return Visit
I visited again after a long time, and the menu had changed a bit. The demi-glace sauce was so good that I tried the tonkatsu (pork cutlet) this time. The portion is huge, and the unique flavor of the sauce makes it delicious. Whatever you order at this tonkatsu spot, you'll be satisfied!
First of all, please understand that being in my "top three" is strictly based on my own personal standards.
Honestly, tonkatsu is usually just tonkatsu. As long as the breading doesn't fall off and it isn't served soggy, it's an above-average meal. Because of that, it's not easy to say, "Wow! This place is really good." Even so, there are places that stand out, and the restaurant I'm introducing today is exactly that kind of place.
From Gyodae (Seoul National University of Education) all the way to the Seoul Arts Center, there are so many restaurants selling tonkatsu and shrimp katsu. Just off the top of my head, there's the original Heosuabi and Dadong right in front of the university. They have their strengths in either price or taste, but they are quite far from my current office. There weren't any tonkatsu places nearby that I thought were really great, so I just went to average spots for a quick meal, but Katsu Gongbang is a bit different.
Since I didn't know when I'd be back, I ordered the assorted katsu set first. My first visit was during dinner time, so I had it with a beer, and I almost ended up drinking endlessly. The assorted katsu set comes with pork, shrimp, cheese, and fish katsu, plus a hamburg steak, and the portion just doesn't seem to shrink no matter how much you eat. Every single piece was good, so as I ate them one by one, I got full pretty quickly. Still, I couldn't stop and eventually finished the whole thing.
First of all, the breading doesn't separate from the meat, and the crispy texture is top-notch. If only one item was like that, I'd think they just specialized in that dish, but everything on the menu is great. I'm not sure if they make it from scratch or get it from a factory, but it naturally makes you go, "Mmm~ Mmm~" in admiration.
Not long after, I stopped by for lunch and had the Nikomi hamburg set. I don't know what the name means, but it came with a soft-boiled egg and a hamburg steak. Because I was expecting something like the assorted katsu, the portion looked a bit too small.
I scraped the bottom of the plate clean—I couldn't tell if it was because I was hungry or because it was just that delicious. First, the hamburg steak was incredibly soft and easy to eat, without a single hard or chewy bit to spit out. On top of that, the sauce was sweet, which kept me craving more rice. The soft-boiled egg surprisingly didn't have much of an impact, though maybe I just ate it wrong. It's definitely a delicacy I haven't tried anywhere else.
Since the Gyodae area has the Supreme Court and many law-related firms, there are a lot of office workers. Even though there are slightly fewer people due to COVID-19, lining up during lunch hour is still a given. It seems they also do delivery, but I'm not sure how well it holds up in transit yet. This isn't a place I'll just eat at once or twice and be done with. If I keep working in this neighborhood, I'll probably try other menu items and keep adding more photos.