Tonkatsu Saboten, Parco Marina Bay

Tonkatsu Saboten is Mr L and my favourite shop whenever we have craving for some nice juicy tonkatsu. It's not just their tonkatsu, they also serve very good miso soup and cabbage, coupled with the zen like restaurant design and  ambience. 

Saboten opened it's first doors in Shinjuku back in 1966. Saboten, meaning cactus in Japanese was selected to embody the founder's vision, to have a shop full of vitality and to survive even in the harshest conditions. Today, they are one of the largest tonkatsu chain in Japan, having more than 500 shops with overseas outlets in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore.

All of their shops adopt a similar design, with Japanese influence of blond wood accented furnishing. 

Their signature tonkatsu sauce and two salad dressing for the cabbage. I love their sesame dressing, which is very smooth with a slight hint of sesame. I can finish bowls of cabbage with this dressing. The other yuzu dressing is also good, very light with a refreshing yuzu taste. 

Sesame seeds in the grinder is provided, so you can grind them to your preference. It's meant to go with the tonkatsu, but I prefer to sprinkle it on the rice instead. 

Every set menu you order comes with free flow of rice, miso soup and cabbage. It also comes with green tea ice cream as the dessert.

The cabbage was served first. Compared to Tonkichi or Tonkatsu Ma Maison, I like Saboten's best. The cabbage is very juicy but still crunchy and light. If you look at the prices, free flow of cabbage costs $3, compared to free flow of rice at $2 or miso soup at $1.50. Maybe the cabbage comes from Japan, which is why it tastes so good and hence the pricetag?

The loin Katsu (they call it rosu katsu in Japanese). Loin comes with a bit of fat, which makes the meat juicier. There is also the fillet katsu (or hire in Japanese) which consists of leaner meat, but that tends to be a bit drier. 

If you like variety, they also offer a mix katsu set, which consists of a fried ebi, loin, fillet and crab croquette. Good mix to let you try a little of everything. 

I also like to order this side order dish, which is a pork and onion kushi katsu. Kushi means skewer, hence kushi katsu means skewers which are deep fried. 

The pork is very tender and the onion soft and juicy. Makes a good combination when deep fried together. 

Besides free flow of cabbage, rice and miso soup is also free flow with the set ordered. Mr L is a big fan of their miso soup. The soup is always served piping hot with just the right portion of miso. I think I had 3 bowls of their miso soup!

And don't forget the dessert which comes with the set, a very cold green tea ice cream. I believe that they put the plate and the spoon into the freezer together with the ice cream as well, as Mr L's spoon was also frozen and stuck to the ice cream when his was served.  


Besides the great food, the staff also provides you good service as well, coming occasionally to check if you need any refill of cabbage or miso soup. The only thing which was overly done was that every time they served something, or came to clean the table, they would have to say "shitsureishimasu" meaning "excuse me" in English. I guess it is their standard procedure to say it, showing politeness when approaching your table. However, their pronunciation is inaccurate, and I must have heard more than 10 times of this word during my whole meal. 


So Mr L - when is our next visit to Saboten again?

Saboten, Parco Marina Bay

9 Raffles Boulevard, #P3-01 Parco Marina Bay,
Millenia Walk

Open daily: 1130am - 10pm

They also have an outlet at Changi Airport T1
#031-004 Departure Check-in Hall, Level 3

Open daily: 8am - 1030pm