Ton & Co

118 High St
Windsor, VIC 3181

Japan is all about doing one thing, and doing it so goddamned right that it leaves you wondering what you’ve been eating the rest of the time. Ton & Co goes all in on the tonkatsu, and these crispy fried pork cutlets are as good as money can buy. Pick your cut, pick your sauce, and get ready to chow down. They even have seafood alternatives for those who don’t eat pork, but if you’re vegetarian, then I’m afraid you may be out of luck, because all there is for you is a tofu bowl.

Rating: 14/20 – tons of goodness.
Good to know: the other sauces are good to try but you can’t go past the original tonkatsu sauce.

Each cut of meat comes on its own little lonesome, so you’ll have to shell out extra for Rice and Miso Soup ($5/set). But though it’s pretty much a necessity, you can’t fault the quality of the gently umami broth, or the pearly grains of rice that stick together just enough to make a satisfying mouthful. And speaking of good accompaniments, the shredded cabbage salad is surprisingly delicious once you drench it with the house-made sesame dressing.

The Pork Striploin with Japanese Curry ($24) is the traditional way to go, and though its touted as the leaner cut, the 2 days of brining have left the meat juicy and succulent, with a satisfying robust flavour. And OOFT that crumbing. So crunchy yet so feathery light, it holds up even after dipping into the thick curry sauce.

The fattier alternative to the striploin is the Pork Ribeye with Tonkatsu Sauce ($31), and you can really see the difference in the texture of the meat. The flavour of this one is a lot more mellow and buttery, and just has a more decadent mouthfeel. And as nice as it is to have variety, you just can’t go past that tonkatsu sauce, which was designed precisely to balance out and cut through the fried pork.

If you’re extra peckish, you can do worse than the Ox Tongue Skewers ($16.5), which are succulent and smoky, and drenched in a deliciously sweet and savoury sauce.