Friday, 2 May 2014

Saboten Restaurant - Tonkatsu @ Changi Airport

Saboten Restaurant has been voted on of the Top Restaurants in the world and we have one right here in Changi Airport Terminal One.

Changi Airport is not a traditional airport as one would expect - airports traditionally have passengers and rows and rows of check in counters. But here at Changi Airport, there are also many restaurants to keep Singaporeans happy. Saboten is one such restaurant.
Saboten at Changi Terminal 1 photo SabotenT1ShopFront01.jpg

Saboten serves tonkatsu (pork cutlet) and is located at Terminal One - level 3 above Counter Row 8. IMHO, Saboten is probably one of the best tonkatsu restaurants around. When you order a set, it comes with free flow of cabbage, miso soup and rice.
Saboten Cabbage photo SabotenT1Cabbage01.jpg

One of the favorite part of my meal there is the cabbage. Shredded very fine and kept chilled, the crunchiness of the cabbage coupled with the sesame sauce is heavenly. I typically polish off three bowls before I tuck in to my main course.
Saboten Cabbage photo SabotenT1Cabbage02.jpg

Whenever I am hungry (or greedy), I typically order the Saboten Special Set. Comes with pork tenderloin, pork loin, fried ebi and one crab croquette.
Saboten Special Set photo SabotenT1SabotenSpecialSet01.jpg

But the rituals started with the cabbage and the wait staff will also provide you a bowl of sesame seeds.
Roasted Sesame Seeds photo SabotenT1SesameSeeds01.jpg

Using the wooden pestle, one grinds the sesame seeds into as fine a powder form as possible. You can immediately smell the aroma of freshly ground sesame seeds.
Grounded Sesame Seeds photo SabotenT1SesameSeeds02.jpg

And then you add the tonkatsu sauce and mix it into a thicken sauce/paste.
Grounded Sesame Seeds in Tonkatsu Sauce photo SabotenT1SesameSeeds03.jpg

The tonkatsu here is the tenderloin. Fried just nice and the moist on the inside, the cutlet does not have an oily feel to the bite.
Saboten Pork Tenderloin photo SabotenT1Tenderloin01.jpg

That is what I like about the tonkatsu at Saboten. The oil they use is fresh and the resulting cutlet is very light.
Saboten Pork Loin photo SabotenT1PorkLoin01.jpg

Some prefer the loin shown above but I still prefer the tenderloin. Again, the loin is fried just nice.
Saboten Special Set photo SabotenT1SabotenSpecialSet02.jpg

The fried ebi is always my son's favorite and I normally give that to him.
 photo SabotenT1CrabCrockette01.jpg

The last portion is the crab croquette. This one I find a little disappointing as I believe they use crab sticks. But the potato is soft and rather tasty by itself.

Always a hearty meal at Saboten, the set also comes with green tea ice cream. But most of the time, I forgo that.

For those going to Changi Airport for whatever reasons other than flying out, give Saboten a try. Saboten is a "must-try" for anyone who loves tonkatsu. They have promotions from time to time and for now (May 2014) they have the Garoupa set.

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