Fumizen @ Tokyo

I love pork cutlets but I seldom have it as my love ones are not in favour of the meat. So I often have to eat it when I am overseas alone.

Fumizen started at Hotel New Otani more than 40 years ago. Fumizen’s tonkatsu has been served to successive prime ministers and dignitaries that walked past these corridors over the years, and they are currently delivering boxed lunch to the Diet (Japanese parliament) at present.

A variety of set menus is available by their specialty is tonkatsu とんかつ in which the delicious flavour of carefully-selected pork cutlet is locked in with a crispy crust. The two main cuts are fillet and loin, and you get a few choices of different producers of the pork, including the famous kurobuta 黒豚 or black pork, the equivalent of wagyu for pork.

黒豚さつま特ロースかつ膳 Black Pork Satsuma Special Loin Cutlet Set

ご飯 ◆ 味噌汁◆ お新香 ◆ 小鉢付き Rice ◆ Miso soup ◆ Pickles ◆ Small bowl included

Katsu simply refers to any breaded cutlet, while tonkatsu specifically features tender pork. The pork used for the pork loin for lunch was 黒豚さうま Kurobuta Pork Satsuma from 鹿児島県産 Kagoshima Prefecture.

Kagoshima kurobuta satsuma is a specialty bred pig fed with corns. culture rice produced in Kagoshima and sweet potatoes, in the nature of Satsuma Peninsula’s southern edge. Its climate (warm winter and cool summer) is well suited for raising black pigs. The meat is characterised by its tenderness, richness in gloss and water holding capacity, and lean yet fine texture. Furthermore large amount of the amino acid makes the black pig taste even better.

Tonkatsu sauce, or simply katsu sauce, is a Japanese sauce served with tonkatsu (pork cutlet). It has a thick viscosity (must be over 2.0 pascal-second per JAS Standard) Japanese Worcestershire-type sauce and enjoyed by all as a condiment to cut down the greasiness of the deep frying, and give the katsu more flavour profiles.

Standard way is to pour the sauce over the pork cutlet, but I would caution for first timer because the sauce can be overwhelming for the uninitiated. Other ways to enjoy the cutlet include the rock salt in the mill on the table, the truffle salt that is served with the tonkatsu on the side. Or simply on its own.

The meal comes complete with a small appetiser 小鉢, refillable bowl of Japanese produced steamed rice ご飯. And with rice there’s always miso soup 味噌汁 and Japanese pickles お新香.

黒毛和牛タンシチュ Kuroge Wagyu Beef Tongue Stew

Kuroge Wagyu Beef Tongue Stew is another of Fumizen’s specialty. Thick cuts of the gyutan are stewed in a delicious brown sauce, yet the tongue was not overcooked or chewy. It is a “rice thief”, as the Japanese would refer to all savoury food that would result in consuming more rice than usual. I highly recommend to add this a la carte item, although the main set for lunch was already too much for a normal eater.

Guests can feel instantly at-home at Fumizen, where delicious tonkatsu is served at reasonable prices. They also serve other deep-fried items, sashimi, and grilled fish, as well as donburi (rice bowls) with a la carte menu offered during dinner hours.

Fumizen Tonkatsu ふみぜん とんかつ
Arcade Floor, The Main Building, Hotel New Otani Tokyo
4-1, Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8578, Japan
東京都千代田区紀尾井町4-1株式会社ホテルニューオータニ内
Tel: +81 (03) 3262 7096 (Reservations)

Visited Jul 2025