Founder and Head Chef Tan-San’s expertise and masterful skill shows in the way he presents his signature Tonkatsu made with premium pork loin. The fat-to-meat ratio is what makes it for me. Incredibly moist yet tender and juicy in all the right places. The way the crispy batter hugs onto the meat is impressive as well.

The set comes with refillable diced cabbage and Niigata rice. Everything at Hajime is made in-house from their tonjiru soup, their pickled cabbage to even their cabbage which they painstakingly dice themselves daily. If that isn’t testament to how much care and passion they dedicate to their craft, I don’t know what is.