Porker (Moved) New Location

Item: Porker
Rating: 5
Author: bunnypoox

108 Reviews

Taste

Decor

Service

Hygiene

Value

12545

Central

$101-200

Japanese Izakaya

bunnypoox

Level2

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Best friend and I found this little hole in the wall in Wellington Street. Wasn't even planning to go here but the menu caught my eye. Oh, we did not regret. We walked down the 2-3 flight of stairs. The place looked clean even before stepping down.

The minute you walk in, you're greeted and welcomed in Japanese. Sat down at the bar area, instead of a normal table. The shop is cute and tiny with a legitimate feeling of authentic Japanese.

We noticed most tables were Japanese natives, and with my mediocre Japanese skills, I understood that they were regular visitors - sparking the fact that the food must be legit. Most of the visitors ordered the winter shabu set for two ($380), so naturally - a must order. We also ordered the deep fried aged pork sirloin set ($180). They brought out a mini pink fire starter for the shabu along with the soup base.

Even down to the miso soup, the katsu set was incredibly delicious! Might be one of the best katsu I've ever had! The cabbage salad was delightful and refreshing with what I believe was homemade sesame sauce. You can pick from sesame or vinaigrette. The pork was tender and easy to bite into — the right amount of fried. I'm usually not that into deep fried food, but this was great! Wasn't oily at all. Comes with a tiny amount of mash potato, miso soup, two pickled radishes, and a hearty amount of rice. Every bite was like heaven! The rice was even cooked to perfection; I had to hold back from finishing the whole bowl of leftovers from my friend.

Since the area was small, there wasn't enough room for the shabu ingredients until after we finished the katsu. It came with 12 thin slices of pork, cabbage, chrysanthemum greens, and buna shimeji mushrooms. We were recommended to put in the shrooms first. They gave us two types of sauces for the shabu - one peanut sauce and the other some minced radish vinegarette — a fan of the latter. A lovely lady next to us helped us with the fire stating it would burn if too high. It turns out, it was my straw burning, and we had a good laugh. The shabu was good, a little bit bland without the use of sauce. We asked for the udon to come faster so we could have it together with the rest of the pork. The udon as well as bland, but chewy and delicious if drank with the soup together. Even writing this review right now makes me crave something similar.

Overall, worth the random find. The bill total came out to be almost $700 which was a little bit confusing. Probably had a 10% charge and upped the pricing of cold oolong tea. Service was attentive, the area was a bit small and hot but gave the good home feeling. Will come next time to try the katsu sandwiches. Pleasantly pleased with this visit! Will come back!