Out & About #455 | Katsuya Mississauga (Round 2)

​Revisiting Katsuya's Mississauga outpost assumed a prominent spot on my to-do list since the last time I stepped past the homey vintage doormat. For starters, I had been stranded in a situation devoid of my go-to image-capturing device. Secondly, it only seemed right to arrange a family hangout for an excellent fusion restaurant located so close to home.

​We turned into the peaceful asphalt lot during peak lunch hours. Spots were abundant, which is something I cannot emphasize enough given the strenuous situation at the original North York location.

​Waltzing into an empty establishment, we were acknowledged by the member of staff adopting a hostess/waitress role with utmost promptness. It was amusing, however, that she did not exactly bother to gesture towards a table or seat us, nor introduce the menu at all. After a solid ten minutes of flipping through the booklet, she appeared beside the table for the first time since greeting us to take our orders.

​By this time, we had already settled on several items and merely wanted to confirm that the Grand Opening BOGO deal was in place. She noted that the dates had been changed to the following two days instead, though I had not been aware of this. Thankfully, she was kind enough to honour the promotion upon seeing our confused, shattered expressions.

​We took to ordering three tonkatsu dishes: Carbonara Chicken Katsu, Curry Fish Katsu, and Original Japanese Pork Tender Katsu. The battle of appetizers lay with Fresh Fried Oysters and Tartar Shrimp; the latter was apparently as popular as the Cheese Crabmeat Croquette, thus we settled pronto.
Unseen during my previous visit, a small dish of pickled cabbage strips made their way over as the single banchan.

View the full album HERE !

​Tartar Shrimp made its way over only a few minutes before the mains, so either the kitchen was more than sufficiently staffed for our time of visit, or it wasn't customary to allow ingestion time between the plates.
Comprising of five super-crispy pieces of tempura-style shrimp segments and a zesty tartar dipping sauce, it wasn't difficult to see why it was highly demanded. The panko coating was thick, but fluffy at the same time. It was this very property that rendered the strips satisfying and succulent.

​Carbonara Chicken Katsu had featured a chili pepper icon next to its name, though I hadn't been too concerned about its mildness (or rather, lack thereof) due to its naturally creamy, spice-combatting composition. The tonkatsu arrived alongside steamed white rice, yellow pickled ginger, and a heaping mound of cabbage slaw.

The most unique aspect of the dish was, without a doubt, the carbonara sauce. With fine pieces of brocolli and baby shrimp for a gustatory boost, the creamy and lightly cheesy sauce was incredibly delicious, especially when paired with crispy chicken. Moreover, the pieces of katsu did not turn soggy in spite of the sauce being generously ladled on top. Tiny red flecks of chili peppers floated on its surface - an indication of its slowly accumulating spice level.

​Curry Fish Katsu was another scrumptious request, for the flaky white fish fillet paired exceptionally with the sweet, fragrant curry mixture. While some may complain of a lack of depth, my primary concern was the fresh panko soaking up moisture from the accompanying curry sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish, minus the inevitable crumbling of the tender fish katsu. 
Served alongside this platter were pink pickled radishes and the typical duo of rice and cabbage slaw.

​The Original Japanese Pork Tender Katsu, which I did not possess enough stomach space to try, was exempted from the taste test. Remarks across the table informed me that North York standards had been maintained for the west end move.

​Possibly the most compelling issue of this visit was the lacklustre attitude, absence of promptness, and disappointing short-term memory capacity of the waitress. All Japanese fusion tonkatsu dishes were phenomenal, yet the cases where a minimum understanding of the English language were called for proved frustrating and slow.
The waitress did not engage in regular checks to ensure that quality and effciency were being maintained. She did not check up on us to see whether napkins were sufficient, nor did she provide us with an opportunity to ask (she was in the back kitchen majority of the time).
When I accidentally spilled Miso Soup and urgently requested napkins, she merely nodded, smiled, and slowly proceeded to take another table's orders before fetching us the bill. Needless to say, we were more than perplexed at these tasteless actions. Dashing into the bathroom actually emerged as the swifter way to clean up the mess.

​Incompetent service aside, all aspects from food quality to cleanliness to bathroom hygeine had been maintained well. Next on the list shall be the newly-introduced Katsu Burger!