Get it while it’s hot and huge!

On 14 October at about 11 a.m., our reporter Ahiruneko was scouring Twitter for news when a shocking tweet from the Katsuya chain of breaded and fried food restaurants appeared without any hint of a warning. It read:

“Sale starts today
#AllToppingSauceKatsudon”

Without hesitation, Ahiruneko grabbed his jacket and hurried to his nearest Katsuya, a restaurant famous for breading and frying whatever they can get their hands on, refining it into an art form.

And among all their creations in the past, the All Topping Sauce Katsudon (Zenbu Nose Sauce Katsudon) is legendary. Very likely Katsuya’s largest offering ever, this bowl first appeared in September of 2018 and came back during the same month of 2019. As the name suggests, it’s an all-star lineup of fried foods crammed into a single bowl of rice.

When Ahiruneko arrived, he was a little taken aback. There were no signs or posters advertising the All Topping Sauce Katsudon, just the same ones as before promoting the Chicken Cutlet & Fried Chicken with Tartar Sauce Rice Bowl. There was no indication at all that this infamous dish was returning.

However, when he was seated, he saw a small ad for the All Topping Sauce Katsudon, with an asking price of 979 yen (US$8.58) after tax.

After placing his order, a bowl full of deep fried chaos came out. It was like a dense forest of breading, oil and meat. Ahiruneko couldn’t make out where once piece began and the other ended, let alone see the rice at the bottom.

Various stalks of fried meat reached toward the sky, and our reporter imagined a race of kodama living among them. The only topping he could make sense of were the two fried prawns because of their distinctive tails.

Ahiruneko explored the lush ecosystem with his chopsticks and discover some pieces of menchi-katsu, a breaded and fried patty of ground beef and/or pork.

There was also some hire-katsu which is a breaded and fried tenderloin.

Our reporter was rather surprised that this year Katsuya’s standard chicken filet didn’t appear in the All Topping Sauce Katsudon. He kind of liked that though, because the appearance of rarer characters like prawn and tenderloin front and center ultimately made this whole party more exciting.

After getting the lay of the land, Ahiruneko began deforesting his bowl one piece at a time. First he downed the plump stalks of prawn.

Then he sank his teeth into the meaty fried patties.

Next, he savored the tender fillets of beef.

However, as he went along, he could barely make out something else beneath all these toppings.

He would have to eat some more to get to the bottom of this. However, Ahiruneko had already consumed a lot of fried meat and was showing signs of fatigue.

It took a little while but when he finally removed the last topping he was shocked at what he found…

▼ Ahiruneko: “A whole pork cutlet!”

Of course, a surprise pork cutlet is almost always good news, but eating such a large amount of food requires a certain mental preparation, and the appearance of an entire cut of pork was a real blow to Ahiruneko’s appetite.

Clearly, he had disturbed this enchanted forest of fried meats and angered the boar god that rested beneath it. Luckily this god was coated in a crispy coating that became slightly damp with delectable sauce.

Still, it was a Katsuya miracle that Ahiruneko could finish the whole thing. Truly, the All Topping Sauce Katsudon is not for the faint of stomach, but for those brave and hungry enough to answer the call of the wild, this remains a legendary dish.

Just be sure to get some soon, because it will only be sold as long as supplies last and could disappear just as suddenly as it came.

Photos: ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]