Nevertheless, we dutifully dissected every element of the chain’s new takeout-exclusive “Full Mori” menu item before downing it all.

Ahiruneko is one of our resident Japanese-language reporter foodies who often stretches his stomach in the name of intrepid journalism. One of his go-to places to eat is Katsuya, a popular tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet) and katsudon (tonkatsu and egg rice bowl) specialty chain. Something that he both loves and occasionally vexes him about the chain is that it continues to release new menu items in rapid succession, including most recently four new limited-time items that went on sale on July 25. In his mind, he equates it to a band releasing new music with little pause in between (specifically, like J-rock band L’Arc-en-ciel churning out nonstop singles circa 1998).

However, despite never feeling like he’s fully caught up with the new offerings, Ahiruneko still craves that deep-fried goodness on a regular basis. On one such recent evening occasion, he was deciding between two of the four new menu items–the Deluxe Box or the Full Mori (“Full Serving”)–which are both offered as takeout-exclusives. According to Katsuya itself, the former is more suited for a large number of people, while the latter is suitable for a solo diner or just a couple of people. Since his order was just to satisfy his own craving on this day, he decided to follow the chain’s advice and chose the Full Mori.

His schedule was also a bit packed, so he placed the order through Uber Eats for delivery. While the total would normally be 1,393 yen (US$9.60) for the Full Mori, it came to 1,930 yen (minus service charge) with Uber Eats.

The order arrived more quickly than he expected. He held the bag with one hand in eager, hungry anticipation. What would be waiting for him inside…?

Upon opening it, he quickly had his answer–it was a whole lotta meat.

In fact, there was simply too much meat to wrap his mind around. There had to be some kind of mistake in the order, right? The whole plate was covered in the monotone golden hues of deep-fried meat. It denied the very concept of a healthy dose of dinner diversity in the form of well-balanced food groups.

That’s when Ahiruneko realized that the Deluxe Box and Full Mori were meant to be assortments of meat. They didn’t come with rice or any side dishes like a typical bento. He went from thinking that the delivery guy had left his rice at the kitchen to resigning himself to a very meat-filled fate, indeed.

His confusion had also been intensified because back in May, Katsuya had offered a Full Mori Plate limited-time menu option. However, there was simply no comparison between that plate and this platter of meat, meat, meat in front of him now.

▼ Katsuya’s previous Full Mori Plate

The fried items were similar in so many ways that he was having a hard time distinguishing the different kinds of meat from one another. In fact, squinting, it all looked like one giant lump of something fried to his eyes. The only things that were a little easier to tell apart from the others were the two pieces of karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken) pictured below.

The front right corner looked to house a slab of menchikatsu (deep-fried minced meat cutlet)…

…while the two giant things appearing like fallen logs were ebifurai (deep-fried shrimp).

He had just spotted some hirekatsu (fillet tonkatsu) in the left rear corner when he noticed something else that was extremely disturbing to him.

It was that the spot where the hirekatsu were comfortably nestled was the part of the plate usually reserved for tsukemono–Japanese-style pickles! That just felt so, so wrong to him for some reason. For a time-relevant metaphor, if the entire plate of fried meats represented the different members of an Olympic team, it was as if the tsukemono athlete had been purposely left off of the team. So much for inclusion, Team Fried Things.

Actually, there was one single thing that wasn’t fried. Off in one corner was a pitiful little clump of shredded cabbage. It looked positively squeezed in by a rush of fried commuters.

The main culprits shoving the cabbage into its tiny space were an 80-gram (2.82-ounce) slab of roosukatsu (deep-fried pork loin cutlet) and chikinkatsu (deep-fried chicken cutlet).

▼ It’s not very easy to see in the photo, but the chicken cutlet is resting on top of the pork loin cutlet–like its own personal futon.

This is what the pork loin cutlet looked like when he removed the chicken cutlet.

After this close inspection 0f all of the meaty morsels on his plate, Ahiruneko drew the conclusion that Katsuya’s Full Mori was truly decked out in full-fried armor. It was a good thing that his wife, who happened to be standing at his side while he was documenting everything, quickly got over her initial sensation of heartburn when he removed the lid and helped him finish every last piece of that deep-fried armor. It seems that fried food has managed to seduce us all yet again–and knowing our team’s gastronomic preferences, it certainly won’t be the last time.

Photos © SoraNews24
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