Pork chop

I'm faced with a dilemma. Eating out for lunch at work is getting expensive, so I should probably bring my own from home, but there are still so many restaurants in such close proximity to try. I'm stuck. So, until I figure out what to do (or until I get my next bank statement), I think my daily lunch jaunts will continue.

Today's adventure was yet again in the Japantown mall, this time at a tiny place called Maki. I had been eyeing this place for a couple of weeks. Usually, there's a huge crowd outside waiting to get in, so I've been avoiding it. But today, with lunch happening at 1:15PM, the crowds were gone and I was seated as I entered the door. Wonderful.

I'm always curious about Japanese restaurants with a Mandarin-speaking waitstaff. The three women who ran the place all spoke Mandarin and Japanese, and were using both to converse with the diners. They spoke to me in English as I ordered the katsu don. Nothing could go wrong with a fried pork cutlet.

The fried pork came sliced up on a bed of white rice and carmelized onions, and was topped with egg. The rice was delicious. It was fluffy like jasmine but also sticky and slightly sweet like sushi rice. Superb. And, the onions were candy sweet, obviously having been slowly cooked over a low flame. The fried pork cutlet was crisp on the outside but tender and moist inside, something that sounds easy but can test a true katsu master.

I had to just scarf all the pork and rice down though, as I was already taking a longish lunch. I asked the waitress to pack up my leftovers and would have it for lunch again tomorrow.

As good as lunch was, at $15 (including tax, tip, and tea) it was a bit extravagant for my lunch budget; especially knowing that I can get the same thing for about $5 at No-Name-Sushi on Church and 15th. Perhaps it'll be my special treat place.