I Enjoyed Rokkakai’s Hire-Katsu Sandwich Ekiben Bento

Today when I went shopping at a supermarket near my house, an “Ekiben (駅弁)” fair took place in it.

As the Japanese term, Ekiben is composed of 2 words “Eki (駅)” meaning station and “Ben (弁)” which stands for Bento,  Ekiben refers to boxed lunches sold in train stations.

In Japan, the Ekiben fair is sometimes held in supermarkets and department stores where popular Ekiben Bentos from various places of Japan are lined up.

Kanda Rokkakai Hirekatsu (Tonkatsu) Sandwich Bento

The supermarket I stopped by today carried 7 or 8 different varieties of Ekiben Bentos, from which I chose this Kanda Rokkakai’s “Hire-Katsu Sando (ヒレカツサンド)”. It cost me about 800 yen (about 7 USD).

For the unfamiliar, “Kanda Rokkakai (神田 六花界)” (Google Map) is a popular stand-up eating style Yakiniku bbq restaurant located in Kanda, Tokyo.

Meanwhile, “Hire-Katsu (ヒレカツ)” is a type of Tonkatsu made of a slice of pork fillet that has been breaded and deep-fried in plenty of oil.

Hirekatsu is the highest grade Tonkatsu, which is characterized by the perfect combination of the excellent tenderness of pork fillet and the pleasant crispiness of deep-fried Panko breadcrumb covering.

So in a nutshell, “Hirekatsu Sando (ヒレカツサンド)” is a type of Tonkatsu Sandwich made with a pork fillet cutlet and 2 slices of white bread with the crust cut off.

Contents 

Now, let’s see the contents of the Ekiben Bento. When I opened the box, a wet paper towel for wiping hands clean placed on the Hirekatsu Sando first came into sight.

Although Tonkatsu is typically eaten with Karashi yellow mustard, after removing the packet of paper towel, I saw a white sachet of Wasabi grated Japanese horseradish accompanied with 4 pieces of Tonkatsu Sandwiches.

The Hire-Katsu slice was pretty thick and dressed with savory miso-tare sauce instead of Tonkatsu sauce.

I enjoyed the Hirekatsu Sandwich with the green pungent paste of Wasabi, which made the cutlet more appetizing. In fact, the pork cutlet sandwich was pretty good, made me full and quite satisfied.