We read a review of a restaurant who specializes in Tonkatsu, and the picture of that looked really delicious. So we decided to try that out over the Father’s day weekend.

It turned out that the restaurant Kagura is one that I pass by frequently on the way to Mitsuwa Market. We made a reservation for 11:30am for Saturday, and we were the first ones there. The inside of the restaurant is modern and airy and our waitress was extremely freindly.

Both of us order the Grilled Black Cod in Miso, and a side order of the Millefeuille Katsu (Deep fried multi-layered sliced Black Pork). The lunch comes with sliced cabbage salad, miso soup, rice which are all unlimited, in addition to small amount Japanese pickled vegetables.

The Katsu was probably one of the best that we tried. The outer crust was super light, crispy and not at all oily. The flavor is mild, and the meat was moist. The black cod was equally impressive, cooked perfectly, with the fresh taste of the fish not over powered by the miso.

I think that meal started us wanting more Japanese food, so we ventured out to yet another Japanese restaurant nearby the next day. The restaurant name is Matsui.

I had been to this restaurant a long ago, but the inside seemed to have changed a bit. My friend ordered the daily special, while I ordered the black cod dinner.

The daily special came with about 7 pieces of sushi, a plate of tempura, a bowl of either of soba or udon, and salad. My dinner came with two slices of black cod, broccolli, carrots, and rice. We also had a side order of 5 shrimp tempura, which seemed to be quite popular.

I really enjoyed the shrimp tempura with its crunchy outer crust. The shrimp was large and moist. I liked my black cod even though it was not as good as Kagura.

Kagura:  1652 Cabrillo Ave. Torrance, CA 90501  Phone: 310-787-0227

Matsui:  21605 S.Western Ave, Torrance, CA 90501  Phone: 310-320-2089