Every area in Japan has a regional speciality which is usually made from local ingredients. Nagoya (Aichi prefecture) is famous for miso katsu, which is breaded pork cutlet covered in miso paste. You can eat it with shredded cabbage or on rice.
Of the many restaurants that specialise in miso katsu, Nagoya’s Yabaton is the most famous. Every time we passed by, we could see a long line of people outside waiting to be seated.
The miso-katsu-don in the photograph looks amazing, doesn’t it? Well, it’s deceptive. The quality cuts of meat in Japan are considered to be the ones with thick seams of fat running through them, and that’s precisely what we got. Good if you like “juicy” meat, but I hated it.
Yabaton’s official website (They also have a branch in Tokyo)
Have been meaning to find out whether the regional specialty thing is linked to the One Village One Product campaign which was launched in Oita years ago, or if they just adapted something that was going around.
You’ve got me thinking now… I’ve always assumed the ‘meibutsu’ was a long-standing tradition. Like Cheddar or Champagne. But I don’t know for sure and it’s definitely tourist bait.