My love affair with Japanese cuisine actually began at Itami Airport, at a chain restaurant named KATSUKURA. Katsukura was where I had my first experience eating tonkatsu, which is a pork cutlet coated with panko, fried and served with a small cup of rice, a small cup of miso soup, and a small cabbage salad.

Let’s just start with me telling you how much I love Nagoya meshi (Nagoya specialty food). Nagoya is often overlooked, but in my opinion I think this offers the best all around food in Japan.

Sometimes sweet and sometimes spicy, either way we all love sauces. Some foods are difficult to imagine without them; they make our meal taste better and can be fun to experiment and mix together to give an old sauce a new taste. Japanese cuisine is one of the world’s most delicious and these sauces contribute to its excellence.

When you are in Japan, katsudon is a cheap and delicious must-try.

When it comes to food that you must try in Japan, things like ramen and sushi often top the minds of many. However, an often forgotten but equally delicious meal is tonkatsu. Essentially a breaded, deep fried pork cutlet, it is a dish that sounds deceptively simple and easy to prepare but difficult to be truly delicious.