Foodie friends who traveled to Japan before coronavirus worries set in often returned home noticeably rounder in face and opu. It’s because the food there is so good they try to cram it all in over the week or two they spend there.

I was witness to the carnage a couple of times in Tokyo. While a “normal” traveler might make time for a museum, shopping or sightseeing trip in between meals, for the foodie there is no such break. Breakfast is followed by a mid-morning snack, then lunch, second lunch or afternoon snack, dinner and a ramen stop or second dinner.

On the last day of one such trip, I was subject to so many meals before I got on the plane that I begged for no more, but friends insisted on a last stop for tonkatsu.

“OK, but I’m not going to eat anything,” I said, then proceeded to eat a whole pork filet. It was so light on the palate.

Growing up here in the days before Japanese restaurateurs started opening shops by the dozen, I had quite a different experience of katsu, so never developed a longing for the local-style version. The memory of dense, tough pork and a thick hard crust lives on, so to this day I never seek out katsu.

The opening of Koromo Curry & Katsu Bistro shows how far the food scene has grown with the Japanese influence. The Pearlridge Center restaurant is the work of longtime local chef/restaurateurs Tom Jones, Nobutaka “Tony” Sato and Willy Okimoto, who had been casting about for a concept and noted Hawaii’s love for fried foods and the absence of any Japanese-style katsu specialist on the west side.

To get everything right, they went shopping in Japan for equipment, including cabbage shredders to get the prized fine consistency of this digestive aid, and another machine for turning out the fresh panko that’s key to the light, airy surface texture of the katsu and oyster and shrimp fry plates.

Sato said they also taste-tested every ingredient, from pork to shrimp to bread used for panko, to make sure each had the exact texture and flavor they wanted before introducing them to the public. If more restaurateurs did this, I would never be subjected to dishes that shouldn’t see the light of day.

ALTHOUGH THE restaurant size is typical for katsu restaurants in Tokyo, by local standards it feels small, especially when dinner often entails an hourlong wait in line. Lunch hours are less crowded.

Once seated, it’s difficult to decide what to eat. There’s a sameness to all the crispy, golden images that fill the menu, but yes, I do love a deep fry, and pork, chicken, shrimp and oysters all are tempting. Of course, after only a month, this is just an opening menu, and plans are to add scallops, mahimahi and a vegetable fry, to add to your decision-making dilemma.

Luckily, the restaurant offers several teishoku combinations that let you try a couple of options in one sitting, plus side orders such as one piece of oyster for $3.25, one pork loin katsu for $9.50, one piece of chicken katsu for $4.25, and so on.

In light of the high-fat, high-calorie nature of deep-fried food, the katsus here are way too easy to eat. They go down so easily that by the time I finish one round of pork and kaki (oysters), I’m ready for another round. This is fried food that doesn’t weigh you down, and that’s a dangerous thing because you’ll probably end up eating more than any health expert would recommend.

Before the pork arrives, you’re given a small bowl of toasted sesame seeds and wooden pestle to grind them, so you can add extra flavor to your choice of regular or sweet tonkatsu sauce. For those who prefer a lighter flavor sauce, there is an oroshi (grated daikon)ponzu option.

THE TOP of the line here is the premium Sakura Farms pork loin from pigs fed vegetables and barley, said to result in richer flavor than corn-fed counterparts. The teishoku set ($21.50 for a 6.7 ounce loin, $23.50 for 8.5 ounces) features shredded cabbage, miso soup, tsukemono, daikon kim chee and your choice of premium sticky, shiny hitomebore white rice or Japanese brown rice that’s soft and fluffy, rather than the hard, chewy grains we see most often.

As flavorful as the pork loin may be, I prefer the filet of Duroc pork, referred to as the Black Angus of the pork world. It’s so juicy and flavorful, and disappeared so quickly. The teishoku sets are $19.50 and $21.50.

While there are other pork specialists in town, the restaurateurs said they couldn’t find good chicken katsu, so set out to create this signature dish using tender, juicy thighs. The teishoku is $17.50 for three pieces of chicken, and $19 for four.

I think I am destined to always get a teishoku combination here because I love both chicken and pork, but definitely can’t resist the oysters, which pair up well with either. The restaurant is currently offering Goose Point Pacific oysters that are meaty and so juicy they seem to melt on your tongue after bursting from their airy, golden shells. (“Koromo” is a Japanese reference to clothing or encasement.)

Seafood lovers might also opt for an ebi fry teishoku ($25), comprising five jumbo pieces of black tiger shrimp that come, like the oyster fry, with both tonkatsu and remoulade sauces.

Lastly, those who love Japanese brown curry will find satisfaction in beef curry ($17.50) or curry sauce with rice, combined with any of the fry offerings for $15 to $17.50.

Expansion into Honolulu is likely to come one day, a prospect I both like and dread, imagining that I probably would not be able to resist the call of the katsu if it’s closer to home.

KOROMO KATSU & CURRY BISTRO

Pearlridge Center, Wai Makai

Food: ****

Service: ***1/2

Ambiance: ***1/2

Value: ****

>> Call: 468-1919

>> Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 to 9 p.m. daily

>> Prices: About $40 to $50 for two without alcohol

Ratings compare similar restaurants:

**** – excellent

*** – very good

** – average

* – below average

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.