Third-generation tonkatsu master Masaya Shibuya is credited with bringing excellence in tonkatsu from Japan to Honolulu in 2007, through his restaurant, Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin. Now he’s hoping that lightning strikes twice as he prepares to launch his newest concept next week.
Feb. 10 is opening day for Yoshoku Bairin, next door to his original Waikiki restaurant on Waikiki Beach Walk. It’s a project close to his heart, built on simple dishes his mom cooked for him while he was growing up.
The restaurant will be the first in Honolulu to feature yoshoku dining. The word refers to Western cuisine adapted to the Japanese palate, resulting from the Japanization of introduced dishes that began in the Meiji era (1868 to 1912), following Japan’s opening to Western trade and with it, cultural influence. Culinary changes included the introduction of new ingredients and red meat to elites who could afford it.
Japan’s prosperity after World War II made dishes such as beef and pork cutlets and hamburger steak more affordable and accessible to the masses, bringing about their widespread popularity.
Through an interpreter, Shibuya said he was raised on a diet that was half washoku (Japanese cuisine) and yoshoku (Western cuisine), and he appreciated both equally.
One element of yoshoku cuisine was already part of his family’s legacy. His grandfather, Nobukatsu Shibuya, opened the first specialty shop serving pork cutlets in Tokyo’s Ginza district nearly a century ago, in 1927. Not satisfied with the Western Worcestershire or demiglace usually served with the cutlets, he revamped his sauce to appeal to the Japanese palate, thickening Worcestershire with the addition of fruits and vegetables, such as apples and onions, that would also add sweetness.
Just as Ginza Bairin focuses on tonkatsu, Japan has many small shops focusing on single aspects of yoshoku cuisine, Shibuya said, but no large restaurants bring all the dishes together under one roof. He intends to do that as a way of introducing the dishes he loves.
Popular yoshoku dishes he will offer include omurice (omelet rice that uses ketchup as a main ingredient), curries, cream stews, gratins, spaghetti and hamburger steak.
