Tonkatsu Matsunoya - More filling for less yen

People have always said that eating in Japan is expensive but, I beg to differ.  It's possible to
enjoy tasty meals at  budget-friendly prices, without having to resort to eating conbini-bought food.
Aside from the small, independently run, oftentimes mom-and-pop shokudo  (casual eateries) there are  QSRC stores (quick service restaurant chain)  and no, I don't mean McDonalds or KFC that you can find just about anywhere you go.

If you like tonkatsu (as Jay and I do), you must have seen Tonkatsu Matsunoya which has over 100 stores  all over Japan.  Food is served fast, the price is a surprise and the quality is the same no 

matter which store you go to.     When in Japan, Jay likes to eat tonkatsu as often as he can but he had not tried tonkatsu at a QSRC  like Matsunoya so when I saw one in Takamatsu, I dragged him in.

He was quite shocked to be confronted with these machines at the entrance.  The tonkatsu 

restaurants Jay goes to are the ones where you sit down and wait for someone to take your order.  

At Matsunoya's  they have these "ATM" machines ... automatic tonkatsu machines (see what 

I did there?)  where you choose your order from the electronic menu, press some buttons, insert 

your cash and presto -- your meal stub comes out.

Matsunoya's flagship dish is its  katsudon.  It's sold for the same price all over Japan, 

exactly 500 yen for a bowl, tax included. The next most popular dish is of course, the 

tonkatsu set.  A regular size cutlet is just 530 yen, with tax.  A slightly bigger cutlet

will set you back by only 680 yen. 

Even the beer at Matsunoya is cheaper!  Nama or draft beer is 330 yen where it would normally 

cost 400 to 500 yen in an izakaya. 

As with restaurants like Matsunoya,  diners come to grab a quick, hot and tasty meal and then 

head back out the door.  It's mostly counter seating in Matsunoya, with a few tables for two.  

Diners eat and run -- no lingering or chit chatting please, everyone's just engaged in the 

business of eating.

There is an open kitchen at the back of the restaurant.  This is where you give your meal stubs 

and when your food is ready, your number will  flash on the electronic board.  

Note the huge rice cooker on the counter on the left side -- rice is refillable and free!  

I ordered the miso-katsu set plus beer.   Miso-katsu is a Nagoya original and comes with a

fermented red miso sauce.  This aka-miso sauce is stronger tasting than the normal tonkatsu gravy and has a  richer and saltier taste.  Umai desu yo!

Matsunoya does not offer a choice between Jay's preferred hire (lean pork tenderloin, more expensive) or rosu (skinless chop with a bit of fat, less expensive).  

All tonkatsu sets are rosu,  I think.  For the price of 630 yen,  Jay was happy and had no complaints. 

Oishiikatta!

P.S

Tonkatsu Matsunoya belongs to the giant food company, Matsuya Foods which owns and runs a 

huge QSRC,  eponymously named Matsuya.  Matsuya is the forerunner to Matsunoya and has 

over 1,000 branches all over Japan.  It built its empire on the gyumeishi or gyudon -- just 

500 yen  with tax for a generously sized bowl of rice topped with tender, thinly sliced beef.

This is served with miso soup, pickles  PLUS ...  free rice refills!  You can't beat that!

We had a quick lunch at Matsuya in Tokushima and while I wasn't able to take a lot of photos (the restaurant was full to bursting and I was squeezed into a small corner seat) I did get to take photos 

of what was directly in front of me.

For a "budget" QSRC,  Matsuya does not skimp on giving its customers the condiments that can enhance their meal.  There are  3 kinds of salad dressing,  additional gyudon sauce  and 

unli-beni shoga, those pink pickled ginger strips that go so well with gyudon.

I ordered one of my favourite Japanese "homestyle" dishes -- pork shogayaki.  This is thinly sliced pork cooked with ginger and mirin and soy sauce.  The set came with  a fresh mixed green salad with sweet corn and miso soup with tofu and pork bits.  

Itadakimasu!