A Fantastic Fusion Meal After a Long Drive

I recently took a trip up to London, Ontario, to celebrate my sibling’s birthday with them. They had a few things they wanted us to do (which we’ll cover in future food reviews, fear not), but mostly it was so we could all hang out together for a couple of days to usher in their new trip around the Sun. When your sibling asks you for a favor like that, you don’t say no. That’s just what family does.

However, London, ON, is a 14-plus hour drive from where I live, so my wife and I were pretty dead by the time we got into the city. And it wasn’t just from the basics of the drive itself, mind you. We have an electric car, which has a wireless chip built into it so it can communicate with the dealer’s networked apps and get us information on charging stations and the best places to route the trip. Unfortunately that chip is keyed for the U.S., and it craps out entirely when we hit Canada, so we’re basically on our own at that point and finding charging stations can be more problematic (as we once again learned on this trip). That, plus some major road work and an even more major crash on the highway outside of London, put us even further behind.

Needless to say, by the time we finally got into London proper, we were beyond dead. We needed food, however, so we piled back into the car, along with the sibling and their spouse, so we could all get to a restaurant that was still open at 11:00 in the evening. And, thankfully there was one. Even more thankfully, it was actually a really good place, and we got to have a really solid meal before we all crawled into our beds to hibernate for an evening.

The restaurant in question is Katsu Express, which is a kind of Japanese fast casual place with a bit of Pan-Asian flair. The menu is extensive, with a selection of appetizers, katsu platters, ramen bowls, fried rice dishes, poke bowls, loaded fries (because it’s Canada), and more. We were able to get a lot of different items for a nice, late night feast, and just about everything we sampled was fantastic.

I ordered the Original Katsu with chicken instead of pork. I know this isn’t a traditional preparation for the meat, as pork is what you’re supposed to use for katsu, but I really don’t like pork. Ham and bacon are fine, but pork has a texture I don’t care for, all for a white meat that I tend to think is inferior to chicken. And since my wife also prefers chicken, and she’d been eyeing the katsu as well, we got the Original Katsu with Chicken to share.

Served with tonkatsu sauce, rice, cabbage salad, macaroni salad, pickles, and miso soup, this was a very big and filling platter all on its own. The star of the show was, of course, the katsu, which was amazing. The breading was thick, crunchy, salty, and delicious, and tasted even better with the sweet sauce (although it was fantastic on its own). The chicken was moist and flavorful, and my wife and I absolutely devoured the meat before we finished off any of the accoutrements.

Not that the sides were bad, mind you. The selection of additional items alongside the meat was really nice, and it gave us a lot of choice when it came to flavor and texture pairings to use as we cleansed our palettes. The house-made pickles were made from jicama, and they were crunchy and sweet, with a nice, vinegar bite. The cabbage salad was great, with a kind of ginger dressing severed on the side (which I slathered on top). It was cool, crunchy, and refreshing. And while the miso soup was pretty basic (clearly a standard miso you can get anywhere), the warm and salty broth was greatly appreciated.

Alongside the main meal, my wife also got a salmon avocado roll. This was great as well. The salmon was super fresh which, honestly, is something I’m used to from London. Every time I go for sushi there I find they have some of the freshest salmon I’ve ever had. Buttery, soft, and delicious, and this roll had that as well. Complimented nicely by the soft, fresh avocado and the properly cooked rice, the roll was what you want from a salmon avocado roll. Basic flavors, but done very, very well.

Meanwhile, I got an order of takoyaki, which I shared with the table. Ever since I ate at Umai Ramen and Rice Bowl in Herndon, VA, I have been absolutely addicted to these things. I get them any time I’m at a place that has them. Fried balls with creamy filling and chunks of octopus, they’re weird but fantastic. The takoyaki at Katsu Express were great, smooth, crunchy, and creamy. And the octopus was just large enough to notice the chunks, but not so big that you were having to chew on them for a while. These were great.

Meanwhile, my sibling got a bowl of the Black Garlic Ramen, which was exceptional. The broth was rich and deep, full of not just garlic but strong umami flavors. I sampled a little of it, but since it was their dish I didn’t take too much. It’s one I would strongly consider going back for, though. And while I didn’t get a picture of it (since I didn’t sample it myself), my brother-in-law got the Mighty! Crazy Fries, which were topped with braised chicken, beef, and pork, along with special, house-made sauce. It looked wild, like the weirdest Japanese poutine, but he said it was delicious.

So yeah, all around, this place was great. A hole-in-the-wall little Japanese fast food kind of joint, but with some of the best Asian food I’ve had in some time. I wish they weren’t based out of Ontario, and were closer to where I lived, because I would get fat and happy eating their food just about every day. My wallet would hate me, but my stomach would be delighted.