I always wanted to try Chinese Food at Kato Hanten, because my friend mentioned it to me before. I always forgot the exact restaurant name, but finally I found it again and just walked in.
In Japan, Chinese restaurants usually offer fancier prepared Chinese cooking, totally different from what you find in a simple ramen shop or a food court, and Kato Hanten belongs to those places that take the food seriously.I sat and waited a bit.
Good Peking Duck and Chinese Food at Kato Hanten in Osaka
The menu shows both Chinese, Japanese and English. So ordering should not be a problem if you don’t know chinese.
On the menu were dishes I found interesting, Cold Cut Chicken with Sesame Sauce and Shrimp in Chili Sauce, that sort of thing.
I also chose Peking Duck roll, that I don't often come across.I didn't go mad with the ordering, but managed to choose some things that sounded good.
Waiting went on.
It needed a bit of waiting.Then the food came one after the other.
First came thin slices of pork topped with sauce together with some fresh greens.The meat was sliced so thin, almost see-through, and the sauce had a slightly sour and spicy taste.They weren't too bad, but the greens below simply served for show and didn't add much to the taste itself, really.
The crispy duck skin was what most excited me, and it came together with thin pancakes, strips of cucumber, spring onions and hoisin sauce.You must mix everything yourself.That's a usual Peking style of eating duck, where the skin plays the main role and must be fierce crispy.I carefully made every one, and the skin had a nice crunch, fatty underneath but crispy outside, and the hoisin was thick and sweet.Honestly, it was the best part of the whole meal, so it was.It reminded me of a similar time at Rogairo Chinese Restaurant in Kyoto, but here the skin was even more crispy.
Steamed dumplings (or XiaoLongBao) came to the table in a basket with folded tops.The skins were soft, a bit sticky, and the stuff inside was hot and juicy when I bit into it.Beside it was soy sauce with chopped ginger.It was very normal, but well made, and the ginger added a fierce kick.
Bok choy with mushrooms and some crispy vegetables.Honestly, that dish was a bit plain altogether.The vegetables looked fresh, the mushrooms were soft, but they needed something to give it taste.
Slices of beef with bell peppers, mushrooms and bamboo shoots in a thick sauce.The meat was soft, the sauce stuck to everything, salty and a little sweet.The bamboo shoots added a crunch that went against the softness of the meat.If I were to guess how good the sauce would be, I'd have added more rice just for that dish.
Fried rice with bits of egg and vegetables mixed inside.The grains stayed separate and had that right oily sheen, the usual thing for fried rice, not clumpy or wet.It was grand, but nothing special.Simply good fried rice.
The last dish was “Mapo Toufu” which mean spicy tofu in chinese. This is a famous dishes that most chinese restaurant would offer. I would say overall this restaurant is worth a try.
The portion is not big but most of the dishes satisfied my expectations.
