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When I think of the CBD area, the first things that come to mind are Maxwell Food Centre, office workers and the stunning skyline. However, tucked inside OUE Downtown Gallery is the quaint Katsu By Kyu.
When I arrived at Katsu By Kyu, the rustic hanok-inspired interior immediately stood out to me, and I was reminded of the hanoks I saw when I visited South Korea.
As I stepped into the restaurant, the dark wooden furniture and pillars made me feel like I was in some ancient heritage site. This wooden theme even extended to the cutlery! The traditional Korean design details and warm lighting created this cosy, inviting atmosphere, which made the experience feel more intimate.
There are private dining rooms but the main dining area has an open kitchen where diners can watch food being prepared.
Katsu By Kyu opened in July 2026, and is a Korean-inspired tonkatsu concept. It is also Singapore’s first tonkatsu specialist that exclusively serves Jeju pork. Why specialist, you may ask? Well, the restaurant uses exclusively Jeju pork for its tonkatsu, along with freshly milled Korean rice each day.
What to order at Katsu By Kyu
We ordered the Couples Set (S$98++), which comes with 2 mains, a shareable side, udon, 1 curry pairing sauce and 2 green tea drinks.
For the mains, there were 4 options — Classic Jeju Loin, Centre-cut Premium Jeju Loin, Jeju Tenderloin and Panko Crusted Beef Short-Rib Patty. The shareable side options were Kadaif Prawn (1 piece) and Oyster Katsu (2 pieces). The udon options were Cold Flat Udon or Savoury Pork Belly Udon.
Ultimately, we went for Jeju Tenderloin and Centre-cut Premium Jeju Loin for the mains. For the sides, we chose Kadaif Prawn. Lastly, we opted for the Cold Flat Udon. As you can see in the photo above, the dishes soon took over our entire table.
First, the star of the meal, the Jeju Tenderloin. It had a beautifully crisp, golden brown crust. What surprised me was that the tonkatsu had a lighter crunch and taste, which didn’t make the meal feel greasy or heavy. Their dry ageing process definitely helped make the meat flavourful and rich. It was firm without making your jaw hurt from chewing. I appreciated that the tonkatsu set came along with a miso soup and shredded cabbage.
The Centre-cut Premium Jeju Loin had a richer, fattier flavour compared to the Jeju Tenderloin. It showed beautiful marbling, which created this deep, buttery taste. If you enjoy a richer cut of meat, this should be on your list while ordering.
What I like most about Katsu By Kyu is the plethora of side dishes and different ways you can switch up your meal. Besides their tonkatsu sauce, the meal comes with Korean-inspired condiments including ssamjang, salt, wasabi, mustard and perilla oil. Dipping my tonkatsu in all these different sauces allowed me to experience a different flavour with each piece.
I also liked their rice, which they freshly mill each morning and cook to order. The rice was soft and cushiony, yet firm, which gave it a nice bite.
The set also came with a little pot of curry, which was perfect for pouring over the rice or dipping the tonkatsu in.
I’m a seafood lover and I was excited to try out their Kadaif Prawn. They use custom panko breadcrumbs, with the panko mixed with freshly milled rice powder. This helps to create the unique airy yet crispy crust. However, I found the prawn itself to be a little too fishy and firm for my liking. One thing I did like was the delicate kadaif pastry it was wrapped in.
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If you’ve been browsing the internet in recent years, you might have seen these viral flat udon noodles. Well, they are available at Katsu By Kyu, yay! The noodles came with 3 dipping sauces.
The first was a light, almost soy sauce-like broth. The second was a sesame dressing, while the third was a spicy chilli-based one. My personal favourite was the soy sauce broth, which was refreshing and savoury.
The unique flat shape of the udon helped the noodles get evenly coated with the different sauces, adding more depth and flavour to each bite. The larger surface area of the noodles definitely helped them absorb more flavour than the traditional round udon.
Sadly, we didn’t have dessert, but I really enjoyed my green tea. It was smooth and refreshing with a slight toasted nuttiness, and complemented the fried and crispy food very well.
Who is Katsu By Kyu best for?
If you enjoy customising your meal with various toppings and dips, Katsu By Kyu is the way to go. With so many side dish and sauce options, you can mix and match to your heart’s content to create the perfect bite of tonkatsu.
How to get to Katsu By Kyu
The nearest MRT station to Katsu By Kyu is Tanjong Pagar (EW15). Head to Exit E and walk for roughly 6 minutes to OUE Downtown Gallery. Katsu By Kyu is located at #01-09.
Do we recommend Katsu By Kyu?
I’d recommend Katsu By Kyu if you’re looking for a good set meal with a large variety of tonkatsu combinations. The restaurant uses Jeju pork exclusively, so that’s a plus as well.
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