Tongyeong Handmade Tonkatsu Cafe R

Hello, I’m CULT.
I’m going to talk about a restaurant in Tongyeong called Cafe R.
Tongyeong is a very appealing destination for adults or for people who love seafood, but it’s not especially attractive for travelling with kids because of the food options. As someone who does kids’ snapshot photography, I’m often at a loss when clients ask what they should feed their children. There really aren’t many kid-friendly choices.
The good news is that Cafe R recently remodeled, so you can enjoy a decent meal there — I recommend giving it a visit. It’s called a “Cafe”, but actually it’s a Tonkatsu place.

Cafe Al Location and Summary

I live nearby, so I’m quite familiar with the area. There’s no large parking lot, but you can use the Daegyo Mart parking lot right in front, and there are plenty of spaces where you can park along the roadside. It’s not shown in the summary, but please note there is a break from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. And it’s closed every Sunday. [Naver Map]

The restaurant has entrances on both sides. The spot where I took the photo feels like the back entrance, and the main entrance is just to the left. If you enter through the main entrance you’ll see a kiosk right away. It’s only three steps difference, so I recommend entering through the main entrance. For reference, I first visited on the day it reopened after remodeling, and I’ve been back several times since.

This is the interior. I only photographed one side, so it doesn’t show everything — including the opposite side, it’s about 30% larger. It looks like it used to be a cafe and at first seemed to follow Japan’s kissaten (喫茶店) culture, operating as a place to enjoy both meals and coffee. However, after visiting several times since the remodel, I’d say it’s more like a regular restaurant than a true kissaten.

Here’s the menu. The menu on the table is different from the one on the kiosk. The kiosk offers a few more items.

Tonkatsu in Our Neighborhood

This is a dish called “Our Neighborhood Pork Cutlet” that I had on the opening day. They call it a gyeongyangsik pork cutlet — a kind of Western-style cutlet — but it looks a little different from the gyeongyangsik I knew. It comes with a crisply fried handmade pork cutlet, a small portion of rice, cabbage salad, seasoned fresh chives, danmuji (pickled yellow radish), and udon broth. The price is 13,000 won.
People from Europe or the U.S. will likely find it very tasty, while Japanese visitors might be a bit puzzled by the small amount of rice. You can order extra rice (1,000 won).
In Japanese terms it’s like a thin tonkatsu; in Western terms, think of it as a thick cutlet — roughly a thick schnitzel.
I’ve visited many famous schnitzel places in Europe, but honestly a simple Korean neighborhood pork cutlet tastes much better. This one is tasty, too.

They come as one large piece and one small piece. Personally I prefer dipping the sauce, but if you’re eating quickly, having the sauce poured on like this is nice too. Some Western friends ask why Korean-style cutlets don’t come with a lemon or lemon juice… Usually you squeeze lemon because of the pork smell, right? In Korea, if the pork smells, that restaurant would go out of business. Because the meat doesn’t smell, they don’t serve lemon.

This is the interior. The tonkatsu is exemplary — perfectly fried. It’s delicious 👍

We finished every last bite. I generally recommend this place for families with children, Western friends, and Japanese visitors.

Now I have a company card so I don’t need this anymore, but at the time I didn’t have one, so I photographed the receipt. European companies never accept food as an expense, right? In Korea, if you create proper content like this and there’s related business potential, they’ll recognize it as an expense. Anyway, this is the receipt for a 13,000-won tonkatsu from my neighborhood and three chicken burgers for 10,000 won.

Cafe Al Hamburger

This is a chicken burger available for takeout only. Three for 10,000 won makes it a great value. The portions are generous and it’s tasty, so buying one to eat on the go is fine, or you can head up Nammangsan, Yi Sun-sin Park, or take the cable car and enjoy a light picnic overlooking Tongyeong.
Right in front of Cafe Al restaurant there’s Daegyo Mart, where you can buy drinks cheaper than at a convenience store.

This is what the inside looks like. It’s the kind of food that makes you wonder whether selling three for 10,000 won would even be justified. It feels like they’re selling it far too cheaply. In Western countries, sliced cheese is cheap, right? Sliced cheese… in Korea and Japan it’s very expensive.
To avoid any misunderstandings from cultural differences, it’s worth noting that this is a dish made with quite a few ingredients that are expensive by Korean standards. On the other hand, in Europe sliced cheese is a cheap ingredient, so the perception is different.

Here it is cut in half. They usually slice it in half when packaging, so you don’t need to cut it yourself. I enjoyed it very much — it was delicious. This is another hamburger I’d recommend to you.

Udon

It presented itself as a café inspired by Japan’s kissaten culture mentioned earlier, but the udon doesn’t really reflect that. The price is 5,000 won
It’s not Japanese-style udon but a typical Korean-style udon. Personally, I think they made this udon for the many elderly locals around here. It’s not very salty, generally soft, and pretty ordinary.

Fortunately, the noodles are square and angular. Personally, I really dislike round udon noodles. Cafe Al Udon is a safe, no-frills choice.
For reference, the place that sells round udon noodles in Korean-style udon broth is near the Dongseoul Bus Terminal. It’s the worst udon in the world.

Donjjol Set

Next up is the Donjjol set. The price is 11,000 won
It’s served with a basic pork cutlet and jjolmyeon together. Quick note: jjolmyeon is very spicy for Japanese or Westerners. If you can’t eat spicy food, it’s best not to try the jjolmyeon. For Koreans, it’s just a mildly spicy, satisfying meal.

These are fried dumplings that come with jjolmyeon. Of course, they’re delicious when dipped in the spicy sauce.

Jjolmyeon is meant to be tossed together with the noodles and a cabbage salad. If you’ve come across lots of red dishes while traveling in Korea and assume this one isn’t very red and eat it without thinking, you’ll be in trouble. As I mentioned earlier, it’s really spicy for Japanese people and Westerners.

This is Cafe Al’s basic pork cutlet (donkatsu). They serve the sauce on the side, which is the style I prefer. Of course, I enjoyed it very much. I’ve tried various dishes, and the Donjjol set was the most filling, which I liked. If you come with family and your child is young and can’t eat much pork cutlet, I think ordering this is a good choice. The child can eat the pork cutlet while mom or dad have the jjolmyeon.
That’s it for today — I’ll sign off here and will be back soon with new travel information 😀

Cultravel

Cherry blossom road along Pyeongin Ilju-ro in Tongyeong

If you visit Tongyeong's Pyeongin Iljuro during cherry blossom season, you can enjoy the blooms in a peaceful, relaxed setting. Tongyeong City put a lot of effort into preparing it, but it's not well known because of limited promotion. It's a lovely cherry blossom-lined road, so I recommend stopping by.

• My personal recommendation: Chungmu Kalguksu in Tongyeong