Ginza Ortigas, located on the ground floor of the Agustin I Building, is a family-style Japanese restaurant that has very specific and pragmatic goals. It isn’t out to become the new high-end omakase eatery. Rather, it wants to elevate Japanese cuisine through improved and dependable sourcing of prime ingredients, by elevating its cooking techniques, and by inviting established "masters" from Japan to help them achieve this.

The recent visit of Chef Hironobu Horiuchi of Tonkatsu Horiichi during a Father’s Day weekend promotion was a great occasion to meet the people behind Ginza and to sample the cuisine of this tonkatsu master. Kurobuta Tonkatsu Horiichi is an unassuming 12-seater that can be found in Shimbashi, Tokyo. It received Michelin Bib Gourmand awards in 2023 and 2024 and was included on Tabelog’s highly regarded Hyakumeiten (Top 100) lists in 2024 and 2026. Chef Horiuchi is known for his precise double-frying technique, use of a premium rice oil blend, and the quality of his prized Kurobuta (black pork), the pride of Kagoshima. It was time to taste and appreciate the difference!

The Sizzling Mentaiko, which is marinated fish roe in a steaming broth, is served with slices of sourdough, and it’s a fine way to kick off the dinner. This is followed by the Tontoro, the premium marbled pork jowl with a buttery flavor that has been deep-fried to a crisp but with a meaty segment in the center.

The first real surprise is the Camembert Mentaiko. Again, deep-fried but with the soft consistency of the cheese kept intact, and with the roe acting as the dipping sauce. Several found this to be their new discovery of the evening, very pleased with the offering.

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**Kurobuta Tonkatsu.**

Kurobuta Tonkatsu is considered the Wagyu of pork, as it’s the Kagoshima Berkshire breed that was first imported from the United Kingdom but came to represent something uniquely Japanese. It’s served with Tonjiru Soup, which is thinly sliced pork belly and root vegetables in a miso broth, with steamed gohan on the side. Honestly, this course, served on a tray, would have been worth the price of admission by itself. The tenderness of the pork strips was out of this world, and the flavor of the pork came through excellently.

We were then treated to a bevy of deep-fried items. The Kaki Furai, oysters breaded with panko, were joined by the Ebi Furai, deep-fried shrimp that are distinct from the Ebi Tempura we are familiar with. The panko has its own texture and coats the items differently, making them crisper.

A second platter soon arrived—a trio of Hotate Furai, which are scallops, the Shake Furai of salmon cutlets, and the Ika Furai, which is squid. No complaints here, as the scallops were the large Hokkaido variety, except for the fact that after the tonkatsu and rice, I was already stuffed!

The Yuzu Sorbet, with its intense tart citrus flavor, was the dessert worth mentioning. I’ve always been partial to yuzu, so I loved this iced dessert.

Kudos to the management of Ginza for being so self-aware. It’s always about improving, evolving, and absorbing the lessons from visits such as this one by Chef Horiuchi. Ginza Ortigas knows better than to rest on its laurels—it constantly finds ways to enhance the dining experience for its customers, and we can be super thankful for that. Chef Horiuchi may have flown back to Tokyo, but he leaves a lasting impression.