CHECK IT OUT: Crazy Katsu on Maginhawa Street, Quezon City

Crazy Katsu
81 Unit I Maginhawa Street, Teacher's Village,
UP Village, Quezon City
Tel. No. 435-0030

Where to go for Katsudon in Quezon City. Click for more.

(SPOT.ph) Here’s one more reason to hie off to bustling Maginhawa Street, the popular restaurant strip in Teacher's Village, Quezon City: the Katsudon at Crazy Katsu.

Contrary to what the signage outside suggests, there's nothing crazy or outlandish about the food here. Crazy Katsu’s focus isn't on flashy dishes or themed dining; this grub hub is really just about serving good food. The short menu lists katsudon rice meals (starting at P140), fish and vegetable tempura (P140), plus specials such as Curry Rice (P140), Pork Ginger (P140), Gyoza (P120) and Beef Sukiyaki (P190), the newest item on the menu.

Crazy Katsu partner and musician Bryan Kong said it all started with the katsudon that his partner, Shinji Tanaka, serves at his recording studio [Sound Creation]. "Everyone liked it, musicians would go out of their way to have it. When we thought of opening a restaurant, the katsudon naturally came to mind," Bryan says, narrating the Crazy Katsu story in a nutshell. There's no sushi bar at this cozy, casual joint-only a few wooden tables paired with benches fill up the room. A community bulletin board hangs on one wall, reminding you that it is just as much a college hangout as it is a neighborhood restaurant.

While it's the Chicken and Pork Katsudon, bowls of satisfying pan-fried chicken or pork cutlets, onions, and egg on top of steaming hot rice, that draws crowds, other menu items like the donburi are pretty popular too. The plump Gyoza dumplings are a must-try, and so is the Beef Sukiyaki, a medium-sized bowl of hearty meat slices and noodles swimming happily in simmered beef stock and soy sauce-based soup. Though a few new dishes might be added to the menu soon, the folks at Crazy Katsu like keeping things simple. Adds Bryan, "We've also been offered space at malls but we'll probably stick to neighborhood locations for now."

Photos by Trixie Zabal-Mendoza and from Crazy Katsu