Find Los Angeles’s Crispiest Donkatsu at My Donkatsu in Koreatown | Eater LA

"Tucked into an unassuming Koreatown strip mall on Olympic Boulevard, I step into a family-run donkatsu shop where the scent of crispy fried pork fills a small room and white walls are covered in handwritten notes praising the umami of the unagi katsu and the molten interior of the cheese katsu. Opened in 2024 by Mr. and Mrs. Lim, who met working at a five-star hotel in Seoul (he the chef, she the server), it turns out some of Koreatown’s crispiest, most tender katsu in a cozy, quick-turnover space with a handful of tables and banquet-hall chairs. The menu centers on five katsu—chicken, pork loin, pork belly, unagi, and cheese—each served with salad, pickled cucumbers, seasoned greens, soup, rice, and house-made sauces. Blending Korean and Japanese styles, the chicken and pork are cut thick like tonkatsu with a versatile sauce that can be dipped or poured; chicken and pork loin come with a tangy beef-and-vegetable gravy brown sauce and an orange spicy mayo, unagi gets a special eel sauce, and pork belly and cheese pair with a mildly spicy, salsa verde–like green sauce that cuts the richness. Technique is the calling card: a batter mixed with fresh breadcrumbs keeps a light, craggy crust that clings to the meat, the chicken uses organic breast, the cheese is wrapped inside meat to preserve crunch, and Mr. Lim sources pork from neighborhood butchers each morning. According to their daughter, Soli, the classic pork and cheese are perennial favorites, pork belly is the current hit, chicken led at opening, and unagi sometimes sells out. Alongside the katsu are comforting bowls of udon, bibimbap, and flame-torched bulgogi, with udon lovers noting they can taste the flavor from the ingredients themselves. Service feels like a “Korean mom” embrace as Mrs. Lim hustles through 12-hour days, plates land piping hot so most guests finish in about 20 minutes to catch the crust at its peak; hours run Tuesday to Saturday 11:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m., and Sunday until 9 p.m." - Carly Kol