"Let's go to the airport for some dinner" are words that you probably don't hear every day. Unless, like us, you live only a couple of stations away on the MRT. Which is a shame, though, because especially in a high volume, busy airport like Changi International, there's bound to be a couple of solid restaurants. Case in point - Saboten on the first floor of Terminal 1, which serves some of the best とんかつ (tonkatsu) we've ever had!
Perfectly situated on the first floor overlooking the check in counters, it's a perfect chill-out joint where you can relax and do some people watching. Yes, there are some drawbacks: for example it's pretty noisy with frequent announcements over the P.A. and other random airport noises, but I'm willing to overlook many comforts as long as the food's good!
The darling and I place our orders and sit back to wait. First off, the shredded lettuce. It's served with two dressings - a citrusy orange soy sauce dressing and a sesame one. I'm pleasantly surprised that the bowls were all pre-refrigerated to keep the lettuce cold as you eat. Definitely a very neat touch that more restaurants should emulate.
The tonkatsu sauce doesn't come completely pre-made: you have to grind your own sesame seeds with the provided mortar-and-pestle (kind of), for maximum fresh sesame taste.
On to the main courses then! I have the Saboten Special Set (SGD25.00) which comes with a prawn, mini pork loin cutlet, mini pork tenderloin cutlet and potato salad croquette. The cutlets are superb! Light, crispy and flaky breadcrumb/flaked battered, To nitpick I'd say that the pork could perhaps be slightly more moist and tender, but that's a very, very small nitpick.
Since the special set already has pretty much everything, our second choice is the Loin Katsu Curry (SGD19.50). It's the same awesome flaky crispy battered pork loin cutlet, drenched with Japanese-style curry. The curry is solid but not spectacular though, and it pretty quickly soaks into the katsu's batter, so I'd recommend just sticking to the normal, un-currie'd stuff.
Both sets come with free flow miso soup and rice, refilled as many times as you want - which I again thought was a nice touch. Oh, and a scoop of green tea ice cream at the end, too.
So in conclusion, an awesome tonkatsu joint with very reasonable prices - highly recommended! If you live along the eastern half of the green line, it is totally worth a SGD1.50 MRT trip down to Changi T1 just for dinner. The only downside, perhaps, is that Saboten doesn't really serve anything else other than various types of deep fried meats, so it won't work out for you if your dining partner(s) are in the mood for sushi.
wah, prices definitely look very reasonable, considering it's in an airport. oh, and i guess if you're really also in the mood for sushi, there'd be another outlet in the airport where you can get your fix, rite. heh :D
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