There is a new "Matsunoya" restaurant attached to the Matsuya near my place, and their katsudon is cheap and delicious. This could be dangerous for my wallet. On weekdays, I go to Matsuya near Hakata Station 2-3 times a week for Matsuya pork soup and morning set meals. I love Matsuya the most among beef bowl restaurants. The katsudon with half-cooked egg topping is my favorite. The pork soup is great. The Matsuya app is excellent. I like that I don't have to interact much with the staff at Matsuya. #Matsunoya #Matsuya #Wakamatsu #Kitakyushu #Favorite among beef bowl restaurants #Katsudon #Half-cooked egg topping #Pork soup #Excellent app #Love Matsuya #Donburi Instagram #Tabelog #Food porn

In Kitakyushu City, Wakamatsu Ward, there is a restaurant called Matsunoya located opposite Sanrib Takasu. Their two main dishes are beef rice and original curry. The beef rice comes in various options such as green onion beef rice, cheese beef rice, grated radish and ponzu sauce beef rice, green onion and grated yam beef rice, and spicy keema beef rice (limited time). They also offer set meals like pork ginger stir-fry set meal, brown sauce hamburger set meal, kalbi grilled meat set meal, and bulgogi set meal (limited time). During my visit for Matsunoya, I ordered the original curry sauce (360 yen) to go with the pork cutlet set meal I saw on the menu. The original curry sauce was well-cooked and had a perfect balance of umami, sweetness, spiciness, bitterness, and acidity, making it delicious. It can be paired with set meals or beef rice. I wanted to have curry with my pork cutlet set meal, so it was a perfect choice. The restaurant also has a drive-thru option. Thank you for the meal.

Wakamatsu Ward, Kitakyushu City. Opened in September 2022 in Wakamatsu, the first Matsuya with Matsunoya in Kitakyushu. It is becoming more common nationwide for stores to have Matsuya, Matsunoya, and Maikari Dining, which are pillars of Matsuya Foods, combined. The menu includes options such as pork cutlet set meal, double pork cutlet set meal, miso pork cutlet set meal, 2-piece fried horse mackerel set meal, authentic fried chicken set meal, pork cutlet & authentic fried chicken set meal, pork cutlet bowl, miso pork cutlet bowl, and more. This time, I ordered the pork cutlet set meal with a topping of potato salad (500 yen). The pork cutlet was crispy and thick, the cabbage was crunchy, and the potato salad had a nostalgic taste. The rice was slightly soft and fluffy. The miso soup contained fried tofu. There were several types of sauces and dressings on the table. I'm not sure if it was a special menu for the opening or a lunch menu, but it was a great deal to have potato salad topping with the pork cutlet set meal. Order via the touch panel, receive instructions on the touch panel when the order is ready, pick up the items, eat, return the dishes, and pay at the self-checkout. A very efficient system. Thank you for the meal.

Matsumiya has opened its fourth location in Kitakyushu City. When a new location opens, I have to go check it out. And if I'm going, I'm definitely getting the Goro Goro Chicken Curry. There's no other choice. The Goro Goro simmered chicken curry is just amazing. The juicy chicken is sautéed to perfection and the curry is packed with flavor. It's now a permanent menu item and I'm grateful for that! They accept Suica as payment.

I was upset that there was a similar restaurant in Yukuhashi City, but not in the city of Kitakyushu, a city of one million people (actually just under 930,000). Finally, Matsunoya has appeared, and strangely enough, it's located in Wakamatsu Ward. Orders are placed using a touch panel. When you order the pork cutlet bowl, it arrives in about 300 seconds. The pork cutlet itself is delicious. However, there is not enough egg and the broth is too little, so the rice is mostly plain. I wonder if it's possible to have the pork cutlet bowl with extra broth. Suica can be used for payment.

It seems like Matsunoya, a first-time store in Kitakyushu, is located next to Matsuya. The location is across from the Sanlib Takasu store. I thought it was two separate stores when I heard they were adjacent, but it's actually one store. You order using a touch panel, selecting Matsuya or Matsunoya from the displayed menu. Matsunoya offers a very cheap tonkatsu set during the morning hours, but it's not available here since it's a joint store. The interior is mostly counter seating, with each seat separated like at Ichiran. There are about three tables with booth seating like a family restaurant, but they are always busy and rarely available. You order using the touch panel, and when your order is ready, you go pick it up - a self-service system similar to Matsuya combined with a food court. Payment is done at a self-checkout by scanning your receipt. There was a staff member guiding customers when I visited, but once it calms down, it seems like there will only be staff in the kitchen except during peak hours. I ordered the 500 yen loin cutlet set with a potato salad topping. The rice is the same price up to a large serving. Since it was just opened, I thought a special serving might be too much, so I went for a large serving. I noticed they forgot the potato salad when I was taking photos, so I informed them, and they brought it separately later (laughs). The loin cutlet set (500 yen for the opening special) was my first time trying tonkatsu at Matsunoya, and it surprisingly had a good thickness and was a proper tonkatsu. It was freshly fried, so the coating was crispy and crunchy. The meat quality doesn't have the sweetness or umami when you chew it like the ones at specialized shops that cost over 1,000 yen, but it wasn't too tough or dry, just a decently tasty tonkatsu. The sauce tasted like curry or barbecue sauce, which wasn't really to my liking. I prefer sauces with a bit of acidity... maybe it's good for those who like milder sauces. The regular loin cutlet set is 590 yen even during normal hours, which is quite cheap. Not outstanding, but it satisfies the craving for tonkatsu anytime easily, which is nice. The cabbage was piled high, so I got pretty full.

While it is called Matsuya, there is a Matsunoya attached to it. You order through a touch panel, but the menu is different so it can be a bit confusing. I tried frying the tonkatsu myself, but it didn't turn out well. It's definitely better to eat it at the restaurant.

Being able to eat both Matsuya and Matanoya together is great because it's very satisfying and filling!