MLT residents open Japanese restaurant in Lynnwood, featuring tonkatsu

When Mountlake Terrace residents Vitaitip “Goi” Sophonsiwong and her friend Lynn traveled in Osaka, Japan, a few years ago, they fell in love with the way tonkatsu dishes were prepared and cooked. They thought they could bring this quality of cooking back to Washington. When they returned home, they decided to open Tokuni, at 19888 40th Ave. W., Suite A1, in Lynnwood.

“Over here [the breading] is like brownish, but over there [in Japan] its like, kind of yellow because it depends on the oil and everything in the bread crumbs,” Goi said. “So after we finish eating, it was like, wow, it’s worth two hours of waiting, and we hardly see anything like this here in Washington.”

Tokuni open on Oct. 1. It serves tonkatsu,  a Japanese dish consisting of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet, typically with shredded cabbage and a savory-sweet sauce. Donburi (丼) is a rice bowl dish topped with various ingredients, such as meat, seafood and vegetables. Goi said all the ingredients are imported from Japan except for the meats, which are bought from local farms.

“Ton” (豚) means pork and “katsu” (カツ) is a transliteration of the English word “cutlet.” According to the Public Relations Office in Japan, tonkatsu originated in the late 19th century in Japan from a French dish called côtelette de veau, which is battered pork cooked in butter. Diners also can choose chicken or tofu in lieu of pork. The cabbage salad can be seasoned with Tokuni’s homemade sesame garlic oil.

Goi said Lynn has a brother who lives in Japan, and she had lived there while learning to cook like the Japanese chefs. Now Lynn works with the kitchen staff to create the dishes.

“How many people can go to Japan and and try the best food there? Why don’t we just bring it here?” Goi said.

Goi is no stranger to the restaurant business. She owned and operated 24 Star Thai Cuisine in north Lynnwood until late 2023. Tokuni was supposed to be open in June, but — like its next-door Taiwanese bubble tea shop — the opening was delayed because of communication,  building and permitting issues with the contractors and the City of Lynnwood, Goi said. She added that tariffs had stopped the shipment of ingredients from Japan earlier this year, and she had to reorder them.

Goi said the biggest challenge was hiring enough servers to meet the large number of customers earlier this month. Also, she said that cooking tonkatsu takes at least 15 minutes, and customers sometimes could wait for as long as 45 minutes to one hour.

If Tokuni is successful, Goi said she may expand the business with another location, whether it’s tonkatsu or something else. To do so, she said customer feedback is a priority.

“To me, I’m looking at how to serve people the best you can, and you can be humble and listen to comments even [if] it’s a hard comment,” Goi said. “You listen and you try to see what it is. If what they say is true, you change.”

Visit Tokuni’s website for their menu and hours.