December 8, 2010 in A student life by adminsekaione

A student life in Japan: My love for tempura

Hi friends. Last week I was quite busy and couldn’t write on my blog. Thank you for your feedbacks and as many people requested I will start writing my articles in both English and French very soon. Today let’s talk about Japanese FOOD.

The best way to trick me out of my house on a week-end is to invite me for some TEMPURA and I guess all my Japanese friends know that by now. I love TEMPURA and it’s definitely my favorite Japanese dish if you want to know. Tempura is a Japanese dish of seafood and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried according to the Wikipedia. I prefer Shrimp Tempura out of all and as long as it is “Oishiiiiii (good)

I really don’t mind if home -made or restaurant Tempura,

My favorite tempura chain restaurant is called “??” (Tenya) and it is very affordable. Every time I go to Tenya I am treated with a bowl of *TENDON* (rice, fried veggies and a fried shrimp), some hot or cold *O TIA* (tea) depending on the season and a good *MISO* (soup) for just one coin, 500yen. And when I am feeling festive or just craving for some shrimp, I usually go for the “???” JYO TENDON” which I like to call the ALL STAR TEMPURA which has 2 tempura shrimps instead of one and all the things mentioned above at just 580yen.

Last week, I had a totally different experience with Tempura. My Japanese Granma, Ya-Chan , invited me to some Tempura in Ginza. The restaurant called “TEN-ICHI” (No 1 TEMPURA) , just like the name says, is the number one tempura restaurant in Tokyo. I was surprised to find out that it was a Counter restaurant with less than 20 seats. When I was greeted by the 2 Tempura Chef and a couple of waitress who help me out of my coat and in an apron, I start thinking this is SPECIAL. Tea and salad was served as I ordered my favorite drink, Coke, and there , all eyes were on me because I guess the combination, Tempura and Coke just didn’t sound right in a Japanese ear. For me I was already in Tempura “??”(Tenkoku) or Paradise , enjoying the view of a the Tempura Chef while he dipped, and served shrimps and veggies.

First he served us some crunchy “Shrimp Walking Feet” and advised us to eat it with nothing but salt. I know ,I know, I bet you are saying to yourself how can she eat that but let me tell you this, it felt like eating some crunchy chicken crumbs. Then came my beloved shrimp tempura which the Chef said will taste best, dipped in the “Tentsuyu” or the specially made tempura sauce. After that I enjoyed some Sillago tempura, then came the asparagus tempura and the mushroom tempura and many many more. We spent pretty much an hour trying all type of tempura and the more I ate the more I craved for more. One thing that surprised me was that , compared to the other tempura I have eaten, this tempura was not oily at all. To finish I had to have an authentic “TENDON” and a Sorbet made of “Yuzu” (a citrus fruit found in Japan) another specialty of the restaurant.

As I sat there enjoying these deep fried goodies, I saw a frame filled with pictures of famous people from Bill Clinton to Kofi Anan and if you know me you will know that I just had to ask them to put my picture there too just because I could be famous one day. Although they ignored my request, they were nice enough to give me a nice souvenir of a chopsticks holder “Origami” (the traditional Japanese paper folding.) .Needless to say that after such a lunch and a good Parfait and hot cocoa at a fancy Ginza Café, I couldn’t help but be thankful for being in Japan.

Special thanks to Yasuko Chan and her nieces. You guys are just awesome.