Tempura Nakamura 天婦羅中村 (Matsuyama, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

We spent a lot more time at Dogo Onsen (道後溫泉) than I originally planned so we were a little late for our tempura dinner tonight. Situated on the 3rd floor of a discreet commercial building in the heart of Matsuyama (松山), Tempura Nakamura (天ぷら中村) is one of the few top-rated tempura omakase restaurants in town. 

The kitchen here is helmed by a young owner-chef who has trained at some of the top tempura restaurants in Tokyo and Osaka including Tempura Osakaya Soutetsu (天婦羅 大坂屋草哲), the sister restaurant of my favorite Tempura Shinsaibashi Ittetsu (天婦羅 心齋橋一哲) in Osaka.

We specifically asked for seats at the counter table so little nugget could get a clear view of what’s happening behind the scenes.

As usual, we got a visual tour of the ingredients tonight. And wow — there was definitely a lot of fish on the menu… perhaps a few too many.

Tonight's condiments were simple, just some powdery salt and the usual tentsuyu.

We started with a cold dish — octopus with chilled cucumber, drizzled in a zesty, lemony sauce. Refreshing right off the bat.

Shrimp head — Really nice and flaky just like it always is.

Shrimp 🍤 — The first of the two shrimp tonight.

Not surprisingly, both were incredibly bouncy.

Japanese kiss fish — One of my favorite fish tempura. As usual, it worked really well with the tentsuyu.

Green pepper — Pretty juicy but I always prefer red pepper when it comes to tempura.

Sea bream — We started with a squeeze of lemon juice but this was a tad too soft.

Sweet corn 🌽 — As always, the corn tempura had a great crunch. I love the texture of the light, super crispy batter and how well it held up against the corn.

Eggplant 🍆 — Melt-in-the-mouth good! 👍🏻👍🏻 One of the best item so far…

Pike conger — The pike conger from Nagano Prefecture (長野縣) came topped by a homemade sauce made with okra and plum.

The conger fish itself wasn’t bad but slightly minty and herby sauce was an interesting match.

Ayu — These sweet fish were almost too cute to eat. Of course, there were way too many tiny bones for me, but the preparation was still spot-on.

Baby sardine — Some of us who were counting were surprised to learn this was already our fourth fish dish — and we were only halfway through! To be brutally honest, I didn’t like this item at all. The center of the deep-fried baby sardine ball was just way too raw for me. Even with soy and ginger, it didn’t manage to take away the fishy smell.

Seaweed — I thought we were going to have seaweed tempura, but when the chef asked if we liked sea urchin from Hokkaido, our eyes lit up. This was wonderfully delicious, though I bet it would be even more elevated with a little shiso leaf.

Potato 🥔 — Like the one I had at Tempura Tenon, this took about an hour to cook but yet it stayed wonderfully sweet and satisfying.

Abalone (2,500 yen) — Our only add-on item. The abalone was extremely tender and juicy. 

Enjoying it without a flavorful sauce (abalone liver sauce?) was actually a nice change.

Sea eel — Always a treat for the texture.

Sweet potato 🍠 — Another really nice dish. Very very sweet and just perfectly soft (almost powdery in the middle).

Our rice course was next.

Ochazuke (茶漬け) — We didn't have a choice tonight and there would be no tendon (天丼). Just green tea over rice.

Red miso soup

And a cup of green tea to help with our digestion and we all needed that after the big meal.

Dessert was fresh mango from Taiwan, served with an exotic sauce made with passion fruit. 

This was the first of a trio of big meals planned for this trip. Personally, I enjoyed it immensely even if the pacing was a little rushed (less than an hour from the first to the last item). There were definitely standout hits: the shrimp, eggplant, abalone, and sweet potato. But at the same time, I thought there were just too many fish dishes. Some of us joked that we didn’t want to see another fish course in the next couple of days. I have to say, I tended to agree.

Food Rating: 6.7/10

Price: ￥￥￥￥

Address: 3/F 2-1-2 Nibancho, Matsuyama, Ehime, 790-0002, Japan

Closest Tram Station: Okaido

Tel: +81 (0)89-9393-7785

Website: https://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ003872915/

Opening Hours: 5:30pm - 12:00am daily

Tempura Tenon 天婦羅天御 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After weeks of hard work, our team has finally reached a critical milestone. To celebrate this special moment and reward myself for the countless hours of overtime I’ve put in recently, I have booked a seat at Tempura Tenon for a little self-celebration tonight.

Tempura Tenon (天婦羅天御) is a restaurant that has been on my radar screen forever. Located on the 11th floor of L’Hart in Causeway bay just behind Sogo, the tempura specialist is helmed by head Chef Kai Wing, formerly of Japanese restaurant Iwanami.

After arriving right on time at the counter-only Tempura Tenon, I was escorted to my seat. I quickly settled in quickly, but before I could even fully relax, my stomach was called upon for some early work.

The first dish tonight was chawanmushi with sakura shrimps. I thought the top layer of green was a touch of wasabi but no.

The condiments tonight included some seaweed salt, curry salt, lemon and the usual tentsuyu.

Tiger prawn from Kagoshima (鹿兒島花竹蝦) — My dinner officially kicked off the best way with a nice and springy shrimp tempura. 👍🏻

Shrimp head — Crispy, flaky, and just perfect.

Splendid Alfonsino (金目鯛) — The splendid alfonsino from Shizuoka Prefecture (靜岡縣) came with some nice, crispy scales. Not bad.

Yellow and white corn 🌽 — The yellow and white corn from Hokkaido were tied together neatly. I almost couldn’t taste the batter here; it's that thin.

Sea urchin with shiso leaf — Lovely combination of sea urchin and shiso leaf where the uni and shiso leaf were wrapped in a thin, perfectly crispy batter like a bouquet. The shiso leaf flavor was pretty strong but not surprisingly, it worked incredibly well with the briny richness of the runny uni.

Horse mackerel (池魚) — I was curious how buttery, rich horse mackerel would fare with the thin batter, but this was actually more tasty than the splendid alfonsino tonight. (As a fan of kinmadai, I couldn’t believe I said that!)

There was a short break in the action when my server came over to present me with a small bowl of chilled corn soup.

Clam (大蜆) — The size of the clam caught me a little off guard.

I love the slightly chewy texture around the edges, and the burst of freshness was a welcome moment. Just a bit of lemon juice already made it incredibly delicious. This, along with the sea urchin and tiger prawn, are the top three items so far — in no particular order.

Hairy crab yuba roll — The hairy crab meat (sadly, no roes) worked well with the crispy tube made with yuba but the hint of black truffle never stood out. Instead, it was the acidity from the black vinegar taking center stage.

New potato (新薯) — I finally got the chance to use my curry salt and it was quite an interesting match. If I heard it right, the new potatoes from Nagasaki Prefecture (長崎縣) have been slow-fried for an hour!

The eight-course omakase menu has quietly reached its end, but I was invited to order more add-on items. Why not?

As Chef Kai Wing pointed out, Tempura Tenon is far from an old-school Japanese tempura restaurant. In fact, there are localized ingredients (mantis shrimp, cured fish roe, octopus just to name a few) that simply aren't available in more conventional tempura joints.

Mantis shrimp ($75) — Springy with a nice crunch. A very different experience than the tiger prawn. Love it~

Maitake ($35) — Maitake is one of my favorites in any tempura meal thanks to its incredible texture. But this one was just OK, as I thought they trimmed it way too much.

As usual, the meal was finished with a small tendon (天丼) and pickles.

And then a red miso soup with a strong hint of ginger.

Dessert was melon to wrap it up. That was the most food I had in more than a month.

It was an incredible experience just sitting at the counter table watching Chef Kai Wing work. He’s animated and interactive with his customers, adding a level of cozy and intimate touch to the meal. I will definitely bring my tempura-loving son for my next visit.

Food Rating: 7.4/10

Price: $$$

Address: 11/F, L ‘Hart, 487-489 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay

Tel: +852 6085-0243

Website: https://www.instagram.com/tempura_tenon/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 7:00pm - 10:30pm (Thu - Tue)

Tempura Suzuki 天婦羅鈴木 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

My team is off to meet up with Madame Taekwondo in Shenzhen this weekend leaving yours truly behind in Hong Kong. Rather than going up to SZ myself, I decided to stay local. Tempura Suzuki (天婦羅鈴木) and Tempura Tenon (天婦羅天御) have long been on my to-do list so this was the perfect timing to cross one off that list. Tempura Suzuki eventually got the nod with its proximity to my next destination after lunch.

I didn’t recall visiting the 10-seater counter-only restaurant before but judging from how they replied to me via WhatsApp with my surname (I didn’t initially tell them my name), there was a chance that I have visited a restaurant within their group before.

During lunch service, there was a choice of two tempura sets: a basic course set ($580) and a premium omakase course set ($1,580). Since I wasn’t in the mood for a big feast, I went with the simpler tempura set.

Deep-fried sesame tofu (胡麻豆腐) — The thin batter of the homemade sesame tofu worked really well with the dashi.

The delicate, deep sesame flavors were complemented nicely by a subtle hint of wasabi.

Shrimp head — I got not one but two shrimp heads!

As always, crispy and very delicate.

Shrimp — Fresh and springy. No wonder it’s always a fan favorite. (And no, I didn't get two shrimps despite having two heads!)

Red eggplant (赤茄子) — Crispy on the outside and soft, melt in the mouth inside. 

One of the best memorable item of the meal this afternoon.

Thread fish (姫魚) — Silky but not overly oily. I liked the mild flavor of the fish with minimal seasoning, and just a few drops of the zesty lemon juice already made a huge difference.

Myoga ginger (茗荷) — As expected, there was some extra heat from the ginger but it was relatively light.

At this point, I took a break from the deep-fried goodness. Next up, a refreshing dish of cuttlefish sashimi. 

The cuttlefish itself was soft in texture and not overly flavorful, but fortunately, the bonito consommé jelly, tomato, and perilla flowers came to the rescue. A touch of shiso helped elevate the overall flavors.

Japanese red pepper🌶️ (紅椒) — Very very juicy.

Love this.

Scallop — Two thin slices of scallop tempura were served with truffle salt.

Maitake mushroom (舞茸) — Apart from the shrimp, the vegetables has apparently become a highlight of this meal. The highlights started with the eggplant and red pepper, and continued with this maitake: crispy, tender, and deeply satisfying.

Sea eel (穴子) — Another one that works well with the thin batter.

This looked like the same sea eel tempura but served with a homemade sea eel sauce (鰻魚汁), topped with sancho pepper, and wasabi. Of course, the highlight of the dish was the crispy fish bone which delivered a lovely crunch.

I usually choose tendon (天丼) with a freshly fried kakiage whenever possible but this afternoon, I wasn't offered a choice anyway.

The tendon was served with some nice pickles.

And a bowl of red miso soup.

Dessert was a scoop of coconut ice-cream and homemade yokan (羊羹). A sweet ending to my relaxing tempura lunch.

Service was outstanding today, and that matters especially with all the different Japanese ingredients in the meal. The only thing I felt a little gutted about was not choosing the more luxurious set with all the premium ingredients.

Food Rating: 7.1/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 1/F, 11 Stanley Street, Central, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central

Tel: +852 2861-0018

Website: https://www.instagram.com/tempura_suzuki/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:30pm - 11:00pm daily