Tempura Tenyu

Tempura at the weight of a feather

Tenyu is the tempura counter of Tawaraya, the Kyoto ryokan that has operated since the early 1700s, and it has the same priorities: restraint, precision and a room small enough to hear the oil. The restaurant holds one Michelin star. The counter is U-shaped, the chef cooks in the middle, and each piece is served the moment it leaves the pot.

What distinguishes the cooking is technique. The chef fries in cottonseed oil, not the sesame or blends common elsewhere, in a copper-and-steel pot, and changes pots during service to keep the oil clean. The batter is barely mixed, adjusted for the moisture of each ingredient, so the crust stays crisp rather than chewy. A critic who visited was struck that the food arrived with no visible oil and was hot right through; he called it “Incredible” and said the lightness was the point. Another writer described Tenyu as a “cut above” an ordinary tempura counter.

What goes in the pot

The menu follows the market: shrimp, asparagus, kisu (whiting), hamo eel, Kamo eggplant, Fushimi togarashi pepper, sea bream wrapped in shiso. Uni wrapped in seaweed and a tencha rice bowl, finished with green tea, are the usual signature touches. Lunch is the lighter way in. Reservations are needed and are traditionally made by phone, in Japanese, so a hotel concierge is the practical route.

Sources: Inside Kyoto: Tenyu; Japanese Food Report: Kyoto tempura kaiseki; TableJourney: Kyoto fine dining. Check the official websites for current information.