looks like “Kait”–is actually “Tensuke”
first let me boast that the only reason i was able to find this recommended restaurant called Tensuke was because i had learned to read hiragana before coming over here. the hiragana are as close as you’ll get to an alphabet in japanese, and the katakana are the exact same set of sounds but written in different characters. so i equate having learned only my hiragana to having learned to read the english alphabet BUT ONLY IN CAPITAL LETTERS. so, essentially, if something is written in all caps in japanese, i’m all over it. if it’s written in all lowercase, i’m screwed. the restaurant Tensuke spells out the “suke” part in hiragana; thus, i was able to identify it. *pats self on back*
i went into this super tentative as it is clearly a popular place for japanese-speaking locals. i arrived 45 minutes before the noon opening time on a sunday, and there were already four people waiting, despite the sub-arctic (to me) december temperatures. after fewer than ten minutes had passed, i looked back, and there were **twelve** more people in line behind me! yikes. anyway, Tensuke opened promptly at noon, and the staff was immediately sympathetic to my needs as the only non-japanese speaking customer. we all took our seats at the single counter, which bends around the corner of the space and faces the cooking area. no menus were offered; seems folks come there for a specific meal, which was explained to me in english by my behind-the-counter waitstaff dude. fried egg over rice with fried vegetables. set price: 1300¥. i asked if the egg would be fried hard–cooked all the way–and i think they did only mine that way to suit me.
when i sit down, there is a hot green tea (i think that’s what is was) and a bowl of, like, chopped onion/accoutrements before me. a bowl of clear tannish-orange colored liquid (with some stuff in it) is then added. i watch to see if my neighbors drink this. they do not. because turns out it’s not soup–it’s dipping sauce! 🙂 the chef then starts cracking eggs and doing tidy little no-look backboard shots into the trash with the shells (making a mess he will have to clean off the wall later). the egg, with a little batter messily splashed in, is fried quickly (it puffs up a bit rather than being flat) and then placed atop a bowl of rice with some crispy fried batter bits, all of which is doused in a soy-sauce-y sauce. i receive my bowl and sign inwardly as i split apart my chopsticks. i will NOT miss eating with two sticks. as i eat, a bowl of soup (?) is added to my collection of things. no spoon. i wait to observe my neighbors, who eventually drink this right from the bowl. it is soup. a fishy one, as it turns out. i can do without it.
next, the chef starts tempura-ing things. a plate sits on the raised edge of the counter before each seat, and we are all, in turn, presented with, one at a time and in this order: a good-sized shrimp, a wedge of green bell pepper, a slice of eggplant, a hunk of broccoli, a piece of fish, another (different) type of fish, and–the grand finale–a big ball of shrimp. the plate has a paper on it that is eventually drenched in tempura grease. the food is good. the tempura batter provides crunch more than flavor, but the dipping sauce, which is mild and slightly sweet, complements the soy-sauce-y rice and makes the meal.
i feel a little pressured because, as i continue working on my food, my first-shift seatmates all finish and leave, and i know there is a line outside. i also know that the place is only open for lunch from 12 to 2pm. i’m just not very quick at eating with a pair of sticks–i do the best i can! (i cheated at one point–picked the first shrimp up with my hand and ate it for the sake of efficiency. i was left with extremely greasy fingers and no napkin in sight. the waiter dude, seeing my plight, took pity on me and presented me with a wet wipe. i didn’t cheat any more after that.) anyway, no one rushed me; the pressure to finish up came only from myself.
all-in-all, i’m glad to have braved this tempura experience, and i left Tensuke VERY full.
One Month in . . . 