Kong's Aeon closed at the end of November. After visiting the closing sale, we stopped by Santen across the street. I ordered the cheapest option, a 390 yen tempura rice bowl, while my wife ordered the autumn salmon and scallop tempura set meal for 900 yen. The price difference between the two dishes is not a reflection of status. Our orders arrived in about 10 minutes. My rice bowl came with six freshly fried tempura items - shrimp, lotus root, okra, sardine, pumpkin, and seaweed. The tempura was not very crispy and the sauce was more sweet than savory, but for 390 yen, it was okay. It was definitely better than a supermarket tempura bento. There was extra tempura sauce on the table for refills, as well as pickles. Considering the cost, I think it was worth it. As for my wife's tempura set meal, she said it was delicious, but nothing extraordinary. In terms of value, the 390 yen dish was the winner. Thank you for the meal.

I had the Ebi Tempura Soba for 530 yen. It came with two large shrimp tempura, okra and nori tempura, and even two lotus root tempura as a bonus from a LINE coupon. The tempura was freshly fried, crispy, and had a satisfying texture, and the quality of the soba was also good. They also gave me a coupon for a free dish next time, making me want to come back again. Overall, it was a satisfying restaurant experience.

It's been a while since I visited Ten-san in the rain ☔️. I arrived around 12:30 and it wasn't too crowded, maybe due to the influence of the coronavirus. I ordered the 39 Tendon (shrimp, horse mackerel, okra, lotus root, seaweed, pumpkin) for 390 yen and the Salad Set (salad, miso soup) for 150 yen. The staff was really nice and the food came quickly. It was delicious as always! Great value for the price!

I had plans to meet a friend who lives in Suminoe and decided to stop by my parents' house on the way, so I ended up near the former Daiei store around 8 p.m. I figured only chain restaurants would be open at that time, so I found Santen. I've seen this chain before, but I think this was my first time eating here. I had the seafood and vegetable tempura set meal. I remember the tempura had shrimp, mini tomatoes, eggplant, horse mackerel, and squid. The one thing that made me happy was the amount of grated radish they served with the tempura dipping sauce (more is better!). Other than that, it was just the usual taste you'd expect from a chain restaurant. Well, it's nice that they serve the tempura freshly fried. Thank you for the meal.

A quick and easy place to enjoy tempura rice bowls. The prices are reasonable and the quality is not bad. I tried the new item, Pork Pork Pork, for 720 yen. I wanted to try the snow crab bowl, but I can't eat oysters so I chose this instead. This restaurant may be on the more affordable side compared to other places. I opted for the soba noodles set with a small portion of rice. The Pork Loin Cheese Roll was hot and the melted cheese was delicious. The pork fillet was a bit small, so I didn't really feel like I ate much. The thick-cut Pork Loin Ham had a strong presence and was very satisfying. I left feeling full. Thank you for the meal.

It had been a while since I wanted to eat tendon, so I stopped by on my way back from wandering. The tempura I had before was crispy and delicious, and surprisingly affordable. However, this time, the main shrimp tempura was a bit disappointing. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the meal. Thank you, Santen Kongo store!

This time, I decided to try out the tempura chain "Santen" that I have been curious about for a while, instead of going to the usual beef bowl chain for a quick meal. Santen is a tempura chain that I often see when driving, and I found out that there is only one branch in Osaka, located in Osakasayama City called Kongou. "Tempura and Tempura Restaurant Santen" is operated by Sato Food Service Co., Ltd., which is known for its Japanese family restaurant "Sato", and currently has 43 branches mainly in the Kansai region. Santen offers fast-casual dining with tempura dishes based on the expertise of Japanese restaurants. The Kongou branch is located along Route 202, slightly west of the Nankai Koya Line, with nearby stores such as Aeon Kongou and Toriden Sayama. The store opened on July 24, 2015. When you enter the store, there is a waiting area with two ticket machines and a counter for takeout orders in the back. You purchase your meal ticket from the touch panel ticket machine, where you can specify details such as extra rice, small portions, and set meals with udon or soba. If you are unsure about items like beer, you can order them at your table. Since it was early for dinner, the seats were not crowded, but there were quite a few takeout customers. Santen's tempura and tempura dishes are known for being "fast, cheap, and hot tempura". The prices are quite reasonable, such as the basic "Shrimp Tempura" with 2 shrimp and 3 vegetables for 390 yen. The "Sakura Shrimp and Spring Vegetable Tempura Bowl (small portion)" for 670 yen is a limited-time menu item featuring sakura shrimp tempura as the main dish, along with bamboo shoots, rape blossoms, and young corn. The "Grand Slam Tempura Bowl" for 690 yen is a popular item with a luxurious combination of shrimp, chicken, egg, cheese, fish cake, and 4 vegetables. The "Giant Squid and Shrimp Tempura Set Meal" for 780 yen includes 2 shrimp, giant squid, and 3 vegetable tempura, along with rice, miso soup, and a small side dish. The tempura was crispy and slightly sweet, easy to eat and filling for the price. Pickles, furikake, and tempura sauce are also available on the table.

To be honest, the rice is terrible. I'm not sure if it's the way it's cooked or if the rice cooker is broken, but I think they should taste it before serving it to customers.

The rice is hard and clumped together, making it difficult to eat!

I visited a restaurant for a casual tempura lunch. They have a system where you buy a ticket at the entrance before being seated. The ticket machine was quite advanced, but I found it a bit difficult to use. They offer seasonal menus and you can also have tempura with udon or curry, providing a variety of options to choose from. I ordered the following: - "Shrimp and oyster tempura set meal for 900 yen": It was a generous portion, and I ordered extra rice. - "Squid and shrimp tempura rice bowl with udon for 750 yen": The udon had a bland soup and wasn't very tasty. Unfortunately, the tempura this time was greasy and seemed to be fried at a low temperature. I couldn't find any special lunch deals, so it didn't feel very economical. Disappointing.

On my way back from Niimi, I wanted to stop by the Drive-in Nagasegawa in Jusshukawa to eat kama-meshi, but they were closed at night. So, I only used the day trip bathing service and ended up as a dinner refugee (≧∇≦). There's nothing in the Nara prefecture (≧∇≦), so I ended up going back to Osaka (≧∇≦). I found a Negi Chashu Tempura set meal at Mitsuken, which took over 20 minutes to come out, and the tempura was completely cold ψ(｀∇´)ψ. The rice was also cold (≧∇≦). It seemed like they forgot about my order⁉️ The miso soup was the only thing that was warm. The tempura donburi for the customers who came after me was served quickly, so maybe they were waiting for the miso soup to be ready? I won't go there again (≧∇≦). I don't want to eat cold tempura (≧∇≦). What a shame.

Tempura restaurant chain of Washoku Sato-san Group. This was my second visit, this time for lunch. As usual, I struggled with the touchscreen ticket machine. It was quite difficult. This time, I visited with my parents, and they also had a hard time using the machine, but we managed to get our tickets after some effort! We ordered: - "Chiku-tama Tempura Set Meal" for 540 yen. I love eggs, so I went for this dish! The tempura coating was crispy and delicious! - "Shrimp and Chicken Tempura Set Meal" for 590 yen - "Squid and Shrimp Tempura Donburi" for 440 yen! They offer both bowl and set meal options, as well as the choice to have the tempura on curry rice or udon noodles. It's great that you can choose from a variety of tempura options to suit your mood. Since it was lunchtime, some items were discounted, making it even more affordable! It was a satisfying meal. Thank you!

On Sunday, during my work break, I went to this restaurant for the first time for lunch. I ordered the tempura set meal which came with miso soup. The set included fresh prawns, kisu fish, lotus root, okra, and crispy seaweed. The prawns were fluffy and had no fishy smell, and the batter was just right. The seaweed miso soup was flavorful and delicious. However, the disappointing part was the rice. Despite being served a large portion, the rice was not tasty at all. It lacked shine, flavor, and stickiness. I wondered if the rice was from a different country. Despite this, I finished my meal while pondering these thoughts. The tempura was delicious, so I would like to come back again, but the rice left me feeling unsatisfied. I wonder if it will be the same next time.

This is a tempura restaurant chain called Tempura Sato-san Group. They have a big sign on top of the store that says "Tempura Bowl 390 yen". I visited for dinner! They have a system where you buy a meal ticket from a touch panel ticket machine at the entrance, then give the ticket to the staff after you sit down. The touch panel was quite difficult for me, I was a bit clumsy when buying the ticket. I ordered: - "Shrimp Tempura Bowl" with 2 shrimp, 2 vegetables, and 1 sheet of seaweed for 390 yen. It was quite a generous portion with 2 shrimp. - "Grand Slam" for 690 yen, which was quite luxurious with 2 shrimp, squid, 4 vegetables (okra, eggplant, shishito pepper, lotus root), white fish, chicken tempura, egg tempura, and seaweed. It felt like there was tempura piled on top of each other! The tempura was crispy, not greasy, and very delicious. It was affordable but tasted even better than the price! I really liked it. ♥

I stopped by the tempura and tempura bowl restaurant "Santen Kongou-ten" located in Osaka, Osaka Sayama City. I was drawn by the sign that said "Tempura bowl for 390 yen" (laughs) and decided to visit. I had the "Shrimp Tempura Bowl (390 yen)" and the "Miso Soup with Plenty of Clams (200 yen)". The shrimp tempura bowl had 2 shrimp, white fish, lotus root, okra, seaweed, and a generous amount of rice. It was very reasonably priced and had a good portion size. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal. Santen Kongou-ten Location: 1183-1 Handa, Osaka Sayama City, Osaka Hours: 10:30-24:00 (Last order at 23:30) Closed: Open every day Access: About a 7-minute walk north from Kongo Station on the Nankai Koya Line Parking: Available

This shop is located near Daiei in Kongou on the Nankai Koya Line. It is known for its large "Santen" sign visible from the national highway and spacious parking lot. Their selling point is "Fast, Cheap, Hot Tempura and Tendon". Their secret Tendon sauce is a mild and sweet bonito-based sauce. They use 100% canola oil for frying, resulting in a light and crispy texture. I visited with a friend this time. We ordered: Shrimp Tendon for 390 yen - 2 shrimp, white fish, okra, lotus root, and seaweed tempura. It's apparently the most popular dish here. W Cheese Chicken Tempura Set for 690 yen - 3 chicken tempura, 2 cheese sticks, cherry tomato, pumpkin, okra, and lotus root tempura. The cheese was different from what we expected (like Camembert), but still tasty. The set meal comes with furikake and a generous amount of rice. The miso soup with seaweed is delicious. The prices are very reasonable, and they offer takeout too, which is very convenient.

I am Kanmi from the "Minami Osaka Excitement Team". I love the Minami Kawachi area surrounded by mandarin oranges and grape fields. It is a green and peaceful area overflowing with delicious ingredients. Currently, I am exploring delicious restaurants in Sakai, Senshu, and Minami Kawachi. There are many encounters with delicious restaurants. Here are some of the delicious specialty products from Minami Osaka: - Osaka mandarin oranges - Osaka grapes (Delaware, Kyoho, Pione) - Senshu onions - Senshu cabbage - Senshu water eggplant - Osaka green peas - Young burdock - Osaka bamboo shoots - Osaka peaches - Osaka figs In July 2015, the familiar Japanese restaurant group "Santen" opened new stores at an amazing pace. Other restaurants in the group include Washoku Sato, Sushi Han, Nigiri Chojiro, Katsuya, etc. The tempura rice bowls can be enjoyed like fast food - "fast, cheap, hot!" The crispy tempura is fried in canola oil, making it light and healthy. It's also great that you can take it home. Some menu items include: - Chikudama tempura rice bowl: 590 yen - Assorted vegetable tempura: 290 yen - Shrimp tempura rice bowl: 390 yen - Shanghai shrimp tempura rice bowl: 490 yen - Shrimp and conger eel tempura rice bowl: 690 yen - Matsutake mushroom and shrimp tempura rice bowl: 680 yen - Tempura set meal: 480 yen - Deluxe tempura set meal: 580 yen

A new shop opened in Sayama. It used to be a fishing tackle store, but now it's a tempura shop. I was looking forward to trying it out, but time passed by quickly. It seems quite popular. However, popular restaurants in Sayama often disappoint, so I tried not to get my hopes up. It was a ticket system, with about 10 people waiting. I ordered a large shrimp tempura rice bowl and a large tempura set meal. The rice bowl had a pool of sauce at the bottom, with rice and toppings like shrimp, seaweed, shiso leaves, and white fish. The tempura was crispy and not greasy, so that was good. Personally, I don't like it when the ingredients have their own flavor, like sweet bean paste in daifuku or salt in shrimp tempura. The shrimp tempura had soy sauce on it, which didn't match well with the saltiness. It's good to bring out the natural flavor of the ingredients, but not too much. The cost performance was good, so I might come back, but overall, it felt like another overrated restaurant in Sayama. There was cucumber pickles, but no small plate to put them on. I wish they would pay more attention to these details and not be too cheap. I give it a 3 out of 5. Thank you for the meal.

The restaurant was stuck with low ratings, so I make it a point to visit whenever there is a new promotion. If I were to be picky, the first place that comes to mind in terms of casual dining and value for money is Santen. In this type of establishment, the most crucial factor is how to eliminate the variation in the taste of the dishes depending on the person frying the tempura. Even if you have a perfect operation set up, the taste can still vary significantly based on the fryer's intuition. In this regard, I believe that Santen is providing a taste that is close to the lowest common denominator when considering value for money. While there have been disappointments in the past with overly thick batter or dishes like last year's cod roe tempura, I think the recent offerings such as the conger eel tempura, squid tempura, and conger eel tempura are tastier than before. The summer pork bowl with chili sauce and the sausage bowl were also interesting, and I look forward to more in the future. Despite everything, Santen is included in my list of choices, so I plan to continue visiting at this pace.

Grand Slam Tendon (Large) - 800 yen Shrimp Tendon - 550 yen Ebi Tendon - 390 yen