Tenya is a casual tempura chain restaurant that I frequent about once a week, as it is conveniently located near my workplace. It is situated right next to Sun Plaza along Nakano Street, near the north exit of Nakano Station. Due to its location in the Sun Mall shopping street, it is always crowded. The floor staff mostly consists of young foreign women, and although their service can be a bit clumsy at times, the Japanese male manager is very friendly and provides excellent customer service, which I appreciate. The manager's guidance to the staff is also done in a gentle tone, leaving a positive impression. My go-to order at Tenya is usually the small portion of Tendon (tempura rice bowl). The regular Tendon, which used to be known for its affordable price, has increased in cost, with the regular size now priced at 560 yen as of July 2023. The small portion, however, is 510 yen, which is cheaper than the vegetable tempura bowl. I always opt for the small portion as I find the regular size to be too much rice for me. Unlike many other dining establishments that do not offer discounts for smaller portions, Tenya provides a 50 yen discount for the small portion, which I find very considerate. They also offer coupons through their app, allowing customers to choose from toppings like mushroom tempura, eggplant tempura, squid tempura, or a large rice portion for free up to three times a month. The mushroom tempura, for example, costs 140 yen when ordered separately, making the coupon a great deal. The restaurant has a small square layout with the kitchen located at the back. There are table seats on the left and in the middle, as well as a total of eight counter seats (3 on the back right and 5 along the right wall). The counter seats are arranged with one chair left empty between customers for social distancing measures, providing about 1.5 times the table space for each person. Although the table seats can be a bit cramped and neighboring customers can sometimes be noisy or demanding, I prefer to sit at the counter when dining with another person, if available. There is a basket under the counter seats for storing personal belongings. As someone who prefers not to fry food at home, I am grateful that I can enjoy a small Tendon for 510 yen at Tenya. I wouldn't mind if they increased the price even more. Payment options include PayPay and Suica.

Moved from Numabukuro to Nakano. It was a relief to find some shade along the way. I was looking for a place to eat, scanning left and right, but couldn't find anything that caught my eye. I ended up near the station, so I decided to aim for Nakano Sun Mall or Nakano Broadway. However, the restaurant I had in mind was nowhere to be found. I may have overlooked the shops in Sun Mall, but the shops in Nakano Broadway were closed. I should have gone when I last visited Nakano. I have repeated the mistake and regret of missing out on a place I was interested in, which has happened several times before. I feel disappointed, and my energy is drained. I have been walking under the scorching sun with only a coffee bottle in hand, without replenishing my salt and sugar levels. I don't carry my usual chocolate snacks because they melt in the intense heat. I need to eat something quickly to avoid heatstroke! Let's eat a hearty meal. Without hesitation, I chose to go to "Tenya," a chain restaurant near Nakano station. Despite my love for Chinese food, Tenya has been winning me over lately. I used to crave vegetables and often chose places like Tohshu (Renge Shokudo), Hidakaya, or Bamiyan. The restaurant was small and crowded. I had to wait a bit inside since it was lunchtime. There were three groups of customers ordering takeout while dining in, seeming like regulars. It's interesting how even chain restaurants can have different rice textures depending on the store, showing each store's unique individuality.

The Isebeiage (deep-fried fish cake) from Tenya, a nationwide chain, adds up to 630 yen when combined with a tempura bowl. It feels like a great deal for the quality of the food. If you were to go to a high-end tempura restaurant, the price would be more than double, and the turnover at this restaurant is good. It's a great place to enjoy tempura bowls without breaking the bank.

After reading the reviewer's article, I couldn't sit still and decided to visit the restaurant after a year and seven months since downloading the app. The place was almost full, which was a stark contrast to the emptiness during the height of the pandemic. Luckily, I found an open table and placed my order. I chose the Autumn Special Tendon with Squid Tempura (using a coupon) for 890 yen. The bowl and miso soup were served first, with a grand presentation. Here are my thoughts on each item: - Squid Tempura: The squid was surprisingly tender and easy to chew, bursting with flavor. - Seto Inland Sea Oyster Tempura: The oyster was large and flavorful, with a hint of sea breeze. Delicious even as tempura. - Shiitake Mushroom Tempura: The shiitake mushroom, a fall favorite, had a great taste and aroma. Excellent texture as tempura. - Pacific Saury Tempura: A unique choice for tempura, but the distinct flavor of Pacific saury was well-preserved. I enjoyed the rice with pickled vegetables and miso soup, as the light sauce allowed the flavors to shine. The final dish was a vegetable tempura with pumpkin, burdock, and secret beans, crispy and flavorful. Overall, it was a delightful tempura experience from start to finish, showcasing the quality of seasonal ingredients. I finished with a cup of cold tea, concluding a satisfying lunch.

Nakano dinner. What I had on this day was a tempura bowl for 500 yen, with an additional scallop tempura for 130 yen, totaling 630 yen (tax included). It's amazing that they still offer tempura bowls for 500 yen. It's one of the chains I want to support. The restaurant is small, and it can be a bit crowded with takeout customers coming in constantly, so it's not very relaxing. It's not a high-end tempura restaurant, so it's fine to eat quickly and leave. On this day, I was seated at the counter, and the customer next to me had already finished eating but was just playing on their phone, not leaving even after I finished eating. The staff didn't say anything, maybe because it was a quiet time. I wonder if they have a manual on when to approach customers after they finish eating. The scallop tempura for 130 yen was cheap but small, which was a bit disappointing. It would be nice if they had a larger scallop for around 400 yen for when you want to treat yourself a bit.

Yesterday, I had a craving for tempura rice bowl and wanted to eat it easily. I looked for it at convenience stores, but couldn't find it. I thought maybe a supermarket would have it, so I checked a few stores but still couldn't find it. I gave up on finding tempura rice bowl. However, today when I passed by the same store, I realized they had it there. So, I visited Tenya for the first time in a while! I ordered a single serving of the tempura rice bowl and miso soup. The miso soup was a complimentary service, which made me happy. I noticed that most people around me were ordering zaru soba with their meal. After a short wait, my meal arrived! The tempura rice bowl had two large shrimp tempura, lotus root, pumpkin, and green beans. If you need more sauce, there are additional sauce containers on the table. I didn't need any extra sauce. I enjoyed the shrimp tempura from start to finish, and ended my meal with the miso soup. I finished every last bit. When I looked at the receipt, it was only 650 yen, so cheap! However, what I valued the most was the kind and polite service from the staff, who seemed to be part-time workers. That's what I want to praise the most today. Thank you for the meal!

Tempura rice bowl. Tenya, it's been a while. Waseda and Shinbashi are gone. Miso soup. It's hot. The wakame isn't too soft at first, just right. Shrimp, firm, smelt, squid, pumpkin, green beans. It hasn't changed. The customer base is older. Thank you for the meal. It was nostalgic and delicious.

I fell for the tempting combination of three captivating words in the product name: "original," "all-star," and "tempura bowl." The dining experience was smooth, from seating to ordering to receiving the bowl in about 5 minutes, as expected from a major chain. I dug in eagerly, but the appearance didn't match the menu photo at all. Even though the ingredients were the same, just the arrangement made it look less appetizing. The taste, however, was reliably good, and for 690 yen, it felt like a good deal. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal!

Tenya is a chain where you can easily enjoy tempura rice bowls. They regularly offer seasonal and limited-time items, which makes me want to stop by every now and then. I decided to get the Sakura Ebi Tempura Rice Bowl for takeout. It was supposed to be 780 yen, but for takeout it was 760 yen, maybe because it didn't come with miso soup. The wait time was a bit long. Even without opening the lid, the aroma of the sakura shrimp was already coming through. When I finally opened it and took a bite of the sakura shrimp tempura, the flavor of the sakura shrimp spread in my mouth. It was quite addictive. There was also slices of bamboo shoots and mackerel. The bamboo shoots were thinly sliced but still had a nice texture, and the mackerel was cooked perfectly and juicy.

As usual, I was checking the menu of a chain restaurant when I found an item that caught my eye, so I decided to visit the restaurant. This time I went to Tenya Nakano store. It had been a while since my last visit. Before the pandemic, the restaurant used to be full of customers, but this time I was able to sit comfortably. Many of the dining establishments in Nakano are compact, so getting used to this spaciousness might make it hard to go back to the crowded atmosphere. I ordered the Kakiage Curry Tendon for 740 yen, which was a bit different from the regular menu items. As a food blogger, I am always intrigued by such items. The dish was served with miso soup and a split spoon. The bowl had a large kakiage and lotus root tempura, as well as red fukujinzuke, making it visually appealing and appetizing. First, I tried the kakiage, which was fried to a firm and crunchy texture. It was so hard that I couldn't break it with chopsticks, so I had to use the split spoon. While the taste was not bad, it was a bit challenging to scoop up the curry with the split spoon without spilling it. The lotus root tempura was also delicious. The curry accompaniment of fukujinzuke was a nice touch. The amount of rice was quite generous, and I enjoyed the meal until the end with the pickles on the table. I hope that more restaurants will develop challenging menu items like this rather than the typical tempura bowls found in convenience stores. Thank you for the meal. ********************************************************* I watched the third movie of 2021, "Cosmoball," at Human Trust Cinema Shibuya. This Russian sci-fi movie was visually stunning, thanks to the advancement of CGI technology worldwide. The movie was a mix of Dragon Ball and Star Wars, but I particularly enjoyed the unique alien designs. Movies are truly amazing. I have a few more movies to watch after this, but I will share about them another time.

I was lured in by the proud "domestic" sign, only to be surprised by something different. It was an oyster and shiitake mushroom tempura rice bowl. The oysters were unexpected in a tempura dish, but they really packed a flavorful punch. The tempura was cooked at a super high temperature, making it healthy and allowing the natural flavors of the ingredients to shine. The shiitake mushrooms were thick and moist, with a strong, rich flavor. I wish they had cut the stems a bit shorter, but I read somewhere that this is actually the best way to enjoy the flavor. The tempura bowl also included shrimp, squid, green beans, and pumpkin. I didn't realize a regular tempura bowl had so many components. I later realized that the oysters and shiitake mushrooms were actually common in tempura dishes, after visiting a different restaurant in Nishi-Funabashi.

I ordered a vegetable tempura rice bowl and soba set. Despite it being 2:30 pm on a weekday, the restaurant was crowded. There were many female customers too! It may not be as fancy as a high-end tempura restaurant, but it's a great deal to be able to enjoy tempura at such a reasonable price! The tempura was a bit oily, but overall it was delicious.

Tempura soba (hot) 720 yen Noodles (soba): Soft ←☆☆★☆☆→ Firm Tempura: Flour ←☆☆☆★☆→ Lots of ingredients Freshness: Dry ←☆☆☆☆★→ Freshly fried Broth: Sweet ←☆☆☆★☆☆→ Spicy Personal preference: Not a fan ←☆☆☆★☆→ Like The soy sauce flavor is strong, with a slightly flat and chewy soba that goes well with the slightly spicy broth. The tempura, freshly fried and crispy, has a thick batter so it can be placed directly on the soba. The ginger and daikon radish for tempura can also be used, making it a well-balanced tempura soba. This was at Tenya on Nakano Street. I knew they served soba, but for some reason I never felt like going. Initially, I checked out the "kakiage soba," but it was priced at 1,000 yen. However, when I looked at the menu, I saw that tempura soba was 720 yen. So I decided to give it a try. After finishing the meal, I found it to be quite good, and I even thought about trying the kakiage soba next time.

I received a small tempura rice bowl and udon set. The udon noodles were thin, with a slightly sweet dashi broth and a hint of yuzu flavor. The broth was not too strong or too light. The tempura rice bowl included maitake mushrooms, green beans, shrimp, and pumpkin. The sauce was also on the sweet side. I think a sweet and savory sauce would be better.

Surprisingly, this was my first time dining in at Tenya. Located along Nakano Street, the restaurant has tables and a counter, but it's a bit small. On this day, there were many elderly customers, making it a bit difficult to place orders. I opted for a simple tempura bowl. The tempura consisted of shrimp, squid, mackerel, pumpkin, and okra, and the sauce was not too sweet, which was great! They also have seasonal items, so I would love to try them if I have the chance. Thank you for the meal!

When asked about my favorite food, I always give the typical answers of sushi, tempura, and steak. Recently, I visited this chain restaurant called Tenya after a long time. This particular branch is located in a lively area a short walk from Nakano station. Even though it had been a while since I visited a chain restaurant, this was my first time at this specific location. I quickly ordered the tempura set meal that caught my eye! After a short wait, the set meal arrived and it looked delicious! And when I actually tasted it...it was delicious! I was happy to be able to eat freshly fried tempura for such a reasonable price. So, I left the restaurant feeling satisfied!

I decided to get some tempura from Tenya for the first time in a while, and also ordered the seasonal luxurious tendon with a side of soba noodles. However, I was a bit disappointed as the tempura pieces were smaller than they appeared in the photos, and the soba noodles were clumped together and hard to eat. Despite this, I appreciate that Tenya regularly offers limited-time seasonal menus featuring fresh ingredients, which is why I continue to visit.