Tenya: Authentic Japanese Tendon

I had a serious case of tendon-itis a couple of weeks ago much thanks to Tenya. It is dubbed as Japan's most successful tendon chain, and it is now here in Manila! The serving time is quick, the food is delicious, and they don't burn a hole in one's pocket. All good!

A little Wikipedia-ish summary about Tenya before we proceed to the food. Tendon is short for tempura donburi {rice bowl}, and is a culinary tradition from Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Yoshio Iwashita, Tenya's founder, started the chain back in 1989 at Yaesu underground mall. His aim was to create delicious food at an affordable price. Who doesn't want that? For mere mortals like me, that is akin to a gold mine. 

Tempura over a bed of Japanese rice is Tenya's specialty, but they go beyond that, too. See what we had below!

So if Tenya is all about tendon, why is my first photo not about that? Because this sauce changed my life, and the way I look at tendon. Trust me; you'll want lots of this stuff. It's called the Dontare sauce {a.k.a liquid bonanza}. It's sweet, salty, and just plain amazing!

Isobe Cheese  PhP 185

Cheddar cheese hugged by roasted seaweed then deep fried. My boys loved this one a lot, especially the youngest. It's served piping hot, so make sure that you let it cool down a bit before biting to avoid a tongue burn. It's great with the Japanese mayonnaise, even better when you drizzle it with some dontare sauce.

JO Tendon  PhP 315

A delicious mix of black tiger prawns, kani stick, green beans, sweet potato, and eggplant doused with dontare sauce. This is my favorite amongst the tendon creations. I love prawns and kani! Their kani sticks are huge, by the way. If you don't feel satisfied with just a stick {you won't be}, you can have a separate order of three or five more. I wish they have that option for the sweet potato. 

Aside from the high quality ingredients, Tenya's other super power is the batter. It's light, crispy, and doesn't drown out whatever it is covering. Also, it's not greasy. I repeat, not greasy.

All Star Tempura Soba Set  PhP 455

The All-Star Tempura Set is another must-have at Tenya! It comes with a basket of battered black prawns, kani stick, squid, salmon, kakiage {shrimp, white onions, and celery fritter}, green beans, and mushrooms; a bowl of Japanese steamed rice, soba, and a create-your-own sauce. I want a lot of daikon in my sauce and less ginger, so this works really well for me.

There it is! The much-adored Donburi sauce!

The soba comes with the customary mentsuyu sauce.

Ebi Tempura a la Carte 5 pcs.  PhP 340

Those who want to keep it simple can opt for the a la carte. They have Ebi, Kani, Kisu, and Ika; all at either 3 pieces or 5.

Tenya is very much kid-friendly, too! They have really cute sets that kids will surely adore...even the kids at heart! Unfortunately, you can't take the chopsticks and spoon with you. Bummer.

We ended our sumptuous lunch with this delicious dessert {Strawberry Fruity Pop} that doubles as a good palate cleanser, too!


Tenya
4F Building A, SM Megamall, Ortigas,
Mandaluyong City
Contact No.: (+632) 837.50.36
Facebook: Tenya Philippines
Twitter: @TenyaPH
Instagram: @tenyaph


Onward and Upward!