Do you know how tempura (てんぷら) was invented in Japan? Actually, tempura was
originally from Portugal, so as tonkatsu (とんかつ). In 16th
century, Portuguese Jesuit missionaries in the city of Nagasaki introduced
tempura to Japan. Since then, tempura became one of popular Washoku (和食).
Hageten, from Ginza, started their business in 1928. Since then, they
served an authentic tempura to us. There are many branches in Japan. There were
actually two branches in Sapporo, but recently, one was closed. You can enjoy
different taste in different branches, because of the skill of the Tempura chef.
I went to Hageten at Stellar Place Sapporo. The chef was friendly and welcomed
me for late lunch.
The best way to enjoy eating fresh tempura is to sit at the counter table and
eat it right after the chef fries each seafood and vegetable as “okonomi” (お好み). Yet,
this time was for late lunch, so I ordered “Hokkai Tendon Special” (北海天丼スペシャル), 1200
yen. Eight kinds of tempura over the warm steamed rice, salad, Japanese pickles
(which is called Tsukemono) and red miso soup were served perfectly. It’s
nothing but gorgeous.
A well-trained waitress brought me a cup of houji-cha and oshibori (wet towel).
Then, soon she served a tray with salad and tukemono. Of course, I needed to
wait for a bit for tempura bawl. But it’s okay.
Salad
I enjoyed the easy salad with
Japanese dressing. Slices of colorful paprika were decorated over the shredded
cabbage and radish sprouts. Again, I enjoy not only the taste but also the
color.
Tsukemono
Look at this color combination! Just a little decoration on the tray, but
it already gave me a good appetite. In addition, it is always good to eat
tsukemono with something oily like tempura, because it keeps my mouth fresh.
Hokkai Tendon Special
Even before I finished up the salad, Hokkai Tendon Special and miso soup
were served. Red miso (赤だし) was used for miso soup, and it really matched with greasy
food. Red miso has rich taste, so it refreshes my mouth. Some people prefer
Shiro Miso (white miso), but the taste is too light for me.
Two shrimps, three kinds of fish (Japanese squid and some white-meat fish),
asparagus, nori and crab shell were perfectly fried. I started with fish. Wow
it’s been a while since I ate such a delicious tempura. I was amazed by not
only the cooking technique of the chef but also the freshness of this fish. The
meat was so tender and it melted right after I put in my mouth. Shrimp was a
bit small, but it was still sweet and tender. I was a bit disappointed that asparagus
was too skinny! I expected a bit thicker one…
Overall, I was totally satisfied with their good quality of service and
food.
Total: 1200 yen
ハゲ天：Hage Ten
at Stellar Place Sapporo
