2013-02-10

Restaurant #62: Hage Ten; the Authentic Tempura Restaurant, Sapporo




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

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