Omakase Lunch at Hiroshima's Tempura Master Chef

Cheap dinners and upscale lunches has always been our golden strategy on any Japan trip, taking advantage of significant lunch discounts at exclusive restaurants normally outside our budget range. That was the case when we visited Hiroshima's premier Tempura specialist, Chef Higuchi Kenichi's one-man show currently rated Michelin 2-Stars.

For two independent travelers stretching our budget over 16 days, this was the only way we could afford this elaborate feast normally priced at 9000 yen (CAD$106) for dinner. At lunchtime the price drops to 4200 yen (CAD$49) for a full Omakase and a competitive 2500 yen (CAD$29) for a Ten-Don, still far from dirt cheap, but rumoured to be worth every single yen.

Food Review: TENKOU HONTEN (Hiroshima)
Address: Horikawa-cho 4-2, Naka-ku, Hiroshima-shi, Hiroshima Prefecture
Hours: Monday to Saturday 11:30-14:00 and 17:30-23:00
Map: from Google Maps
Directions: From the Hatchobori tram stop, walk south for one block along the main Chuo-dori thoroughfare then turn left into the covered arcade of Ebisu-dori. Turn right into the next alley, and Tenkou Honten is about 20m down the alley on the right side.

Hidden amongst Karaoke parlours and hostess bars at Hiroshima's infamous entertainment district, Tenkou Honten is tiny and inconspicuous even to locals who know this one-man operation. When we diligently reserved a few weeks ahead by email, it was indeed Chef Higuchi who personally replied in simple English.

"Yoyaku no gaikokujin desu" -- we're the foreigners who made reservation -- was a simple phrase that I had mastered over two weeks of touring West Japan's small towns. Beyond the Noren curtain was an elegant but minimalist space with only eight seats, all facing the chef along a luxurious counter of oiled Hinoki wood. Grating Wasabi behind the counter was Chef Higuchi himself, attentively serving a clientele of only four -- including the two of us -- on this Friday afternoon.

Omakase -- literally "up to you" -- in Japanese dining always signifies a gamble in which the the diner grants the chef free creative license to express his skills and flair in exchange for the freshest ingredients at prices cheaper than a la carte. In our case Chef Higuchi would sequentially prepare 13 courses of Tempura from scratch in front of our eyes, from Gingko seeds to Maitake mushrooms to live Kuruma-Ebi prawns from his fish tank.

Shun, the Japanese principal of serving seasonal ingredients at the peak of their flavors, would be explicitly highlighted here by baby bamboo shoots and asparagus in springtime, Ayu in the summer, gingko nuts and lotus roots in the autumn and Fugu in the winter. Arriving in late November we weren't sure if it was still autumn or the start of winter in terms of fresh produce, and would soon find out from the spread of ingredients.

As newcomers we didn't realize the eliteness of the clientele until an older gentleman politely asked us to not capture his face on our photos. His emphasis on shielding his bottle of Sake gave me the inkling that he might be a recognizable politician spending the tax payers' money, a suspicion that we dared not confirm.

While we were enjoying our appetizer salad with Chirimen anchovies, Chef Higuchi brought out an unsually sophisticated suite of dips: a quality Moshio (seaweed salt), spicy curry salt, lemon juice with salt, and a traditional Tentsuyu dipping with grated Daikon radish. Each individual piece of Tempura would be paired with its own optimal dipping to be revealed by our master chef.

Tempura at its pinnacle is said not to be a deep-fried dish at all, but a steamed dish in which the ingredient is steamed by its own moisture enclosed within the protective outer shell of the fried batter. Chef Higushi demonstrated his mastery of this edible art form as he prepped the raw ingredients one by one, mixing a fresh batter and sprinkling little drops to test the oil, then deep-frying each piece with delicate variations in oil temperature.

Each diner received two Kuruma-Ebi prawns served over three courses, starting with these flavorsome legs from the bottom part of the prawn's head, crunchy like Senbei crackers yet soft enough to not require a laborious bite. Paired with either seaweed salt or lemon juice, this simple first course turned out to be my wife's favorite.

The tails of the Kuruma-Ebi were served individually over the next two courses, first paired with seaweed salt to highlight its natural sweetness, then with salted lemon juice as a palate refresher. By this point the room was entirely saturated with the alluring smell of sesame oil, always the soul of quality Tempura.

An interlude between more substantial features, the autumn specialty of gingko nuts arrived with its unmistakably mild bitterness and al dente texture, which set the stage for one of Chef Higuchi's proud inventions in a unique combination of ingredients.

Deep-fried whole before being sliced open, this sizeable Shiitake mushroom was stuffed with a half scallop and glued together by a thin layer of pureed shrimp. But the real magic was the delicious contrast between the fully cooked Umami of the organic Shiitake and the semi-raw lusciousness of the scallop.

Between the choices of Tentsuyu and lemon juice as recommended by Chef Higuchi, we both preferred the Umami sweetness of Tentsuyu as it seeped into the deeply aromatic Shiitake. While lemon juice paired better with the scallop and shrimp puree, to us it was the Shiitake's pronounced woodiness that really starred in this dish.

With the exception of shrimp, Kisu may just be the most popular ingredient in Tempura thanks to its mild, unoffensive flavor that easily goes with any of the four dipping options provided. Unbeknownst to us Chef Higuchi was busy prepping another white-fleshed fish, ten times more expensive and a thousand time rarer. You guessed right if you said ...

... Poisonous Fugu!

Yes, the infamous puffer fish notorious in urban legends of the Western world, and revered as the King of Winter Flavors among foodies in Japan. As one small fillet would have cost several hundred yen on its own, I was slightly surprised to see it served as part of our discounted lunch.

Perhaps more importantly, this meant that we managed to straddle autumn and winter in terms of seasonal specialties. Late November really was a great time to visit West Japan!

The next course turned out to be a mystery as Chef Higuchi taught me the name for this rare autumn specialty known as Makomodake. Makomo what? Makomo-Dake, which I suspected might have something to do with bamboo shoots (-Take or -Dake).

While the name was entirely foreign to me, the light flavor and crispy texture reminded me of a vegetable we last tasted several years ago at the picturesque waterfront towns of Eastern China. And that suspicion turned out correct -- it was Manchurian wild rice stem, known as Jiaobai in Eastern China where it is mostly used in heavily sauced stir-fried dishes. Sampling this as a Tempura ingredient gave us a different perspective on this seasonal Asian vegetable.

Much less exotic was the ubiquitous Gobo or burdock root, an Izakaya staple in the form of Kinpira and paired here with either Tentsuyu or seaweed salt.

Another autumn specialty arrived in the form of Renkon, harvested from the Japanese lotus root capital of Iwakuni, just 30 minutes west of Hiroshima. Tentsuyu and seaweed salt were the recommended pairings for this light flavored vegetable.

Perhaps the best-known seasonal specialty in Hiroshima are fresh oysters from the pristine waters surrounding Seto Naikai National Park, treasured everywhere in Japan during the autumn and winter months. The lightness of the batter, the juiciness and concentrated Umami flavor of the oysters -- everything was infinitely better than the Oyster Tempura we had at Miyajima the previous day! While Chef Higuchi did recommend seaweed salt as a recommended dip, his craft was so good that I barely needed any dipping at all.

Call me unconventional, but my favorite Tempura ingredients tend to be robustly flavored, leafy vegetables like Shungiku or Shiso with sizeable surface areas for the crispy batter. The closest item on this afternoon was this cluster of Maitake mushrooms, not exactly strong flavored but battered generously enough to absorb the savory Tentsuyu sauce.

For the final course of Tempura, Chef Higuchi chose arguably the most representative regional specialty along the Seto Inland Sea coastline, a whole filleted Anago eel sliced into two generous pieces and deep-fried in the lightest batter. This was where our Taisho finally unleashed the one seasoning unused thus far ...

... the mysterious curry salt. To fellow foodies with an aversion to the squashy texture of your typical steamed Anago on top of Sushi, the al dente firmness of this fillet was at the opposite end of the spectrum. Saltwater eels simply don't come much fresher than this.

That concluded our 13 courses of Tempura, though the most substantial dish was yet to come.

For the most filling course, each client was individually offered the choice of Ten-Don (Tempura with Sauce on Rice), Hogushi (Hand-torn Tempura Patty on Plain Rice) or Cha-zuke (Tempura in Rice Porridge). My male tastebuds preferred the Ten-Don for the robustness of condensed Tentsuyu infused into the crispy Kakiage patty ...

... while my wife preferred the delicate Hogushi -- literally massaged Tempura -- with freshly grated Wasabi providing a refreshing balance to the deep-fried batter. You simply can't lose with either choice, and I trust that the Cha-zuke would have been just as outstanding.

This was turning out to be one of the best meals of our 16-day trip even before the arrival of this deeply aromatic Aka-dashi soup with a generous serving of Shijimi clams. Even the Tsukemono pickles were top quality, just like everything else at Tenkou Honten.

Towards the end Chef Higuchi served Matcha in a traditional manner, artistically presenting the tea bowl with the customary two quarter-turns that one would expect at a tea ceremony. The once-pricey 4200 yen now seemed a real bargain for a two-hour, 17-course progression from the appetizer salad, 13 courses of Tempura, a Ten-Don or Hogushi, Miso soup, Tsukemono, to finally Matcha and Wagashi. Witnessing the artistry of a top Tempura chef, Michelin-starred or not, was a privilege that this foodie would relish for years whenever I think of our first visit to Hiroshima, two days of truly exceptional food to balance out my darker reflections.

Bill for Two Persons