Tendon bowl @ Wasai Yakura, Kamakura, Kanagawa

After a great trek around the coastal city of Kamakura, capping off the day with something deep fried seems to be the greatest idea for that day. However, as the day soon turn to dusk, and alot of shops were closing down, options seem limited. And as it was closing to winter, the sun went down quite early and by 6 it was almost pitch black.

A dark yet early evening

Still, undeterred, we were able to find a restaurant that was willing to cater us. Located near the Kamakura Train Station, Yakura has an assortment of Japanese treats and dishes. The menu looks promising and as we were quite hungry, we went right in. We made this one exception of an English menu, but the its a small issue as the food that came later was quite good and well worth the money spent.

The front of the menu

The interior was wood inspired and has a rustic flavour to it. The waiting staff were welcoming and attended to our every requests. Well, there were only 2 other tables that we occupied. Still, that should not take away from good service. This is somewhat natural for a spot that is more famous for its lunch options. In that regard, we did have lunch in Kamakura, but rather an ekiben box that we bought from Shinjuku Station and had an impromptu picnic near a river. More on that in another post.

Sweet and cozy 

Local friends of mine recommended that I have tempura when in Kamakura as there is a different taste to it. But in hindsight, any tempura made within Japan will be definitely much better. The reason there is a huge different in flavour (and price) is that the golden morsels are fried in sesame oil and not just your plain cooking oil from your local supermarket. This adds a depth of flavour that is nutty and deep, yet allows the batter to have  "shrapnel" or edges, that give tempura that crunch.

Dinner is ready. The sides and soup supplemented an already good meal. 

The tendon (天丼) or tempura bowl, was surprisingly loaded. It had 2 prawns, a slice of fish and a variety of fried vegetables, such as a wedge of pumpkin, eggplant, a four angled bean and even a chilli. Glazed with ponzu sauce and what you have here is a very crunchy and satisfying meal. And yet, with so much golden fritters on that bowl, not even once I felt greased out. The meal is indeed oily, but you do not have the grease coma like you get when you chow into the Mile High with double everything in Carl's Jr. The fried items went down easily and the batter was light yet very crunchy.

A close up to a great golden stack

The meal came along with a bowl of soup, 2 sides of vegetables with anchovies and a chawanmushi cup. They were great additions to the meal, as it help clean down the sesame oil laden main course.

As I mention, this was not a cheap meal, as the price tag was ¥1600. Despite that, it was still worth the money. After looking back at all the meals that I had, one thing stays constant in eating out in Japan: it is generally pricey, but every meal will be worth the price you pay.

Ocha to clear it all down. 

A great and cozy place and wonderful place to eat overall. They also serve various "don-style" dishes, like sardine sashimi bowls that was about the same price, which is their specialty and various desserts. So if you want another option in Yakura, there are other stuff in store. And if you would like to try the place out, here is the address :

〒248-0006 Kanagawa Prefecture, Kamakura, 小町2丁目7−28

Front of the house. 

PS: Apologies for the late posting of this article. I have been experiencing problems with my wifi and as such my internet is too unstable to post my stuff up, even though there are so much material in store. Rest assured that the articles will come in like the last time once my internet problem is sorted out.