Conger Eel Tempura Meal @ Ebinoya, Kyobashi, Osaka

From one fried food joint to the next, this is probably not an Osaka staple, but the tempura is something worth reckoning. And it just seems like Kansai natives just love fried stuff. Well, most things do taste better once deep fried. Most things ok? I am not insane. So after a good round of shopping in the much upper market part of Kyobashi, there is no better way than, you guessed it, to have more deep fried delights. 

Women at work. And it seems to be an all female staff, save for the fry cook, who was the only man. 

Ebinoya is a tempura chain that serves hearty tempura and most of its branches are located in the Kansai area, especially in Osaka. No surprises there. What was nice is that, despite being a chain, the food here was really good. I sometimes dismiss chains for having a "tram line" way of doing things. But this is one shop I recommend. 

Gorgeous. 

And being famished, I had one of their main tempura set meal, the conger eel fried special meal or "anago ippon age gozen" (穴子一本揚御前). And after a moment has passed, a plate of golden delights with several condiments will be placed before you, ready for your consumption. 

Red gold!

And to top it all off, you have an unlimited supply of spicy mentaiko eggs as a topping for the rice that comes along with this meal. This is not a cheap condiment, and was pleasently surprised they provided this to customers just like that. Special meal indeed!

Close up of the star. 

The star of the show was of course the eel. It was soft to the touch and has an almost buttery texture. Similar to cod, it flakes easily. The batter was great and not too greasy. It was very fragrant and nutty. I would suspect that it would be due to the sesame oil that was used to fry this amazing fish. Dipping it with a bit of the sweet soy and mixing it with the spicy fish eggs made this "commoner food item" to something special indeed. I think I am using the word "special" a bit too much now.

The original classic. 

With that being said about the batter and the oil, it was safe to say that all the other fried morsel were great and were so easy to gobble down. The prawns were part of that safe bet. A staple in most tempura dishes, this was sweet, crunchy and had what you would expect from a classic fritter. In terms of the other noteworthy items, I would have to say that the lotus root caught me by surprise. The contrast of firm crunchy interior to that flaky brittle exterior was so fun to eat. And lets not forget that spicy mentaiko that followed. The other fried items like the pumpkin wedge, okra and squid were great too. Overall, this was great indeed. 

Messy, but it worked. Trust me. 

But that was not all. This platter also has a bowl of grated mountain yam, which helped in clearing out any extra rice that was left in the bowl. Some people do not like it, as it has a sticky and slimy texture. I do however, fancy it and it helped clear down all that grease you had earlier. A side of pickles, boiled okra and a bowl of miso soup completed the meal. And for a sweet finish, a serving of warabi mochi. 

Dessert for those who have a sweet tooth. 

And the best part was this platter was quite affordable. Standing at a measly price of  ¥1280 (excluding tax), I was very surprised as to how much was loaded on my set meal. I have eaten in many places where I have paid more for less food. So this was a pleasant surprise. 

I sat by the counter as the regular dining area was full. 

There are many branches around Osaka and some in other parts of the country like Tokyo. However, if you are keen in trying out the specific branch that I had, it is located at the 5th floor of the Kyobashi Keihan Mall, which is above the Kyobashi Keihan Station. 

Front of the shop. And you will see probably the only man, handling the fire.