Tenya Tempura Tendon, Tiendesitas

My first time at Tenya! Turns out, it's already their 9th branch! Hehe :P 

Just a few days ago, Tim and I were discussing honeymoon options. My dream is to go to Europe, but being that our wedding is only a few months away, I honestly don't want to have to deal with visa applications and booking tours right now. Then I remembered.. we both have multiple entry visas to Japan! Why not have our honeymoon there instead? We absolutely love Japan and it's super easy to navigate (plus it helps that there's no risk of getting mugged or anything like that there haha). So yeah, we're leaning towards doing that, but nothing's set in stone yet. The honeymoon's not a top priority right now and as much as I want to go see the sights and eat classics like sushi, ramen, and tempura, it will all have to wait for now. (Read about our Tokyo adventure here, here, and here.)

On the bright side, I'm glad that there are many great tasting Japanese restaurants here in Manila, one of which I very recently discovered - Tenya. Tenya, Japan’s #1 Tempura Tendon, is a franchise from Japan started by Yoshio Iwashita in 1989. Through the years, it gained popularity for its delicious tendon dishes at a very affordable price. It has since become the most successful Tendon chain not only in Japan, but in other countries as well.

Late last year, Tenya Tempura Tendon opened their ninth branch in Manila at Tiendesitas and just the other day, they finally had the grand opening for the said branch.“We are happy to open our 9th branch in Tiendesitas,” said Edmundo Ramos, General Manager of Tenya. “We continue to aim to provide our customers with high quality tendon and tempura dishes at an affordable price. Many of the ingredients we use are from Japan to ensure we provide the best tasting dishes.”

Tenya is known for its deep-fried battered seafood, meat, or vegetables which are cooked using infrared heat technology ensuring consistent tempura every time. The tastiness of Tenya’s tendon lies in the good combination of 100% heart-healthy canola oil and specifically formulated flour which gives it that light, crisp batter. It is then laid over a bed of steaming Japanese rice and drizzled with their signature dontare sauce, a special blend that gives a sweet and umami touch which complements tempura flavours. It can also be paired with soba or udon and enjoyed either hot or cold. Tenya uses an exclusive recipe made by a 200-year old boutique soy sauce factory in Japan which ships it to every Tenya store worldwide. 

To tell you the truth, I'm not a huge fan of tempura (like, I'd never choose it from a menu), but now, I'm thinking that maybe the only reason I don't like it is because I haven't had legit tempura before? Or it's been a while since I last had authentic tempura.. I don't know, but most of the ones I've eaten are from buffets and those are mostly comprised of breading. It's not the case with Tenya though.

During the event, we were asked to choose between trying a Tendon Tempura Donburi or Teishoku Set. Being it was my first time there, I automatically went with their top bestseller, the All Star Tendon Tempura Donburi.

The All Star consists of black tiger prawn, squid, salmon, kani stick, green beans, and mushroom. I love how you can enjoy different flavors and textures in one bowl! Here's a closer shot of my meal:

And guess what!? I found out it's only Php 325! The owners were also generous to offer a Buy One, Take One promo on all their Tendon Bowls on grand opening day, so if you missed that, sayang! I posted about it on Instagram, so best to follow me for promos, updates, and what not! ;)

Popular dishes on the menu include the All-Star Tendon (P325) and Teishoku set (P395) which has a mountain of different seafood tempura from black tiger prawn, squid, salmon, kani and green beans and shimeji mushroom on a bed of rice, drizzled in Tenya’s original dontare sauce. TempuRamen (P345) in tonkotsu ramen broth topped with ground pork paired with black tiger prawn, green beans and eggplant tempura. Another favourite is the Sriracha Tempura Maki (P285), it’s a tempura-fried maki with mango, cream cheese and kani topped with tempura batter flakes and their original Sriracha sauce. 

Will definitely go back for that Sriracha Tempura Maki! Also, if you're looking to try unique drinks, they have Pink Guava and Salted Lime on the menu, so order them next time!

If you still have space for dessert, consider trying Tenya's Ningyo-yaki Sundae. It was honestly bit too sweet for my liking, but I'm 100% kids will love it ;) 

So what are you waiting for? Drop by Tenya and enjoy what could be your best tempura yet! Visit Tenya in its branches at SM Megamall, Market! Market!, BGC Stopover, Paseo de Magallanes, SM Mall of Asia, Aseana City, Festival Mall, SM Southmall and Tiendesitas.
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