Izakaya S&T: Tempura Finish!

Wow, it's been a few days since I updated this blog! I spent much of this four-day weekend being totally unproductive aside from a few hours a day I worked both Thursday and Friday. I had plans to go into San Francisco or to Berkeley and do some Japanese-grocery shopping in San Jose, but for some odd reason, the day was over before I could do any of them. Alas, I feel rested and relaxed, and perhaps that's what's most important...


It's a good thing the tempura at Izakaya S&T was so memorable! I can still smell the fragrant oil and taste the crunchy batter as I recall my last course at Izakaya S&T. The tempura was fried just as we were concluding our oden course and served while the batter still sizzled. Unlike my failed tempura attempt, these golden shrimp were crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.


The oil dripped happily in perfect unison together with the shrimp juices. I had almost how succulent shrimp tempura can be until I had these. They were vastly different from the chewy, stringy tempura shirmp I've come to expect at most restaurants.


Supplemented by shiso-tempura (battered and fried only on one side), the tempura course was a delicious finish to a fabulous meal. As a final treat, we concluded the meal with a ten-don (tempura donburi - 'donburi' being dishes with goodies served over rice). Ten-don is a specialty of the house, in which the shrimp tempura rests on a layered bed of rice and tempura-bits (ten-kasu). This creates a mouth-feel full of crunch with every bite, even when the tempura-sauce is poured over the shrimp.

Izakaya S&T, Gochiso-sama! May I be so lucky as to visit this place again sometime soon!!