Japan and Portugal 3 (Tenpura)

Luís Fróis, the Portuguese missionary had his mission to teach Christian religion to this country. My mission is, however, slightly different but it is as important as the Fróis’s- It is to fill Nuno’s stomach. The great story about the Portuguese missionary can hardly fill his appetite. Since he had quite a lot of exercise before he came here, I did not have to worry about extending his waist line.
The first meal we had here in Kyoto is “Tenpura (てんぷら)”. This dish is also thought to be brought by Portuguese. In Japan, Tempura is considered to be a main dish and you can enjoy a Tenpura course for dinner. Although my knowledge of Portuguese food is still limited, there seems to be no dish similar to Tenpura in main dish in Portugal, now. Maybe “Pataniscas de Bacalhau” is similar in the way they cook:


If we extend a searching area to the Iberian Peninsula, we can find a famous Tapas dish called “Calamares a la Romana”. I wonder this exists in Porgual….


Anyway, I decided to take him to a Temura restaurant on the Sanjo Dori near famous Gion (Guion) district. The restaurant is called “Tenshu (天周)”. We usually use an ordinary vegetable oil to fry. However, in this restaurant, they use sesame oil which is more expensive but Tempura taste much better. When you think about the use of a good olive oil rather than vegetable oil, you can imagine what difference it makes to use sesame oil.
For lunch, we did not order a course. Instead, we had “Tendon (天丼)” which is a bowl of rice served in a “soy-flavored and a little sweet sauce” with deep-fried prawn and vegetables. However, this shop’s speciality is “Tendon with deep-fried ANAGO (type of eel”.
It costs 1,100 yen (about 10 euro) Please do not forget everything is more expensive here. It is worth trying.









Name / Nome /名称 : Kansai fu Tenpura Tenshu/ 関東風天富良 天周
Address / Morada / 住所 京都府京都市東山区祇園四条通縄手東入北側
By BUS get off at Shijo Kawaramachi, by Metro get off Shijo Station and go along the “Shijo Dori” street to the east and it is on your left. A few minute walk
Phone / 電話 ：075-541-5277
Open / Aberta / 営業時間 ：11：00-14：00 (lunch) ／17：30-21：00 (dinner)
Close / Fechada / 定休日 ：Wednesday / Quarta feiras / 毎週水曜日
サイト ：http://tenshu.fc2web.com/