Okinawa Tempura - Filling menu & good prices

Tempura can be a pass or fail depending on who tries it and where it's located. For example, in mainland japan, the idea of having tempura without the tentsuyu (tempura dipping sauce) is almost preposterous while here in Okinawa, people eat them fresh out of a brown paper bag! Aside from tentsuyu, you can also have it with tendon-tare (tempura rice bowl sauce), or even with a pinch of wasabi salt. So, which is the best? That's where Hakata Tempura Takao comes in.

Hakata Tempura Takao can easily be spotted due to their minimalistic yet stylish decoration and setup. Seats are lined up in front of the service counter where your tempura needs can be delivered within seconds. Unfortunately, as cool and convenient as that may seem, the counter seats are very limited. Service in general is still rather quick so overall I don’t think it’s that big of a problem. Luckily, I was able to catch a counter seat which allowed me to even have a small chit chat with the chef. For the tempura, they got it all. Shrimp, squid, eggplant, pumpkin, mushrooms, chicken, bell peppers and a whole lot more. You can try each one with tsuyu, tare, soy sauce, wasabi salt, or as is. Anything goes. It's like the wild wild west (or rather, the wild wild east!) Honestly, It's all crispy-licious just the same. I can personally vouch for their classic shrimp tempura with a pinch of wasabi salt slightly dipped in tsuyu (queue the saliva). Pricewise, it's price-wise. At around 100 to 300 yen per tempura and 1000 yen plus for the set menus, it’s very reasonably priced but then again, it’s located at a food court so I guess that is to be expected.

Ultimately, a very filling menu with a decent price range is what Hakata Tempura Takao is all about. Recommend for family eats or chill session with friends. Location is at the end corner of the 3rd floor Rycom food court. Don't forget to drink all the free green tea to counter all that deep fried goodies!