Standing behind the clean and beautiful white-brown counter made of Yoshino cypress is the owner, Mr. Ryuji Hasegawa. Tempura is best when it is freshly fried. We want our customers to enjoy tempura at its best timing.

Mr. Hasegawa, with his simple smile, is from Hokkaido. He grew up on a farm in Betsukai, where there are more cows than people. After training in Sapporo and Osaka, he moved to Kyoto at the age of 22. ［He worked in the kitchen of Tempura Yoshikawa Ryokan for 21 years, 18 of which he served as head chef, preserving the flavor of the food.
The course that Mr. Hasegawa prepares is a great way to enjoy authentic Japanese cuisine that makes the best use of his polished skills in dishes other than tempura.

There are a total of 10 tempura items in the course. Seasonal seafood and vegetables are carefully selected and purchased at the Kyoto Central Market in the morning or directly from the producing area. The tempura is handled with great care, with fine adjustments made to suit the ingredients, such as using a thicker batter for ingredients with a high water content.

The trick is not to overmix the batter, as it can become sticky, but to let the batter breathe. I don't measure the temperature, but judge the best oil condition by sound and appearance. I try to make sure the surface is crispy and the inside is soft and fluffy.

The tempura, filled with craftsmanship, will bring a smile to anyone's face when they take a bite. The time spent waiting and listening to the pleasant sound of the tempura being fried in front of your eyes is also blissful. Our tempura starts and ends with prawns. Shrimp is everyone's favorite ingredient.

The careful preparation of the dishes, which locked in the charm of tempura right down to the last bowl of rice, and Hasegawa's personality filled my stomach as well as my heart with a sense of well being.