Chef Kondo at the wok
Kondo is a Michelin 2-star tempura restaurant in Tokyo. We all know tempura – a plate of veggies and/or prawns in a crisply light batter, to be enjoyed as part of any Japanese meal in the UK. Well, in Japan there are dedicated tempura restaurants and at those the whole deal is tempura. The head chef, a stooped and putty-faced old gentleman, spent the entire service standing at two bubbling woks full of hot oil, lovingly deep-frying every item of food with a pair of long chopsticks and a little sieve to remove the spatters of batter than come adrift.
Tempura prawn heads – yum
It was fascinating food theatre, but ultimately it was a meal where every mouthful is the same. Not literally, of course. We enjoyed six different vegetables, three different fish, and two kinds of prawn. Each item was cooked in the lightest possible batter and even after two hours of eating tempura there was no bad oily taste in my mouth. Instead, the flavour of each ingredient predominated; a fine stick of asparagus, a nice plump shitake mushroom, a tangy little onion, a wagon wheel of lotus root.
So… essentially we enjoyed a series of deep-fried crudites, and the only dips available were some fine salt or a simple bowl of light dashi.
That whelk was gorgeous
Okay, a little unfair. There were a series of small starters to get us ready, included an absolutely ENORMOUS whelk that was nevertheless sweet, toothsome and delicious. Also a splendid piece of fatty liver – no idea who or what it belonged to.
Kondo was an interesting experience, and I’m fairly certain I’ve had quantifiably the best quality tempura I will ever enjoy in terms of raw ingredients and deftness of cooking. Which is presumably where the Michelin stars come in. But for me, once will be enough. As a complete dining experience, an evening of tastes and textures and pleasures, I find that a single-minded devotion to one cooking technique can’t compete with something as exciting and diverse as a kaiseki dinner.
Everything is served just-fried
