A note on the words: tendon is tempura laid over a bowl of rice and drizzled with sweet tare sauce, whereas tempura meshi serves the tempura piece by piece straight from the fryer alongside a bowl of rice and miso soup. Anago is conger eel, kakiage is a mixed fritter of seafood and vegetables, and kisu is delicate Japanese whiting. Tentsuyu is the soy-and-dashi tempura dipping broth, often enriched with grated daikon, and shichimi is Japan’s aromatic seven-spice chili blend.
Table of Contents hide
Tempura Meshi Kaneko Hannosuke Ark Hills on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. This time for lunch I was in Ark Hills again. Strolling around, the words “Tempura Meshi Kaneko Hannosuke” caught my eye.
Ah, tendon (tempura over a bowl of rice), right? There is one in Akasaka, but having one in Roppongi Itchome too — aren’t they awfully close? I thought. But looking closely, it says “tempura meshi.” The one in Akasaka is “Tendon Kanekoya.” They are subtly different. Since this place is tempura meshi rather than tendon, I wonder if it is a teishoku-style set meal? Thinking that got me curious, so I decided to go in.
You buy a ticket at a ticket machine, and customers are seated filling in from the far end of the counter, so there is no wasted space, which is nice.
Since it is an office district, it might be great for when you want a quick tempura bite.
Tempura meshi with anago and a bowl of miso soup — 1,750 yen
Tempura meshi with large shrimp and a bowl of miso soup — 1,750 yen
Tempura meshi with select chicken and a bowl of miso soup — 1,450 yen
Tempura meshi and a bowl of miso soup — 1,300 yen
Just as I thought, here tempura meshi seems to mean a teishoku-style set meal!
Wondering which one to choose, after deliberating over all of them, I went with the orthodox tempura meshi and a bowl of miso soup.
On the counter are the standard kuromame-cha (roasted black soybean tea) along with takuan (pickled daikon), squid with yuzu, and salmon with mentaiko (spicy salted pollock roe).
While waiting, I nibbled on the squid with yuzu and salmon with mentaiko (spicy salted pollock roe), and they were so delicious it is hard to believe they are free, ha.
After a short wait, the tempura meshi arrived.
Oh, looks delicious.
Serving it little by little as it is ready is great too.
First comes the kakiage (a mixed fritter) of shrimp and squid, along with maitake mushroom and a shishito pepper.
The freshly fried, piping-hot tempura fried up crisp is delicious.
Next come the kisu (Japanese whiting), eggplant, and a tempura-fried egg.
Setting the egg on top of the rice, sprinkling shichimi (seven-spice blend) over it, and breaking it open a bit to eat is so good! Adding a splash of tentsuyu (tempura dipping broth) and some grated daikon here makes it unbeatable.
It is quite substantial, and with the condiments on the table, it is thoroughly satisfying.
There is quite a good variety of tempura, and for 1,300 yen, this might be quite reasonable.
Of course, for those who want to eat anago and large shrimp, ordering them additionally might be fine too, but at this shop, with the 1,300-yen tempura meshi you can thoroughly enjoy both the quality and quantity! I would definitely like to come back. Highly recommended.
Tempura Meshi Kaneko Hannosuke Ark Hills (Tempura / Roppongi Itchome Station, Akasaka Station, Tameike-sanno Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
