TEMPURA @ OZEKI'S

We were taken by the Yosukes to a small home style tempura restaurant in the Abeno Ward. Owned and operated by a mother-and-son team, it only seats 8, and we were the only guests last night. To many who like Japanese cooking, the devil in tempura is the batter ... to start with, the flour must be right, the water to mix it must be the right temperature and then there are as well guarded industry secrets as there are tempura chefs. Ozeki-san's winning formula, without question, has to be the fluffiness of his end products. It was so lightly dusted we have to look hard for it, even after deep frying. Apart from the ususal parade of prawns, matsutake, pumkins, sweet potatoes, lotus roots, gingko nuts, sweet onions, morsels of succulent fish, squid, eel and so on, the show stopper was the chopped shrimp wrapped in a single orba leaf ... just like that, with no seasoning and the taste was beyond description. We had 3 portions each, and wanted more.

As in any foreign land, it always makes a huge difference when one is taken to the 'truly local eateries' where one's local contacts regularly patron. The mood and the comaraderie define the meal almost as much as the food. Though a relatively young man, Chef Ozaki is in a league of his own. We did not ask but somehow the 'presence' of the father was felt throughot the evening. We have been to rated tempura restaurants in Hong Kong, as well as in Tokyo, but this is the best one we have encountered yet.

If you happen to be in Osaka, and if you are interested take the subway to Abeno Station, get off and ask direction to Matsusaki Avenue which is to your left as you pass Abeno Central. This tiny eatry is a mere 10-minute walk, it is well worth the effort, trust me.