1125 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
604-742-0234
Tenhachi Japanese Restaurant 天八和食, a Japanese home-style restaurant located where we would least expect it, has been on our wishlist for a very long time. Even Octopus kept on raving about how much she enjoyed it when she visited with a dear friend from Edmonton. We drove by many times, but, due to parking, we never attempted to visit. Luckily, after I ditched work early to drive Buddha Girl to the clinic, we were lucky enough to find a parking spot on a narrow side street and made our way for their early bird discount between 5pm to 6:30pm.
The restaurant was empty, well, of course, we arrived right at its dinner opening. The decor was outdated and nothing, other than its menu and its staff, shows that this place serves Japanese cuisine.
Due to the parking time restrictions, they offer an early bird discount...that means I can order more...right?
I got excited when I saw Chicken Shiso Tempura on the menu, and yes, I immediately ordered it. The tempura batter was very light and crispy, one of the better versions in Vancouver. Unfortunately, I could barely detect any flavors from the shiso shreds. Moreover, the chicken was bland. The accompanied tentsuyu (tempura dip) didn't do much to enhance the flavors.
Next came the Assorted Tempura. The batter was, again, very light and crispy. Just like the shiso chicken, the prawns were bland, and, as blasphemous as it was, I resorted to using soy sauce just to add flavor. The vegetables pieces had enough of its own natural flavors to satisfy. Next time, I would probably only order the vegetable tempura (yes, very unlike us).
Buddha Girl had the Katsu Don. I was craving a don for a while and my subliminal messages must have worked on her. Considering that the sauce was on the lighter side, it worked well in this dish. Not too salty nor sweet, just enough to accent the meat and highlight the rice. The portion was good as Buddha Girl found herself quite full before finishing the bowl. The miso soup had napa cabbage, bean sprouts and seaweed. It was different but it was enjoyable.
I had the Hamburger Steak Dinner Set. Almost anywhere that has this, I'd be ordering it. Yup, I've been on that hamburger-steak kick for a while. This version was good, but was nothing spectacular. The meat had minimal fillers and had a good texture (unlike Cafe de l'Orangerie, where the patties were mushy). By itself, this combo would be too small for me, but with the additional dishes, plus I had to help Buddha Girl with her rice bowl, I was satisfyingly full.
Overall, this was an okay experience. Price points were good, only because we took advantage of the early bird discount. Compared to Hi Genki, the selections here were more limited, but the quality was much better.
