A couple of weeks back "FOY" ChrisR sent me an email with some photos with the title "Tenkatori impresses". I then sent him a link to my post from May of last year. Apparently Chris hadn't read that post? And here I thought he was a F(riend) o(f) Y(oso)! Of course, I'm just kidding (I think?). I actually appreciate that email as it placed a reminder in "mi cabeza" about returning to Tenkatori.
I thought about online ordering, but there's an additional $3 fee that I'd rather provide as a tip to the restaurant. So, just like what I do for takeout at EE Nami I called in my order right at 11. I was given the time of 1130 for pick-up.
I arrived a bit early and managed to find a space in the rather merciless parking lot. The woman working the counter was juggling a couple of takeout customers and the phone which seemed to be ringing non-stop.
By the time I made it to the counter my order was waiting…in fact, it's that first package in the photo above. I had ordered the "Mix" Bento Box which was $9.90 in May of last year. It is now priced at $12.50.
The drive back to the office took about 15 minutes and this is what the Mix Bento looked like.
The wings actually held up better than the Karaage. Don't get me wrong, the karaage was very moist and tender, but that light, what seems to be katakuriko based batter is made for eating quickly. I think of the flavors are very nicely balanced, soy-with a touch of sweetness. I like that the karaage still has skin attached. The "whole" wings (tips and drumettes included) did well. Like I've mentioned before, I like the addition of wing tips as they add a nice cartiligous texture with the addition of the batter of course. I could make out a touch of the shichimi togarashi a lot clearer than the karaage.
The potato "salad" was the same as before, mashed potatoes. Decently seasoned, with a sweet, teriyaki like sauce on it. The rice was a bit harder than I like, but serviceable. This is not by any means a large portion of protein, but these days it's enough for me.
Which lead me to wonder why I don't come here more often. Of course, I really like the gizzards and the nankotsu…..so I'll probably wait for a day when Calvin comes into the office to order all that stuff.
Thanks again to Chris who took the time out to send me an email with photographic evidence! Hope you get back to Hilo soon!
Tenkatori Miramar
6780 Miramar Rd Suite 104
San Diego, CA 92121
The skin on the Roast Pork was slightly crisp, but the flavor was way too sweet and the flesh was too hard and chewy. The skin on the roast duck wasn't bad, the fat had been rendered nicely, unfortunately this too was quite bland and tough.
Man, this was really good! Crisp, moist wings, perfectly fried and seasoned. Glazed with an umami-sweet salted egg yolk sauce. This as just heavenly to eat. It's also a great diversion from all of those "KFC" places that have opened up in the area.
The sisig had decent spice, balanced with some good sour tones. This might be the best I’ve had here in terms of seasoning and flavor. The lechon kawale was on the chewy and hard side; but still, I liked the flavors.
These wings were just drenched in sauce. There was a huge pool of sauce at the bottom of the box. The two or three pieces on the top, while over sauced held up fine, but the pieces on the bottom were a soggy mess.
Doesn't even look like it's from the same place, does it?
The chicken held up quite well after the drive home. This batter is more of the "laquer" type and it was still quite crunchy. Not much seasoning though, so it really needs a sauce. The sauce came in a presealed container and was like a sweet (emphasis on "sweet") chili sauce that was kind of weak overall.
The wings were somewhat unevenly battered, the pieces on the top were quite crunchy, but for some strange reason, even though I liked the fact this wasn't swimming in sauce, the bottom pieces had gone mushy. For some reason, the meat of the wings were drier as well. This soy based sauce was also too sweet for my taste.
Now, the batter on the wings from GC back in the day was on the lighter side and was also quite thin and the wings got soggy quickly. In this case it was the opposite; the batter was almost hard; not crunchy…hard. Also, I'm not sure if I'm rubbing off on Calvin (good lord, I hope not), but after our first bite we both said "where's the salt and pepper"? Barely any garlic, pepper was MIA, a few slices of scallions. I mean, this was bland, and while the wings were moist, there was just too much batter. The wings were large…but heck, I could have used some "salt" on my Salt-and-Pepper Wings……..
The noodles were nicely cooked and coated. But we both noticed something right away when biting into the shrimp. You can tell by the color. It seems the shrimp were blanched and just dumped into the dish. It had absolutely no flavor. 
