Yesterday while doing a bit of research for an article I'm writing, my sister and I decided to grab a bite and ended up at Tempura Grill in ATC. For those not familiar with the place, it's obviously a Japanese restaurant and is found near North Park. The look and the ambiance is similar to that of Terriyaki Boy, so naturally comparisons will arise.

Jay has raved about this place claiming it was good and afordable. He told me he liked it so much that he's already known by the staff because of eating there everyday for a week. I wanted to try it our since I love Japanese food.

With my stint working with the Japanese let me tell you that I've tried all sorts of Japanese food that would be considered authentic, and damn they're good. Tempura Grill was neither. I was so disappointed. Granted the prices were affordable (the 5 piece Ebi Tempura was 180 bucks) the food seemed to lack something. The Tempura was large and had a crisp batter but it seemed mass-produced and reheated. That's never good for a Tempura dish. The Gohan could have been better. The rice they used wasn't Japanese rice. The Miso soup I think was something out of an envelope. Nothing like I'm used to.

If you have to have a Japanese food fix and you're in the Alabang area, take the effort to go to Festival mall and eat at Terriyaki Boy. Skip Tempura Grill even though they claim their Tempura is healthier. On the bright side, they did have Tempura Gyoza which was interesting. I'll give them that.

This entry was posted by Frank, on Friday, March 25, 2005. You can leave your response.