Unlike many tempura restaurants focused on Tokyo Bay seafood delicacies, Tempura Masa serves “Ezomae Tempura”, using the former name for Hokkaido, Ezo, in a play on the word “Edomae” typically used to indicate Tokyo-style sushi. Through his cuisine, Chef Murai is dedicated to showcasing Hokkaido‘s natural blessings and especially the superb seafood brought into Hakodate port.

The chef’s degustation course commences with four seasonal small plates, followed by six pieces of seafood tempura and six pieces of vegetable tempura, before closing with flavorful steamed rice filled with seasonal ingredients. And there are, of course, some delicious sweets to punctuate a truly delightful meal.

In spring, the menu includes wild mountain vegetables foraged by the chef. He wields his cookery skills to showcase sashimi, puréed soups, and other delectably satisfying dishes combining tempura with umami-rich dashi or thickened sauces. And therein lies the appeal of Tempura Masa — it’s not only tempura. He uses his tempura skills and Hokkaido roots to offer a completely original menu. The chef composes the meal to balance volume and seasoning carefully, allowing guests to savor tempura without a heavy feeling. The only two dishes guests will be sure to see at each visit are the hand-rolled sushi of sauce-dipped conger eel tempura and cucumber wrapped in a crisp sheet of roasted seaweed, and tempura of prawn served with its head which you really should gobble up to experience its sublime, rich flavor. Small plates may include marinated sakura masu cherry trout, crisp prawn cracker topped with plump amaebi prawns, and lily bulb topped with lashings of homemade dried mullet roe.

And while many tempura restaurants typically serve tempura chazuke or tendon as their finishing dish, here, the signature is steamed rice combined with exquisite seasonal ingredients. Leveraging his Japanese cuisine skills, the chef steams rice in flavorful dashi and tosses through generous amounts of seafood like luscious hair crab meat and tasty tempura batter bites.

The mild, gentle flavor of the deep-frying oil comes from a blend of three parts Taihaku untoasted sesame oil to one part Taiko lightly toasted sesame oil, the same used at Chef Murai’s training ground Tempura Kondo. However, the similarities end there. In contrast to the Kondo concept of tempura as a form of steaming, Chef Murai adopts a flexible approach in conversation with each ingredient. Some are effectively steamed, but others, like asparagus and prawns, are deep-fried ever so slightly, and the cooking process is completed with the residual heat. Nira garlic chives, in contrast, are fried intensely to prize out their aromatic essence and distinctive melty sweetness. The frying process likewise deepens the earthy aromas found in shiitake mushrooms.

INGREDIENTS
The concept at Tempura Masa is “Ezomae Tempura”; thus, the course takes you on a journey around Hokkaido to savor the local delicacies like asparagus, corn, and lily bulb. It also features seafood ingredients not typically in tempura, like hokke greenling, saba mackerel, succulent kinki rockfish, and local abalone. The summer menu even includes tempura of hops used to make beer. Focusing on Hokkaido ingredients allows Chef Murai to differentiate from other tempura restaurants, give tempura lovers morsels they have never tried, and offer guests the true taste of the north island.

The batter preparation begins three days in advance with flour placed in the refrigerator to reduce moisture content. The powder snow consistency results in an extremely light batter. The rice is premium Hokkaido brand Yumepirika but of a kind not available on the market because Chef Murai contracts directly with the farmer for the rice from specific paddies. The passion for serving delicious rice extends into the iron pot it is cooked in – an original specially ordered from a Muroran Institute of Technology professor in Muroran, a city with a prolific steelworks industry.

In addition to a selection of sake from breweries around Hokkaido, the French and Californian wine collection is supplemented by local Hokkaido vintages. You may even enjoy a rare encounter with wines from the famed Domaine Takahiko in Yoichi. Homemade soft drinks like ginger ale and craft cola are also available to cater to those who prefer non-alcoholic options.