Mmmm....Tempura

Back to Imoya for lunch today. I got the tempura set and added a Japanese eggplant (なす).

The eggplant was revelatory. It was everything that a piece of fried eggplant should be. It was lightly battered with the slightest hint of a crunch on the outside. The flesh of the eggplant was completely soft, but not greasy, and simply melted away in my mouth. It was, quite simply, the best piece of fried eggplant that I have eaten in my entire life.

I watched as the chef prepared the eggplant and noticed that he scored the eggplant flesh lengthwise three times through to the skin before battering and frying it. I assume this helped cook the eggplant quickly and evenly.

The kicker? The whole meal was 700 yen ($6.50).