Tendon Tempura Carlos Jr
694 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101Tendon Tempura Carlos Jr is the Pasadena outpost of a Torrance tempura favorite, run by a Peruvian-born chef who trained in Japanese cooking in Japan. The tempura bowls are the draw: light, crisp batter over seasoned rice, with conger eel from Tokyo, shrimp cooked just right, and a tempura egg that runs into everything once you cut it open. The room is tiny, so the wait on a weekend night can stretch close to an hour.
Go here if
- →You love tempura with a light, crisp batter
- →You want a tendon bowl with eel and a runny tempura egg
- →You like trying the same fish two ways, raw and fried
Skip it if
- —You do not want to wait close to an hour for a table
- —You want a roomy, relaxed sit-down dinner
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What to order
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Eat in SGV StaffPremium Tempura Bowl
Start with thisConger eel, shrimp, fish, shishito peppers, and a tempura egg over rice, with miso soup on the side. The batter is light and crisp, the shrimp is tender with a perfect chew, and the eel has a real bite instead of the usual mushy softness. Add ikura for a salty pop against the sweet, savory sauce. One shishito is a roulette pick, but none were very spicy.
Eat in SGV StaffJewel Box
A lacquered box of rice lightly seasoned with soy sauce, topped with cubes of salmon, tuna, and white fish sashimi, ikura, shiso, and a few pieces of tempura. The salmon is buttery and the tuna melts, while the tempura here is denser and crunchier than the bowl. A good pick if you cannot decide between sashimi and tempura.
What SGV locals order here
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"Order the Premium Tempura Bowl and add ikura on top. Cut into the tempura egg early so the yolk runs into the rice, and save a piece of the conger eel for last, because it is the best bite in the bowl. If you are with a sashimi fan, get the Jewel Box to share so you try the fish both raw and fried. Put your name on the Yelp waitlist and grab dessert nearby while you wait."
— Eat in SGV Team
The basics
- Address
- 694 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101
- Price
- $$ · about $20–30 a head (Google)
- Cuisine
- Japanese
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