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Tenka Asian Bistro Hibachi & Sushi Bar
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FOOD ★★★ AMBIENCE ★★1/2 SERVICE ★★★1/2 VALUE ★★★ 153 Boston Turnpike, (Rte. 9W), Westboro
An entertaining Asian experience Michael Brazell
“There is a gradual improvement. Feelings are sweet and tender.” While I am usually plagued by cryptic and irrelevant fortune-cookie messages, the prediction for the future hidden within my cookie at Tenka Asian Bistro was actually a surprisingly accurate review of my dining experience. Tucked in next to a Bikram Hot Yoga studio and saddled behind the wellknown dine-out joint Harry’s Restaurant on Route 9 in Westboro, Tenka can be easy to miss. Nevertheless it is an Asian dining experience that shouldn’t be missed – if not for
the mostly average hibachistyle food, than for the rousing and entertaining staff. Our meal started out rocky at Tenka. While our party of three was seated immediately at one of its six hibachi grill tables, it took more than 10 minutes for our server to greet us and take our drink orders. From then, we waited longer for the drinks to arrive, but were pleased by the sizes and potency of our mostly standard fruity cocktails. An ice cream-dish-sized bowl of fruity-tasting mixed booze called “The Tidal Wave” ran about $6, and it was more than enough to satiate any drinker’s appetite (although I promised myself that I would not say that it swept me away). While the potent drinks were a distraction, we probably waited 30-minutes before our orders were in and our hibachi chef emerged to step behind our grill. Thankfully, once the food started to come out and our chef – who oddly only referred to himself as “Spiderman” – our experience quickly improved. While the Worcester area has had several Hibachi-style restaurants for some
time, for those unaware, diners sit around one or two large grills, orders are placed, and a chef prepares your meal in front of you – usually throwing a few tricks into the preparation and entertaining the crowd. Spiderman was, without a doubt, the most entertaining server/chef that I have ever had in my entire life. While he casually berated one of the members of our group (all in good jest), he came prepared with a handful of gags and practical jokes that had us on edge for the entire meal. While the entertainment was great, fortunately, Tenka also served up good Hibachi-style meals at a reasonable price. Two of us ordered surf and turf, with six well-sized shrimp and perfectly prepared filet mignon, served over a tangy and delightfully eggy fried rice. While the
mixed-greens salad was a rather disappointing start to the meal, the hot miso soup that accompanied it was a stark improvement over the bland and unfulfilling salt-water soup that is sometimes served at other hibachi restaurants. While the surf and turf went for about $25, this meal could really be enough for two people, as all of us had plenty of leftovers. Our third diner ordered a sweet-potato sushi and reported that it was better than you would come to expect for $4 sushi. While the food and drink at Tenka was good, it was not overly remarkable, but the entertainment provided by the Hibachi chef made the visit standout – we were eager to plan a return with more friends. Tenka is decorated well and also had a large, full menu for a traditional dinein experience, but we were left asking ourselves, after having such a great time at our hibachi grill, why would you ever experience it any other way?
Special Meals for Valentine’s Day Open for Dinner Monday, February 14, 5 -9 p.m. Choose from our Standard or Prix-Fixe Menu Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday night, Feb. 11 - 14 Prix-Fixe Meals for Valentine’s Day includes Appetizer, Entrée and Dessert
Choice of Appetizer Meat Soup, Veggie Soup, House Salad or Arancini
Choice of Entrée Surf ’n Turf, Chicken Marsala, Veggie Stirfry or Salmon Bruschetta
Choice of Dessert Carrot Cake, Cheese Cake or Three-Layer Chocolate Cake 24
WORCESTERMAG.COM
• FEBRUARY 3, 2011
234 chandler street worcester 508.459.4240 www.evodining.com