Tenya buries the lede (under other types of tempura) in its new “Bacon Chicken Tempura Bowl.”

If you’re looking for something to eat in Japan, you really can’t go wrong stepping into a branch of tempura chain Tenya. While tempura’s cultured image often carries with it premium pricing, Tenya’s casual eateries offer a variety of extremely tasty tempura a rice bowls for less than 1,000 yen (US$8.90), and if you’re in a rush, you can even get your order to-go.

But while I’ve got no complaints about Tenya’s cooking or pricing, I do think they’re dropping the ball in a big way with the marketing for their latest menu item by calling it the “Bacon Chicken Tempura Bowl.”

The name isn’t misleading or anything, as yes, among the 730-yen (US$6.50) rice bowl’s toppings are thick-cut bacon tempura and chicken tempura. And while it may seem unthinkable to argue against bacon getting top billing in any gastronomic discussion, let’s zoom in on the Bacon Chicken Tempura Bowl’s promotional image, and take a moment to notice that the dish also includes…

…clam chowder tempura!

Somehow playing third-fiddle to its meaty costars, Tenya’s first-ever clam chowder tempura is a morsel of clam, carrots, potato onion, and chowder broth, all fried up in a mouthwatering morsel. Oh, and there’s also bacon in it too, in case the stand-alone bacon tempura isn’t enough to satisfy your penchant for pork.

▼ The clam chowder tempura

Now, in all fairness, the thick-cut bacon also looks absolutely delicious…

…but not since KFC developed deep-fried corn potage has there been such an enticing evolution of soup, and we can’t wait to try it when the oddly unassumingly named Bacon Chicken Tempura Bowl goes on sale March 23.

Related: Tenya location finder
Source: Tenya press release
Images: Tenya press release (edited by RocketNews24)
[ Read in Japanese ]

Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s wondering who else used that “how to read Japanese newspaper articles” textbook that had a whole unit about Tenya.

[ Read in Japanese ]