Tempura is always tempting at this Pasadena restaurant

"Back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, I had an English teacher who, when a student would offer a half-witted response to a question, would throw his arms up in the air, and thunder "O tempora, o mores." For the longest time, I was puzzled by his reference to a dish served at our single local Japanese restaurant, along with teriyaki, pickled vegetables and rice."

"Tempura, the dish, was given its name by Spanish and Portuguese missionaries who were happy to find something new to eat during the meatless fasts of Lent and Fridays. Fish became the dish of choice during those times - those "tempora" - which evolved into tempura. The missionaries also introduced the concept of coating ingredients in batter and cooking in hot oil, giving the tempura we eat today roots that stretch back to the 16th century."

"And at Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior in Pasadena, it's much-loved on these shores, and long has been. This isn't tempura served as a prequel to another dish. This is tempura triumphant. Carlos Junior - Carlos Pinto - makes tempura as good as anyone. And maybe even better. The tempura we know so well dates back to the Edo period in Japanese history, when cooking in oil was limited to outdoor food stands to avoid setting paper and wood structures ablaze."

An English teacher exclaimed "O tempora, o mores" at half-witted student responses, a phrase initially confused with the dish name tempura. Tempura received its name from Spanish and Portuguese missionaries who sought meatless foods during Lent and Fridays, favoring fish and introducing batter-frying techniques. Those Lenten "tempora" practices evolved into the tempura enjoyed today, with roots stretching back to the 16th century. The familiar battered-and-fried style became common in Japan by the Edo period as outdoor street-food stalls. Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior in Pasadena serves tempura as a celebrated, casual dish. Carlos Pinto was born in Peru, moved to Japan, and began cooking at a famous Japanese tempura house in Nih.

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