Tempura TENTEN is a new Japanese restaurant at the basement of Raffles City Shopping Centre that has taken over the spot previously occupied by Daikoukuya. Tempura TENTEN specializes in tendon and ramen.
The restaurant is decked out in earthy hues complete with wooden tables and chairs. Seats are pretty limited, so it can get really crowded during lunch and dinner. So come down early to avoid long waiting time.
This is the Tempura TENTEN’s original tendon, known as Special Tendon [$13.80]. There may be slight variations, but it’s normally 2 pieces of prawn tempura, shiitake mushroom, seaweed tempura, long bean tempura, pumpkin tempura, bacon tempura and a piece of cheesy chicken tempura which is really the highlight of this tendon dish. I like that the tempura is fried fresh upon order, coupled with fragrant Japanese rice from Hokkaido and sweet tendon sauce, makes for a tasty meal that you will come back to again and again.
For those who want something, a little special can opt for Unattended [$19.80] where a piece of prawn tempura is swapped with a whole piece of grilled eel. The eel is well-marinated with sweet soy sauce and grilled till slightly charred on the outside.
I like the Special Tendon and Unattended but the Jumbo Prawn Tendon [$24.80, limited to 10 bowls a day] takes the cake. It’s much more expensive than the rest, but you get three huge prawns, each one bigger than the length of my hand. The body of the prawns is coated in a light layer of batter and fried till crispy. Each bite fills your whole mouth with the delicious sweetness of the juicy meat. The prawn heads are so thoroughly fried, it’s almost like eating prawn crackers (albeit very expensive prawn crackers).
I had a bowl of yuzu ramen in Japan and the lingering fragrance of yuzu left a lasting impression on me. Not many restaurants in Singapore sells yuzu ramen so I was really excited to try Tempura TENTEN’s Yuzu Chashu Ramen [$14.80], but I am greatly disappointed. The light chicken broth is paired with 3 slices of pork chashu, chopped spring onions, two halves of flavoured egg, marinated lemon rind and a dollop of citrus sauce. The pork chashu is rather tough and the long, straight and thin noodles tasted a little chalky and do not go well with the chicken broth. Add in the citrus sauce sparingly, it is really salty and adding the whole thing into your broth will destroy your ramen.
Tendon, Vegetable Kakiage Tendon and Unadon are available for takeaway. Takeaways can be pre-ordered with the new cutQ app.
Comparing Tempura TENTEN to the popular Tempura Kokaku in Suntec City, I prefer Tempura TENTEN’s tendon which is not as oily and the tendon sauce is not drizzled on top of the tempura making them a little soggy.
Tempura TENTEN
Address: 252 North Bridge Road, Raffles City Shopping Centre #B1-13
Telephone: 63367457
Opening Hours: Daily 11 am – 10 pm (Last Order 9.30pm)