Upon entering Ginza Tendon Itsuki, you’re greeted with a delicious aroma of sesame oil which fills the restaurant and whets your appetite for what’s to come. Ginza Tendon Itsuki, a collaboration between Ramen Keisuke and Ginza Itsuki Sushi Japanese restaurants, specialises solely on tendon (tempura on rice) with just two food items on their menu – Special Tendon ($13.90) or Vegetable Tendon ($12.90).
My friend and I went there yesterday and managed to escape the lunchtime crowds by arriving early at 11.15am so that we could be one of the first in line to get a table. There were already a few people queueing when we arrived and shortly before the restaurant opened at 11.30am, a waitress came around to see if we’d like to place our orders. I got the Vegetable Tendon and my friend chose the Special Tendon.
Ginza Tendon Itsuki makes Edomae (Edo-era type) tempura as sesame oil is added to the frying oil to make the tempura tastier and more fragrant. After being seated, our bowls of tendon arrived almost immediately together with a portion of chawanmushi (savoury egg custard) and miso soup which comes as a set with the tendon. A large container of pickles is also available on the table so that you can help yourself.
My Vegetable Tendon was absolutely delicious. The tempura was light, crunchy and not too oily and the tendon sauce was tasty, it was a little sweeter than what I normally have but it was still good. They give you a lot of tempura vegetables including pumpkin, shiitake mushroom, lotus root, aubergine, baby corn, long beans, red pepper, yellow pepper and several pieces of tempura shiso leaves. They give you a lot of rice which most people would be hard pushed to finish but if it’s not enough for you, you can always upsize your portion of rice for $1. Both the miso soup and chawanmushi which had pieces of fishcake, seaweed and shiitake in it were very good and the texture of the chawanmushi was light and practically melted in my mouth.
My friend was also very happy with her Special Tendon. She was given two prawns, two pieces of chicken, a half boiled egg, pumpkin, baby corn, green beans and shiitake.
Green tea isn’t complimentary here as it is in most Japanese restaurants and is $3.80 for hot or cold Ayataka green tea which is not refillable. They also have other drink options as well as Japanese beer, sake and shochu. It was nice to see that they sell their tendon sauce for $10 a bottle as well as bags of tempura bits for only $1. The tempura bits are great for putting in instant noodles or in salads 🙂 Make sure you bring cash with you though if you dine here as they don’t accept card payments.
In true tendon restaurant style, we left with our clothes, hair and bags smelling of oil but at least of a more pleasant smelling sesame oil 🙂
Tendon Ginza Itsuki
Address: 101 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088522 (Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar)
Tel: 6221 6678
Opening Hours: Daily 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 10pm
Hope you’ve enjoyed my Tendon Ginza Itsuki review, please feel free to leave a comment below with your own review of the restaurant or if you have any questions!
