Tempura Kohaku which opened in July this year is a restaurant that specialises in Japanese Edomae (Edo-era type) tendon (tempura on rice). Edomae tempura is fried in a mixture of sesame oil and vegetable oil rather than just vegetable oil to make the tempura tastier and more fragrant. The menu at Tempura Kohaku is simple, you can choose either Kohaku Tendon which comes with prawns, chicken, vegetables and other seafood ($15), Vegetables Tendon which comes with an assortment of different vegetables ($14), Kohaku Tendon Spicy Flavour which is the same as the Kohaku Tendon but with a spicy sauce ($15) and Vegetables Tendon Spicy Flavour which is the Vegetables Tendon with a spicy sauce ($14). You can also choose to have the tendon as a set which comes with a small bowl of udon for an extra $4.50 and you can upsize your rice for $1.
They serve a variety of drinks including soft drinks, beer, sake, highball (whisky with soda water) and free flow green tea for only $2.
I love vegetable tempura so I went for the Vegetables Tendon Spicy Flavour. The chefs take their time to prepare your tendon as it took around 15 minutes for our food to come even though we were the first to arrive at the restaurant and one of the first to order. My Vegetables Tendon Spicy Flavour came with baby corn, asparagus, green beans, aubergine, red pepper, pumpkin, shitake and oyster mushrooms. The tempura was hot and fairly crispy, the sauce was nice except that it wasn’t in the least bit spicy. Tasting my friend’s Kohaku Tendon, the normal sauce tasted exactly the same. Think there may have been an error with my order even though the waitress did say that it was the spicy version of Vegetables Tendon.
If you like your meat and seafood then the Kohaku Tendon is well worth it as for only $1 more than the Vegetables Tendon, it comes with two prawns, chicken, fish and several different types of vegetables.
You’re given pickled radish flavoured with yuzu and ginger on the table to help yourself to as well as condiments including the tendon sauce and shichimi (Japanese spice mixture).
The green tea (only comes iced) is basically instant powdered green tea and it had a light green tea flavour and was refreshing.
Overall the tendon in Tempura Kohaku is good but it’s not as good as you can find elsewhere and in Singapore I would say that the tendon in Ginza Tendon Itsuki is much better as the tempura batter is crispier and more fragrant as they use more sesame oil. Also I prefer the tendon sauce there as it’s a bit sweeter and tastier. Service in Tempura Kohaku is very friendly and informative, the chefs cook in an open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant and there are seats available in front of the kitchen or you can get a table. Just make sure you get to the restaurant when it first opens for lunch or dinner if you don’t want to end up waiting in line for ages as this place is popular! Also the bonus about dining at Tempura Kohaku over Ginza Tendon Itsuki is that you don’t leave smelling like a pot of oil as they have a very good ventilation system in the restaurant.
Tempura Kohaku
Address: 3 Temasaek Boulevard,#03-310/311, Eat At Seven, Suntec City Mall (Tower One), Singapore 038983 (Nearest MRT: Promenade/Esplanade)
Tel: 6333 4386
Opening Hours: Daily 11.30am – 4pm, 5pm – 10pm
Hope you’ve enjoyed my Tempura Kohaku review, please feel free to leave a comment below with your own review of the restaurant or if you have any questions!
