Tempura restaurants have been popping up everywhere over the past few years ever since the popularity of Ginza Tendon Itsuki and Tempura Kohaku, but few have come close to being as good as those two. Out of all the tempura restaurants I’ve tried so far in Singapore, Tempura Tenten probably falls somewhere in the middle for me.
They have a huge menu for what is supposed to be primarily a tempura restaurant, not like the usual two choices available in the more specialised restaurants. They have a few different varieties of tendon as well as several types of ramen, curry and side dishes. If it’s tempura you’re after though, you won’t be disappointed with the Special Tendon ($13.80++) or the Una Tendon ($19.80++). The Premium King Prawn Tendon ($24++) also looks very good if you just want tempura prawns.
The Special Tendon comes with two prawns, shiitake, green beans, nori, pumpkin, bacon and a chicken ball with mozzarella cheese inside. You can choose to have original or spicy sauce and white rice or upgrade to truffle rice for $1 more. The spicy sauce which is a nice balance of spicy and sweet actually goes pretty well with the light and crispy assortment of tempura on top of the fluffy white Japanese rice. What I liked in particular was the very unusual tempura bacon which was delightfully crunchy – who would have thought that bacon deep fried in tempura batter would be so good! But then again anything with bacon in it is good. The tempura chicken ball with melted mozzarella oozing out was also a pleasant surprise.
The Una Tendon is pretty worth what you pay for it as you get a prawn, some vegetables and a huge piece of sweet and smoky unagi. All tendon come with some pickles and miso soup on the side.
Service at the restaurant is friendly and efficient. The restaurant is never that busy whenever I pass by but if you would like a quieter table then they have some tables on the side just next to the kitchen. Although the tendon in Tempura Tenten may not quite meet the standards of Tendon Itsuki and Tempura Kohaku or have the enticing aroma of sesame oil that attracts people to those places, it’s the unusual bacon tempura that will probably bring me back for more at Tempura Tenten. The restaurant takes reservations on Chope in case you want to guarantee a table during peak times. They also sometimes have offers on Fave and discounts on JPassport so it’s worth checking out those websites before you go.
Tempura Tenten
Address: 252 North Bridge Road, #B1-13 Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore 179103
Tel: 6336 7457
Opening hours: Daily 11am – 10pm
Hope you’ve enjoyed my review of Tempura Tenten, please feel free to leave a comment below with your own review of the restaurant or if you have any questions!
