Ippoh Tempura Bar by Ginza Ippoh
The newest tempura restaurant to hit Singapore’s Japanese dining scene is also the one with the longest history. Ippoh Tempura Bar, located at lifestyle destination COMO Dempsey, is opened byGinza Ippoh, a family-owned tempura restaurant that traces its roots back to Osaka in 1850. Currently keeping up the culinary tradition is a fifth-generation member of the founding family, Chef Masaru Seki. At Ippoh Tempura Bar, lightly-battered Osaka-style tempura is cooked in prime safflower oil, so that it retains a lightness, allowing the true flavors of the premium seasonal ingredients to shine.
Part of the 16-restaurant concept food hall that is Japan Food Town in Wisma Atria, Tempura Tsukiji Tenka’s compact menu comes with only four tempura rice bowl options, but diners can choose to add on individual tempuras to their sets. What’s special about the rice bowls here is the usage of Haenuki rice from Yamagata. The hardier rice is able to withstand the adding of tempura sauce without becoming soggy. In-between the rice and tempura is a thin layer of pickled ginger for added nuance and to help cut the heaviness of the meal.
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Tenshin Restaurant
An institution in its own right, Tenshin is the very first restaurant in Singapore to specialize inJapanese tempura, using fresh produce imported straight from Tsukiji Market in Tokyo. The menu changes accordingly with the seasons, but the highlight here is that apart from the usual dipping sauce, the restaurant also offers four different flavored salts – sea, chilli, matcha and curry. This allows diners to mix and match the tempura and salts to their personal preferences.
Ginza Tendon Itsuki
Singapore’s love for a hearty tempura rice bowl can be seen in the snaking queues that form outside of Ginza Tendon Itsuki everyday come lunchtime. This eighth restaurant concept by Ramen Keisuke is located along Tanjong Pagar Road and is a collaboration between him and chef-owner Naoki Takaku of Ginza Itsuki Sushi. Served in elegant Arita porcelain bowls, the tendon options here is limited to two – Special, with two pieces each of prawn and chicken tempura, and four pieces of vegetables; as well as Vegetable, with tempuras of pumpkin, shiitake mushroom, lotus root, eggplant and four other vegetables.
Tempura Kohaku
Eat at Seven in Suntec City is a cluster of seven Japanese restaurant concepts, one of which isTempura Kohaku, known for their use of Edomae-style tendon served with Hokkaido rice. Edomae tempura is fried in a mixture of sesame oil and vegetable oil to give more fragrance and flavor. There are just four types of tempura rice bowls available here – the signature, vegetable, spicy, orvegetable spicy, but all bowls come with such a huge heaping of tempura that another smaller bowl is provided to place the overflowing tempura, so that diners can more easily reach the rice at the bottom.
