Tempura Tendon Tenya Singapore is opening its second outlet at ION Orchard.

The largest tempura restaurant chain in Japan, Tempura Tendon Tenya first opened in Singapore at Orchard Central in Oct 2020. The new outlet will be at ION Orchard food hall, at Basement 4 next to Toss & Turn.

The popular tendon chain is known for its affordable tempura bowls and prices range from S$7.90 to S$12.90.

We were in disbelief when we first had the Tenya Tendon in Japan many years ago. It might not be the best tempura, but it was very decent, and surely a steal for the price.

First-timers have to try their signature Tenya Tendon which is priced at only S$8.50 for a hearty bowl of tempura tiger prawn, red fish, squid, pumpkin, and French beans.

With the opening of Tempura Tendon Tenya, shoppers at ION Orchard will now have another option for cheap and good tendon.

Tempura Tendon Tenya Singapore
ION Orchard basement 4

Tenjin is opening a second outlet at Raffles City on 1 Dec 2020.

Tenjin is a Japanese restaurant by the Les Amis Group that specialises in Tempura Donburi and the first outlet is located on the third floor of Shaw Centre.

Photos credit: Tenjin

Tenjin serves a variety of tendons and tempura and the prices start from S$12.80 for the Vegetable Tendon to S$24.80 for the Tempura Moriwase Set.

The menu at Tenjin Raffles City will be similar to that of their original outlet but with one new addition. The Hot Inaniwa Udon comes with crisp tempura and it will be exclusive to the Raffles City outlet.

Tenjin
Raffles City #B1-46
Daily: 11am – 9pm

Read our guide on the best tendon restaurants in Singapore.

Japan’s renowned Kushikatsu chain with over 160 outlets, Kushikatsu Tanaka, is now in Singapore. Located right smack in the middle of bustling Clarke Quay, this less-than-a-year-old eatery is famous for its Kushikatsu (fried cutlet skewers) and signature dipping sauce.

Kushikatsu is a Japanese delicacy comprising an assortment of lightly breaded and deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables. In Japanese, kushi translates to skewers while katsu refers to a deep-fried meat cutlet.

A step into Kushikatsu Tanaka will transport you to a traditional izakaya in Japan, with its dim-hued interior and a rustic decor that sets does well to mimic a similar mood. Offering a range of wallet-friendly Japanese bar grub and alcohol, this is definitely the go-to spot for some after-work drinks and gathering.

First up on our table was the lightly steamed and perfectly salted appetiser, Edamame (S$5++). These protein-rich soybeans are fresh and sweet, making for a good pre-meal snack.

Moving on to something that required a little elbow grease, was the DIY Potato Salad Mentaiko ($10++)!

It came with a generous portion of potatoes, an ajitsuke tamago (Japanese marinated soft-boiled egg) and crunchy bacon bits seasoned with black pepper and mayonnaise, topped with a decent portion of savoury mentaiko chunks—all of which required grinding and mixing using a pastel. 

By grinding everything together yourself, you can adjust the texture of the salad to suit your taste. We liked ours to be slightly chunky so that we can taste a bit of everything.

The star of the night was definitely the legendary Kushikatsu (Assorted Skewers). We got ourselves the Recommended 5 (S$8.20++), which came with Asparagus, Lotus Root, Beef, Pork and Onion.

Coated in Panko breadcrumbs and deep-fried till golden brown, the skewers were insanely crispy without being greasy at all. What made this dish even better was the special dipping sauce that was tangy and extremely addictive.

Kushikatsu Tanaka
3A River Valley Road, Merchant Court
Clarke Quay Block A #01-01B
Singapore 179020
Tel: +65 6258 3789
Mon to Fri: 12pm – 2.30pm, 5pm – 12am
Sat: 12pm – 1am
Sun: 12pm – 12am
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay

An award-winning tempura and tendon restaurant from Asakusa, Tokyo—Shitamatchi Tendon Akimitsu has opened in Singapore with its first outlet at Plaza Singapura.

With more than 128 years of culinary experience, Shitamatchi Tendon Akitmisu promises to impress all diners with authentic tempura and tendon. Furthermore, Chef Tanihara Akimitsu, the founder of Akitmitsu and 5th-generation head chef of Dote No Iseya, had flown over to Singapore to personally provide training to the crew at its Plaza Singapura outlet. Now, that is some dedication.

Excited to have a taste of their famous recipe, we made our way down to their Plaza Singapura outlet on their grand opening day. We’d go out on a limb and say that this is one of the best places to have tendon in Singapore.

//

Of course, we had to begin our meal with Akimitsu’s Signature Tendon (S$14.90) which features tempura-battered prawn, white fish, egg, seaweed, assorted vegetables and rice covered with their original Tendon sauce. In addition, it comes with a portion of chawanmushi and miso soup on the side.

Diners can choose either the Asakusa Original Sauce—recommended by the eatery—or the Spicy Sauce to go with their tendon. And did we mention that your meal comes with free-flow pickles too?

//

At first glance, the portion of ingredients served with Akimitsu’s Signature Tendon deserved much praise. Generous, fresh and perfectly deep fried ingredients; what more could we ask for in a tendon? Even more so at S$14.90, an award-winning, premium quality tendon at an affordable price was quite a treat.

Love your protein? The Ebi Tendon (S$17.90) would be a good and delicious option to have. Comprising solely of prawn tempura, the Ebi Tendon also came with chawanmushi and miso soup on the side. Just as crispy, just as tasty, this dish will be worth throwing your diet away for.

//

Other tendon you can try at Shitamachi Tendon Akimitsu include the Kakiage Tendon (S$15.90) and Vegetable Tendon (S$12.90). If not, shake things up a little with the Mixed Tempura Rice Set (S$16.90) and the Kakiage Tencha (S$17.90).

//

At Shitamachi Tendon Akimitsu, diners can expect nothing but authentic and spectacular Japanese cuisine. However, do note that Shitamatchi Tendon Akimitsu will get rather crowded during dinner time, so it is advised that you visit early to secure a spot at this quaint Japanese restaurant.

Shitamatchi Tendon Akimitsu
68 Orchard Road, #04-65/68 Plaza Singapura,
Singapore 238839
Tel: +65 6264 3390
Daily: 12pm – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Nearest Station: Dhoby Ghaut

Read: Best Tendon Restaurants in Singapore

Teppei Japanese Restaurant at the ground floor of Orchid Hotel has been gaining a strong following because of its extremely affordable omakase (prices start from S$50/pax). The last time we checked, its omakase during dinner is fully booked till December. If you are not able to get a table for omakase, go for its barachirashi and tempura set during lunch.

The Barachirashi (S$17.60) is decent and inexpensive – probably one of the cheapest chirashi you can get in Singapore – but it is not worth the hype. It suffices as an introductory bowl for first-timers, decent enough, but there are many more chirashi-don out there that shout freshness and variety way better.

The Tempura Set (S$16.50 – S$19.80), on the other hand, fared much better. Fried individually at the bar, the tempura was crispy, light and not overly greasy. We would go back for it regularly if not for the long queue during lunch.

Teppei Japanese Restaurant
#01-18, Orchid Hotel, 1 Tras Link
Tel: +65 6222 7363
Daily: 12pm – 2.30pm, 6pm – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

For more recommendations, read our guide to the best Japanese restaurants in Singapore.

When craving for Japanese food, one of my to-go places is Akashi Japanese Restaurant. It has reliable and pretty good Japanese food. And most importantly, a meal at Akashi is relatively affordable – if you go for their set meals. Most of the sets – served with salad/rice, soup and fruits – are priced below $20 during lunch (additional $3-4 for dinner).

The Sushi Tsuki ($16 lunch, $20 dinner), pictured above, comes with a beautiful assortment of nigiri sushi. Good value for the portion.

The Otsukuri set ($26 lunch, $29 dinner), served with an assortment of freshly-sliced sashimi, is a simple set of classic Japanese favourites for the ladies with smaller appetites.

Tenzaru Chasoba set ($15 lunch, $18 dinner) with gorgeous deep-fried tempura that is not too greasy. The chilled green tea noodle is also one of the better ones, and the tempura moriawase includes ebi, salmon and root vegetables coated with fragrant fresh batter.

The Sukiyaki ($16 lunch, $19 dinner) is also worth a try. Slices of beef and vegetable lightly cooked in a sweet and flavourful broth; so hearty, it is something that I can eat all the time.

If you are not going to Akashi for their omakase, you will still be served fresh sashimi and sushi. But, do not harbour high expectations of the ala carte items – at that price, the quality is decent, but certainly not the gastronomic level you would get when you pay at fine dining restaurants.

The sets are very decently-priced and it works out to be an enjoyable experience that is not too gruelling on the pocket. A meal at Akashi is probably slightly more expensive than your usual sushi chains, but I dare say they have much better Japanese food.

Akashi Japanese Restaurant
1 Harbourfront Walk
#B2-07-09 VivoCity
Tel: +65 6681 6719
Daily: 11.30am – 11pm

290 Orchard Road
#B1-01 Paragon
Tel: +65 6735 8887
Daily: 11am – 11pm

19 Tanglin Road
#01-01A Tanglin Shopping Centre
Tel: +65 6732 8662
Daily: 12pm – 10.30pm

Much has been said about Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru, the sushi restaurant at the basement of Liang Court. I am going straight to the point: Whatever you have heard about Ryoshi – it is true. They serve surprisingly good and fresh sushi at very affordable prices.

I was a little apprehensive about trying it out as I thought it was just another mediocre Japanese restaurant serving sushi on conveyor belt. Thankfully, my worries turned out to be unnecessary. Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru is very decent and judging from the crowd during meal times, it is already very popular.

Ryoshi charges by the plate, and prices range from $1.80 to $6.80 for different sushi. In addition, they also have a selection of ala carte dishes such as Tempura Udon ($9.60), Ebi Fried ($5.80), Chawanmushi ($3.80) and Salmon Avocado Salad ($7.60).

Don’t visit Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru and expect to get quality sushi that you will get from top Japanese restaurants. But what you can expect is reasonably good sushi at pocket-friendly prices. If you are a fan of Itacho Sushi, I think you will like Ryoshi too.

Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru
177 River Valley Road
Basement 1 Liang Court
Tel: +65 6337 1022
Daily: 11am – 9.30pm

For more recommendations, read my list of Best Japanese Restaurants in Singapore

Much has been said about Chikuwa Tei at Mohamed Sultan road, the Japanese restaurant opened by the former Chef of Wasabi Tei at Far East Plaza.

From what I heard, the chef used to be a food nazi when he was at the previous Japanese restaurant. Although he had a nasty reputation, the place was extremely popular and there were always long queues. That said, I did not visit Wasabei Tei when he was there, so I wouldn’t know how it was like. I can assure you though, the chef was perfectly fine when we went there for dinner a few weeks ago.

Chikuwa Tei has 18 bento sets on the menu to choose from, and the price range from $12 for the more affordable Mackerel set to $25 for their popular Chirashi Sushi set.

My dining companion went for her favourite Grilled Eel set ($20) and it was wonderful. The sight of the huge slice of grilled unagi was enough to get a ‘wow‘ from us.

I like the Ten Cha Soba set ($12) – which you see in the first picture. Deep-fried tempura with cold green noodles, very simple yet so satisfying.

Salmon Sashimi ($10 for 5 slices). Om nom nom nom.

From the Makimono menu, we eyed the Avocado & Crab Maki ($8) and Deep-fried prawn ($12), but in the end we decided to share the Tuna Belly & Spring Onion ($12).

Dessert is probably Chikuwa Tei’s weakest link as they only have green tea and matcha ice cream. It doesn’t really matter as we were full anyway. I wouldn’t say no to another serving of salmon sashimi though.

Chikuwa Tei is a place that I will go back again when I am craving for Japanese food. The offerings are generally good, and the prices for the bento set and ala carte menu are very reasonable. For those of you who have been to Chikuwa Tei, En Japanese Dining Bar across the street, has a 50% promotion off Sushi and Sashimi from 6pm – 8pm daily.

For more recommendations, please read my list of best Japanese restaurants in Singapore

Singapore Food Blog Review
Chikuwa Tei
9 Mohamed Sultan Road #01-01
Tel: +65 6738 9395
Daily: 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm

Featured in

icon-30

Welcome to LIC Food event II at Tetsu!

Having the experience of organising my own food outing event at OChaCha previously, this time LIC decided to have the second one at Tetsu. The response has been overwhelming, in fact i think its crazy given its a Tuesday night since people have to work and study. A whopping 51, yes 51 friends joined us for this one.

There will be more thoughts about the event in the next post, The Afterthoughts on Tetsu food event. For now, lets go back to LIC main task, food review!

LIC went for a visit to Tetsu previously, there won’t be repeated pictures, so please take a look at my previous review.

I missed this out the last time round, Tetsu has got many media write-ups which you might find familiar while reading the various newspapers and magazines.

The fresh ingredients awaits to play with our taste buds.

Appetizers

To kick-start our multi course meal, we clear our throat with the warm green tea, follow by the Kami Tofu, Kajiki Takaki, after which we have the Yasai Takiawase, salmon sashimi and the consomme soup. All in good time, read on!

Just a note, for our multi course meal dinner, we have everything done in sampling size, which means to say this is not the real size which you will get in a set. I requested for sampling size so that we can actually try out a lot more variety of food.

Kami Tofu

The Kami Tofu, or century egg with tofu, starts off our multi course meal. The tofu is done delicately with the century egg, petite in size, but suffice for the first appetizer.

Kajiki Tataki

Seared swordfish with special sauce is rather light in taste, but coupled with the special sauce it does brings out the flavor of the Kajiki Tataki, not too fishy and taste fresh. But i do find that the special sauce is slightly on the heavy side.

Salmon/Hamachi Sashimi

Hamachi Sashimi is fresh according to feedbacks from most of our guests. A dip with the wasabi completes the fresh salmon sashimi.

Consomme Soup

Some of you might wonder how come it is consomme soup we are having since initially the menu that i put up states miso soup. After some discussion with Tetsu head chef, Kent, we agreed that it will better to have a clear soup than miso soup since the dishes behind are all quite heavy.

The clear soup with wakame, leak and tamago tastes bland, but it helps to clear our palates and prepared us for the main courses to come.

Yasai Takiawase

Daikon, carrot, pumpkin, snow pea with yuzu flavour sauce makes up the Yasai Takiawase. This appetizer is also a healthy way to start our taste buds working, but some feedback find it ordinary, nothing fantastic.

Sushi roll

The sushi roll with salmon, tuna in double layer within the sushi is actually not on the menu. Complimentary from Tetsu, i also find out about the surprise after i got there. The salmon and tuna meat are mixed together, being a fan of both fishes, the sushi roll works magic for me.

Kushi Age style

Soft Shell Crab, Ebi, Hire Katsu, and Hotate from left to the right respectively. Without a doubt the star of the show, Tetsu is renown for their Kushi style Tonkatsu and Tempura, and it certainly hit home, albeit feedbacks its rather dry, but nonetheless still very good.

On my previous visit, i had my Tempura done in Kushi-Tem which i find its slightly disappointing, and like what i suspected, done in the Kushi-Age style the tempura really shines. Or maybe its just my personal liking, either way you got to try them both to find out.

Kushi-Age: Soft Shell Crab

The soft shell crab is nice, i admit i am lazy to shell crabs so i don’t relaly eat crabs often. But hey this is a soft shell crab, done in the Kushi-age, i finish the whole smallish crab.

Kushi-Age: Hotate

The Hotate or scallop is also done in Kushi-Age style, fresh air-flown from Japan.

Hire Katsu (fillet katsu)

Like what i mentioned before, there is the choice of either the Rosu Katsu (pork loin) or the Hire Katsu (fillet katsu). Pork loin is fatter than fillet katsu in nature, which makes it more tender than Hire Katsu. But because with more of our guests from the fairer sex, we decided on Hire Katsu which has a leaner cut, if not we will have our girls screaming fats!

Famed for their Katsu, the Kushi-age style (skewered with breaded batter) certainly lives up to expectations. The breaded style of the katsu is really good, the panko crumbs on it is very light which gives it a melt-in-your-mouth feel.

Kushi-Age: Ebi

Actually for LIC, my personal tempura will always be the lovely fried prawns. I really find that the Kushi-age style for the Ebi is much better than the kushi-tem style which i tried before. Kudos! Just that you can’t really get enough by eating one ebi, i know prawn isn’t as tasty if its too big, but how about a few more ebi? Sounds great right!

Kushi Tem: Lotus root, mushroom, Green capsicium

The tempura batter had nice texture, but again it wasn’t that seasoned enough, so i think the common reaction its quite bland. Nevertheless the batter is very light, not that oily and it didn’t leave any oily aftertaste that mediocre tempuras do.

And just to answer some common questions asked, why isn’t there tempura sauce to go along? I only manage to ask the chef at the end of the session that he actually meant to want us have the kushi tem together with the udon. My apologies for this mistake.

Hot udon

Taste is personal and unique to every each of us, some find this to be really good and finish the whole bowl (you know who you are), while some wondered at the unevenness of the Udon.

Goma Ice cream

We have the goma black sesames ice cream to end off our food outing. Again there’s a difference in opinion for the ice cream, but for me even though i do not really fancy black sesame i find it to be acceptable.

Total bill is $1,530 for the 51 of us, with the cost at 30 bucks nett per head. I think the conclusion of the food is more or less the same as what i mentioned in my previous visit, but i think for this menu that we are getting at 30 bucks, its a very reasonable and worthwhile deal, many thanks to Tetsu, Food Junction and Pris for supporting me in organising this event.

There will be more of LIC afterthoughts on this food event, please watch out for the next post!

Tetsu
163 Tanglin Road
#03-18 Tanglin Mall
Tel: 6836 3112

Tetsu Japanese Restaurant is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

Tetsu, opening its doors at Tanglin Mall on January 17, 2008, pride themselves in serving Kushi-Tempura and Kushi-Katsu. Their concept is based on a “LIVE” preparation in front of you by their chefs, who have intensive training in their Japanese Headquarters.

The first impression upon stepping into Tetsu is really nice decorations. Contemporary yet not too modernize till the extend of losing the authentic Japanese feel. Chic furnishings like the curtains, and decors in the restaurant. The whole place exudes an elegant feel with its classy and clean look.

Tetsu certainly does not fits the bill with association to Food Junction, your local food courts isn’t it? But the truth is, Tetsu is actually owned and operate by Food Junction. Surprise surprise, i was quite astonished by this fact when i first heard of it. But i am pleased Food Junction is finally making full use to leverage on its experience and connections in the Food & Beverage Industry, to provide us the consumers with a wider variety of choices to dine at.

The counter bars in Tetsu are specially designed in such a way that diners can seat in close proximity to the chef, who will prepared their feast up for them, well its not just the stomach feast alone, there’s the visual feast right before you.

I was invited by Miss Pris Yap, who’s the consultant for Tetsu for a food tasting session. Here i will like to put disclaimer first, the review written herein will not be influence simply because this is a food tasting session. Whatever written herein is the Frank and Honest opinions of my friend and i who went to Tetsu for the occasion.

We had the assurance from Miss Yap that they will seek our honest opinion to improve Tetsu, and that every visit to Tetsu will be the same, the food will not look or taste specially good just because this is a food tasting event.

My secret food partner joins me for Tetsu, and she’s a lover of Japanese food, so the review will be a combination of what both of us felt about the meal.

There’s also a VIP room which u can actually make a reservation to book it if you have a certain number of guests, around 10 at least if i’m not wrong.

At Tetsu, there are affordable set lunches from the Jubako, Katsu, Tempura,Sakana (fish) which are in the 20s to 30s price range. I’ll say the set meals are definitely value-for-money.

There is also the designer Kaiseki sets available. Kaiseki is an 5 course set, made up of 4 seasonal appetizers, designer salad, premium kushi-style main course, imported udon from Japan, and dessert at a mere $35. Of course there are more expensive options of the Kaiseki sets going at $45 and $55.

A wide range of Sake, Shoju, and wine are also available to go along with the food. We didn’t had any Sake because it was still early in the afternoon. Perhaps next time!

Salmon Carpaccio ($18)

For appetizer to start off our meal at Tetsu, we had the Salmon Carpaccio with french dressing. Carpaccio originated from Italy, and its usually slices of beef, tuna, or veal traditionally thinly sliced or pounded thin, with olive oil or vinaigrette drizzled over it.

We’ll preferred the carpaccio to be slice thinner, the thick and generous slices of the carpaccio at Tetsu is almost akin to sashimi portions. For people who like sashimi, they will probably have mixed feelings for this dish because usually sashimi lovers like the clean and fresh taste of the fish, and its raw texture on its own, but for this salmon, it has a french dressing on it.

Nonetheless, the Salmon Carpaccio is quite fresh, and with the current Citibank promotion, receive this as a complimentary with a minimum spending of $50.

The Salmon Carpaccio is an interesting take on fusion japanese & italian appetizer (although this is done with french dressing). The french dressing helps to balances the richness of the salmon with the complex sweet and sour taste of the dressing, the contrast between the taste is definitely appealing.

Roll sushi 6 Pieces ($18)

The roll sushi is covered with crunchy sesame seeds, but on the other end the sushis can actually can get quite dry. My friend thought that if the roll sushi comes with some sauce it will be perfect.

Traditionally sushi rolls are supposed to be eaten in one mouthful by putting the whole sushi inside. But the sushi here is a tad too big, so we couldn’t really fit it into our mouth.

Apparently it has salmon and scallops inside, though when mixed together the scallops taste can’t really be felt. The blend of crunchy sesame seeds and tobiko makes its quite yummy though. However at $18 for 6 pieces, it is considered rather expensive. Have this if you have the extra budget to spend on A la carte.

Onsentamago Tofu Salad ($13.50)

Onsen Tamago is hot spring egg. The eggs here are cooked slowly in hot water, so the whites are still soft while the yolks just slightly cooked. Blended together with tofu and sesame sauce, the combination offers a very refreshing approach to the normal salad.

The salad is served by mixing the egg together with the greens and tofu. A good appetizer if you are like us, prefer runny eggs.

Thats all for our A la carte starters, just to recap, we had the Salmon Carpaccio, the roll sushi and the Onsentamago Tofu Salad. All these three appetizers are ordered from the A la carte menu and are not in the set meals which are coming up next.

Rosu Katsu Set ($24.50)

The Rosu Katsu (Pork Loin) set is the actual main course that we are having for our lunch. There are two options for the Katsu set, you can choose from either the Rosu Katsu (pork loin) or the Hire Katsu (fillet katsu). Pork loin is fatter than fillet katsu in nature, which makes it more tender than Hire Katsu.

Another interesting point to note, besides the usual sauce that comes with the Katsu, Tetsu provides an alternative, the curry powder to go along with the pork loin. The curry powder is another option if you are sick of the usual sauce, however the powder here is quite on the salty side, so just dipped into it slightly.

The katsu is specially imported from Japan, lightly fried to produce a crust that is light but yet double the thickness of the usual katsu. The meat is marinated for 3 days to ensure its tasty and succulent texture.

Famed for their Katsu, the Kushi-age style (skewered with breaded batter) certainly lives up to expectations. The breaded style of the katsu is really good, the panko crumbs on it is very light which gives it a melt-in-your-mouth feel.

Furthermore, the katsu here has a generous cut, unlike some restaurants which cut the pork into very thin slices. At $24.50, the Rosu Katsu set is really a steal, definitely good value for money!

Fresh greens

The fresh greens are the appetizer which comes along with the Katsu set. Basically its a run of the mill salad with japanese sesame salad dressing, ordinary but yummy.

My partner likes the dressing for its slightly tangy but yet salty taste, and the texture of the sauce is creamy. But for me, i’m more of a fan for oily italian salad dressings, so this salad didn’t quite work out for me.

Kaiseki Set Course B ($45)

The Kaiseki Dinner course B comes with assorted 4 on a palatte as its appetizer, stick vegetable, Crab sukiyaki for the paper pot, with tempura as the main, and udon or rich, served with a dessert.

The main difference between course A ($35) and B ($45) is 10 bucks, with the addition of the Crab Sukiyaki. And the differiential between B ($45) and C ($55) is that C has an addition tuna carpaccio.

For our main course in the Kaiseki set B, the tempura is done kushi-tem style (tempura). It comes with six tempura, prawn, salmon, pork, beef, scallop and vegetables.

Tetsu is being known for its Katsu and Tempura aspects, and to tell the truth, we found the tempura to be quite a disappointment as we had expected better things from them. Right, the prawn was a bit small, not fat enough for a tempura, we didn’t get the “kick”from eating the prawn.

The Salmon (beside the prawn) was done better than the appetizer in the course.

My partner love the fresh air-flown scallop from Japan.

The seasonal vegetables are zuchinni and okra which my partner found it to be all right, but i didn’t like my vegetables to do it in this way, i prefer them green!

The pork and beef were quite average too. One thing that my partner concluded was if the mains are done in Kushi-age (breaded) rather than the one we had Kushi-tem (tempura), we felt that it will be definitely be better.

We felt that the tempura batter had nice texture, but it wasn’t seasoned enough, so it was quite tasteless for us. Nevertheless the batter is very light, not that oily and it didn’t leave any oily aftertaste that mediocre tempuras do.

The only reason we can conclude for the disappointment in the Tempura is because we had such high hopes for them, so even they are quite good, but they didn’t come out as well as we are expecting. You should try the Kushi-age (breaded) for this main!

Assorted 4 on palette

This is the appetizer for the course B. One thing that i liked about the starters in Tetsu course meal is that they are changed regularly because the chef will always pick the freshest ingredient for the current season.

The appetizer is suppose to comes in the different flavors, sweet, salty, and sour. Specially designed to tantalize your taste buds and “prepared” them for the main course.

I like the zesty chicken too which comes with orange and lemon flavour to provide the sour-ish taste.

My partner didn’t like the Salmon teriyaki, she preferred the tamago and prawn which helps to the sweet flavoring of the salmon.

Cod is done with miso, to give the salty flavor.

Stick vegetables

The Stick Vegetables also comes part of the Kaiseki set B. Its just your normal vegetables, but it comes with a soy-bean like sauce.

Kani-Suki (Crab Sukiyaki)

The prelude to the main, there’s the snow crab legs which are filled with snowy sweet white meat. However we lamented the fact that there is only two crab legs.

The Japanese straw mushroom is always nice in sukiyaki. And the soup base here is nicer than the other sukiyaki we tried before. It tasted sweet but not excessively so till its artificial.

Inaniwa Udon (warm)

The Inaniwa Udon is also imported from Japan. but the warm udon had a nice soup base so it’s good for rainy days.

Inaniwa Udon (cold) ($6.80)

The udon is not the fat kind, and its sort of flat like ipoh hor fun, nice and slippery! One of the udon comes with the Kaiseki set, and we ordered another one to try both the cold and hot udon.

Banana Tempura & Ice ($7.80)

In our frank opinion, the banana tempura is a ripped-off. For two pieces of banana tempura, we can get better ones at the hawker center at 50 cents each. Certainly not worth the price tag of $7.80!

Kisetsu ice & Warabimochi Monaka ($7.80)

This dessert fares slightly better than the Banana tempura. The combination of the Japanese Mochi with one scoop of normal vanilla ice cream is quite good, but still not worth the hefty price that comes along with it.

Kokonatsu Milk Purin ($5.80)

We concluded that the Kokonatsu milk purin, or coconut pudding is the best among the three desserts. This pudding is something new to us, not your usual run of the mill Japanese dessert which you commonly find in Singapore Japanese restaurants even though its supposed to be a classic Japanese dessert.

Coconut flavor wasnt that strong, we like the sublet flavor! hmm it was really pudding not creamy so i dont really like it
The coconut pudding is good to try for novelty, and it comes with the Kaiseki course set anyway, so there’s no need to order additional dessert.

Tetsu is certainly a nice place to try if you are looking for Japanese food. The set meals are really value-for-money, and the Kaisekis course meals, although heavier in price tag, but they provide more in variety and quality also. We felt that if its two person going to Tetsu, you can either order two set meals, or order one Kaisekis Course meals, and something from the A la carte menu.

The reasonable and affordable pricing at Tetsu means that you will no longer need to spend a bomb for your favourite Japanese food anymore. Tetsu offers a really chic environment, quite unlike your traditional Japanese restaurant. Its an excellent place to either bring a date for her cravings of Japanese food, or a group of friends where you can chill out with the selections of Sake, Shoju, and wine.

My secret food partner and i, plus Miss Yap had a great afternoon enjoying and discussing about Japanese food, restaurants, and some off-topic conservations. We were so full from the meal! My thanks to Miss Yap for inviting us to a wonderful lunch experience at Tetsu.

And one other thing which I noticed, when we went in during 12 noon on a Monday afternoon, there wasn’t much people in the restaurant. But when the clock ticks towards two, the crowd starts coming in already. So you will be fine if you go during normal lunch hour, but still better to make a reservation.

I’ll certainly revisit Tetsu to try out their other stuff, maybe i will have the Kaisekis done in Kushi-age style (breaded) the next time! Tetsu’s at Tanglin Mall level 3, and remember to use your Citicard to get the free Salmon Carpaccio!

All in all, the Katsu is excellent! Its really a must-try if you visit Tetsu. The other fame of Tetsu, their Tempura leaves more to be desired, we felt that their Kushi-age style is better than the Kushi-Tem style. Nevertheless, the Kaisekis course meals are still value for quality. The desserts area is the part which i felt Tetsu must really improve on if i were to go back for a revisit. Being a big fan of any dessert, i must have a nice dessert after every meal. And the desserts selection there can’t quite make it for now.

Tetsu
163 Tanglin Road
#03-18 Tanglin Mall
Tel: 6836 3112

” Singapore’s First LIVE Kushi-style Tonkatsu & Tempura restaurant “