Ippoh Tempura Bar by Ginza Ippoh

My first time tasting sperm sac, I was a little hesitant to take a bite initially, but I'm glad I did. I was baffled at how the chef managed to fry it till it's a crispy golden brown on the outside, yet kept the sperm sac so magically creamy and soft, almost like melted cheese. A word of caution though, when you bite into this because it was piping hot! Mmm, definitely a yes for me. ⁣⁣⁣⁣

Paid Ippoh a visit over the festive season for their lunch set and I like the fact that every piece was individually fried, allowing the chef to control the various elements. The tempuras here are done Osaka style, which was what earned this tempura specialist their popularity throughout Japan. The pacing though, felt a little rushed to me as the chef was constantly monitoring me to gauge when to cook the next piece, a necessary measure, i understand, but a little intimidating with the constant gaze. Their lunch sets are pretty pocket friendly given the quality of their ingredients! I got the Ume set, which comprises of:⁣
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1. Assorted Appetizer (Trio of Chef's Special)⁣
2. 11 Pieces of Tempura (2 Prawns, 3 Seafood, 4 Vegetables, Shrimp Toast, Sea Urchin Tempura with Caviar)⁣
3. Kakiage (Served with Rice or Cold Somen Noodles)⁣
4. Ice Cream⁣
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My condiments consist of a slice of lemon, salt, a bowl of dashi and grated radish, with the chef recommending which to pair with after he is done frying and place it in front of you. Albeit a couple of hit and misses, the meal was overall good.

Another noteworthy mention is the Tempura Shrimp Toast, which was utterly crispy with that golden brown colour and a thin layer of oil glistening away. The bite resembles the texture of fish cake and was definitely umami filled! Add on these dishes in your meal if they are not included in your set! ⁣⁣⁣

Some tempuras were spectacular, like the Sea Urchin Tempura with Caviar. Boy, the ingredients alone were enough to sweep me off my feet. Luxury at its best, the uni and scoop of caviar were laid beautifully atop the seaweed tempura. The crispy and savoury tempura paired beautifully with the sweet and oceanic flavours given off by the seafood. ⁣⁣⁣

Dinner omakase is priced from $100++ to $200++). Our dinner here is off to a great start with this Japanese tofu infused with the nutty, aromatic taste of sesame. It's served with ichiban dashi and soy sauce, topped with Bafun uni from Hokkaido, and freshly grated wasabi from Shizuoka.
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Then our dinner got even better when we progressed to the tempura courses. How is anything else be better than uni? After all, this is Ippoh, Osaka’s oldest premium tempura restaurant. Ippoh at Osaka has been loved for over 150 years with its heritage Osaka-style tempura, while Ippoh Tempura Bar by Ginza Ippoh at COMO Dempsey is their first Southeast Asian outpost.
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I've many good things to say about their tempura. Till the next ig post :) Meanwhile, can watch the ig stories under my highlights "Ippoh Tempura".
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H O S T E D
Above are the #SameSameButDifferent pieces of Osaka-style tempura I had.
The first is a triangle of Camembert cheese that’s basically been reduced to molten creaminess after it was coated in batter and dropped into boiling hot safflower oil.
The second is Shirako or sperm sac that’s also gone through the same preparation steps. If you have ever eaten this, you’ll know it is innately creamy. So with the intense heat from being tempura-ed, it got even more liquid-y. But I feel it managed to hold on to its structure just a wee bit stronger, which is more than what I can say about the cheese 😆

The bottom line though is I enjoyed both immensely and would order them again without hesitation.