Tempura Bar

Loved the tendon. Recommended

Learnt about the new Tempura Bar which had just recently opened its doors at SingPost Centre — Tempura Bar takes over the former premises of the now-defunct Aji Ichi that used to occupy the space. Strategically located right beside the outlet of ASTONS Specialities there, Aji Ichi was a concept that was brought by the folks of Astons Group; this remains the same with Tempura Bar — apart from Tempura Bar, Aji Ichi and ASTONS Specialties, the Astons Group also runs other F&B concepts such as ANDES by ASTONS, Chic-a-boo, East Treasure Chinese Restaurant / Specialty Prawn Noodle, BIZEN Okayama Wagyu Steakhouse and The Ranch Steakhouse & Bar. The space has seen a bit of a revamp now that it is occupied by Tempura Bar from its days being Aji-Ichi; the shop now sees a more open-concept design where one can actually have a good view of the restaurant even whilst standing outside the restaurant — Tempura Bar also features furniture and fittings in a darker shade of wood and in a more yellow-ish and dimmer lighting as compared to Aji Ichi. There is also a wall where a shelf containing a wide variety of alcohol is stocked — all with a prominent placement of the price tags that suggests that the alcohol is available for retail. Whilst Aji Ichi was more focused in serving Donburi, Sushi and Sashimi dishes, it seems that Tempura Bar is more focused on tempura and tendon-related items — the menu features categories dedicated to Signature (think items that are more canapé-like to start the meal with), Tendon, Don, Kids, Tempura aka Carte, Kakiage, Sashimi, Noodle, and dessert). For drinks, Tempura Bar offers non-alcoholic beverages as well as alcoholic ones; non-alcoholic selections include bubble tea and soft drinks.

Since Tempura Bar is pretty much a tempura-centric establishment, it was needless to say that we would not be leaving Tempura Bar without having tried their tempura / Tendon items during the visit we had made there. Amongst all the Tempura-based Don items on the menu, the Chicken Fillet Tendon was the item that seemed to stand out considering its price and what one would be getting for the item itself. The Chicken Fillet Tendon is listed at $10.30++ on its menu; the menu also mentions that the Chicken Fillet Tendon consists of elements such as Chicken fillet, broccolini, butternut pumpkin, Shimeji mushroom, french bean, tempura egg Koshihikari premium rice. All items from the “Don” section of the menu at Tempura Bar also comes with a bowl of miso soup, as well a side dish on the side; the side dish that was served on the day of our visit being something similar to a Japanese Okra Salad. Going straight for the Chicken Fillet Tendon, we did feel that this was a pretty substantially-sized dish — there mere fact that the Don came with two pieces of tempura chicken fillet meant that it was especially filling for us at the least. That being said, we did like how the tempura batter was seemingly on point here; it is light and airy — while in no way as well-executed as the ones from Tenjin which we really love, this was much better than what some other commercially-owned eateries churn out. The batter was crisp and not particularly greasy; all that whilst coming with a good portion of rice that didn’t make the dish too overwhelming considering the number of fried items it features.

Each tempura item carried a different texture to the Tendon; the chicken fillet retained its moisture and did not require much effort to chew through — almost akin to a chicken tender, while the broccolini provided a good crunch. Meanwhile, the Shimeiji mushrooms provide a good bounce and chew with a lightly earthy note, while the butternut pumpkin slice came with a good bite and a soft sweetness for some flavour contrast. Despite not coming with a tempura poached egg, we would still like to commend them on the effort placed in serving up a tempura sunny-side-up; perhaps even a first for Tendon / tempura-specialty shops in the local dining scene — there were bits of the tempura batter clinging onto the sunny-side-up that was as light and airy as the same that comes with the other fried elements without being greasy. That being said, we it came with a molten egg yolk with a creamy texture that oozes as one pokes it with the chopsticks — very well-executed despite something that they gave their own twist to. The rice and tempura pieces are also drenched in a Japanese sweet-savoury sauce; there was ample sauce that gave the Koshihikari Premium Rice beneath flavour and moisture that made it easy to have. Overall, the execution of the Chicken Fillet Tendon was something that exceeded what we have thought for the price range — definitely one that we would have not associated with the Astons Group especially since their focus has always been on their Western fare. Whilst this isn’t the best Tendon that we have had, this was a pleasant Tendon that surpasses that of being just average — something that is pretty surprising when the Tendons here generally are priced below $15++ (the only exception being the Signature Tendon Soba (Half and Half), which comes with rice and soba). We also managed to try the Buta Kakuni Donburi, which came with braised pork belly that does not require much effort to chew apart; melt-in-the-mouth whilst having absorbed a sweet note from the braising process. Hopefully Tempura Bar is able to keep to such quality of food as time goes past; this does seem like a good start for the brand, and we do see ourselves returning if they remain consistently good or even better in the future!