The Place Chef Naing, with many years of experience in Japanese Yakiniku, was trained in Ginza’s high-end Yakiniku restaurant, Jojoen, before setting up Tenkaichi two years ago. Located at the nondescript Keypoint mall along Beach Road, Tenkaichi specialises in Wagyu Beef Yakiniku BBQ, available in buffet and à la carte. Initially, I was skeptical of the restaurant from its outlook as the overall decor gave me a rather makeshift feeling – probably our main gripe with the restaurant.

There is currently a SG50 promotion at Tenkaichi – Premium BBQ Buffet with free flow wagyu beef at $50.00+ (weekdays) and $55.00+ (weekends) instead of the usual price of $99.80+, and will last only 1 month till 5th April.

The Food Tenkaichi offers 2 buffet package for diners, Deluxe Buffet ($39.80 Monday to Thursday & $44.80 for Friday to Sunday & Public Holiday) and their Premium Wagyu Beef Buffet ($64.80 Monday to Thursday & $69.80 for Friday to Sunday & Public Holiday). While both offers you a variety of options (from Beef to Pork to Seafood options for the BBQ), the premium selections gives you free flow Wagyu Beef cuts and offers quality seafood such as Maguro Sashimi and Hotate for the grills!

tRP went for the Premium option during our visit, and of course, we went straight ahead to order a serving each of the wagyu beef (Wagyu Karubi, Wagyu Rosu, Wagyu Nakaochi Karubi and Wagyu Tan). We must give credit to Tenkaichi for the freshness and tenderness of the meats, definitely one of the most satisfying Yakiniku we had in Singapore for the price!

Tenkaichi also serve up seafood selections including fresh prawns, squid, salmon and for their fans – ShiShamo (better known as the pregnant fish). Well marinated, and as with all buffet, please do eat to your hearts content!

Slight drawback of Tenkaichi is the electronic grills, love the traditional charcoals better. There are also no ventilation installed, so be prepared to smell a little after your dinner!

A key highlight of going for the premium buffet would definitely be the Wagyu Beef Sashimi – Wagyu Tataki (top left), Wagyu Beef Sashimi (top right) and Wagyu Beef Yukke (below). Wagyu Tataki has the lightly grilled taste, while the Sashimi would give you the taste of the fresh Wagyu Beef at its best. What I would recommend you though is the Yukke – tbh, this is tRP’s first beef sashimi and while it took us some hesitant moments before dipping into it, we give thumbs up to this and you should give it a try too!

The usual sashimi and tempura are all on offer at Tenkaichi. And while it’s a buffet, the quality has not been compromised much.

Rants It’s not at all a pretentious place. But Tenkaichi may come across as a little too shabby for a restaurant commanding a $50-per-head meal. We also heard that there are plans to move to a new location in 2015, so let’s hope Tenkaichi doll up their new location well!

Will I return again? If you are looking for a decent Japanese Yakiniku, then Tenkaichi should be on your list of go-to restaurants. The meats are fresh, service sincere, offering value for money options for both Deluxe and Premium Wagyu Beef Buffet.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 2/5
Overall Experience: 3.5/5

Tenkaichi Japanese Restaurant
371 Beach Road, City Gate (Keypoint)
#01-18/19, Singapore 19959                 
Tel: +65 6293 4498

Daily:
Lunch 11:30am – 2.30pm (last order 2.00pm)
Dinner 6.00pm – 10.30pm (last order 10.00pm)