The Place Located at level two of The St. Regis Singapore, Tentsuru is a tempura centric Japanese Omakase restaurant in Singapore which has been opened for slightly over a year. It took over the space of what used to be LaBrezza, right beside the swimming pool of the Marriott Bonvoy property. 

There are not many tempura focused Omakase restaurants in Singapore, and I really like the space of Tentsuru from its entrance to the interior of the space. It feels very Japanese, and that feels right. The restaurant is helmed by Master Chef Daiki Kawaguchi who has years of culinary experience at tempura restaurants in Japan, Bangkok and Singapore, as well as in Kaiseki cuisine. 

The main dining section is a counter seating layout where the best seats are in the middle row where you get a good view of the frying action. Regardless of where you sit, you still get an up-close view of the chefs at work. 

There is also a smaller private room, similar counter seating layout, which is perfect for group dining. 

The Food Most ingredients are air-flown from Japan, where Master Chef Daiki Kawaguchi presents elegant seasonal dishes that bring out the maximum umami. The restaurant does lunch and dinner Omakase menus, where lunch is at S$120++ or S$240++ per person, while dinner is at S$280++ or S$400++ per person.

The main difference in the menu is the number of premium ingredients served, which include the likes of seasonal Snow Crab tempura, Wagyu beef tempura or Sea Urchin tempura. 

The good news is that Tentsuru will soon be added to Millennium Hotels & Resorts “Á La Carte Rewards” programme so members can enjoy 10% dining rebates and other perks depending on your membership tier. While the restaurant is located within The St. Regis Singapore, it is considered a tenant restaurant of the hotel and is not part of Marriott Bonvoy dining concepts.

My meal started with an Assorted Appetiser of Crabmeat and Ikura, Black Cod with radish, Gingko nuts, and dry Persimmon with Ebi. I like the variety of appetisers showcased here, and it is all quite light in flavour to prepare the palate ahead for the series of tempura courses. 

Next up was a Salad course to refresh the palate before the series of tempura dishes – a combination of radish and mullet roe. 

For the main tempura courses, there are four types of condiments served to go along with the tempura – Plum, Yuzu pepper, Curry salt and Okinawan Sea salt. 

The Tempura here at Tentsuru are classified into three categories on the menu – Seafood, Vegetables, and Premium Items. Here are some of the tempura dishes you can expect: 

Prawn – Nice crisp texture of the prawn body where the crispy prawn head is served separately as well. I love how the batter is so light and it does not taste greasy at all. 

Kisu Fish – a rather chunky fish fried to a very light-yellow texture. You can still taste the freshness of the fish. 

Sea Urchin – it is first wrapped in a thin sheet before being fried. The Uni texture is luscious and is wrapped very nicely in the thin tempura sheet. Paired with soy sauce and wasabi, this tempura is perfectly amazing. 

Snow Crab – this goes well with the salt of tempura sauce. A huge chunky part of the snow crab leg, it has a nice thin layer of batter coated on the crab. Fried to a perfect texture, it retains the natural sweetness of the crab meat. 

Wagyu Beef – The A5 Miyazaki sirloin is topped with black truffles and comes in three cubes. Every bite of the Wagyu beef coated in tempura batter is so succulent, yet it does not come across as too heavy even with the fried tempura batter. The meat is very flavourful, and this is easily my favourite tempura course here. 

The last savoury course is a tempura rice dish, where you get to choose between the Tendon served with Miso Soup & Pickles; or Tencha served with Pickles. 

If you already feel like you have too much fried stuff, the Tencha might suit the palate better at this point. However, I still prefer the Tendon where the tempura is fried to a beautiful golden-brown texture, along with tempura sauce in the rice which makes it very delicious. 

Dessert is a wafer of Mont Blanc and caramel ice cream topped with chestnut. It is a nice crispy texture of the wafer where I swear the whole dining room was awakened by the crisp sound as I munched into it. 

Rants You get less glimpse of the frying action if you are not seated near the frying pan. Not that it matters much, but if you are very particular about food photography or videography, it makes a difference.  

Will I Return Again? I love tempura and Tentsuru is a must try restaurant for a good tempura Omakase dining experience in Singapore. The minimalist and zen dining ambience also make me feel like I am in Japan. Go for the lunch set which offers a better value. 

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 4.5/5
Ambience: 4/5
Overall Experience: 4/5

Tentsuru 
The St. Regis Singapore 
29 Tanglin Road  
Singapore 247911 
Tel: +65 8113 3612 

Opening Hours 
Tuesday to Sunday: 
Lunch: 12pm to 2:30pm (Last order 2pm) 
Dinner: 6pm to 10:30pm (Last order 9pm) 
Closed on Monday 
 
Ranted by The Ranter