Tenya Tendon is my all-time favorite Tendon restaurant in Singapore, and for good reason too! Hailing from Tokyo, it claims to be Japan’s No.1 Tendon chain restaurant and has 4 outlets in Singapore. I visited its outlet at ION Orchard.
Tenya has an extensive menu, offering dishes from its signature Tendon (or Tempura rice bowl) to Tempura soba/udon, which you can order in cold or hot versions, and sides such as Edamame and Tamago Yaki. I ordered the Tenya Tendon set ($9.90), which includes tempura prawn, fish, squid, pumpkin, and French beans, along with miso soup. I also got a Hokkigai (surf clam) salad ($2.50) and green tea ($2).
I could smell the sweet and fragrant aroma of the tendon when it arrived. It was drizzled with sweet tempura sauce and was mouth-watering. I couldn’t wait to dig in. I first took a bite of the prawn, and it was delicious. The crunchiness of the tempura batter was superb, and the prawn was fresh, succulent, and sweet. The pumpkin was crispy and sweet, but my favorite item on the bowl was the French beans. They were crunchy and had a natural sweetness coming from the beans. They were also juicy, and I felt they could be eaten on their own without the tempura sauce. They were that good!
This compared to my experience at Akimitsu, another Tendon restaurant from Tokyo. My gripe with them is their batter, which was thick and felt heavy, making the meal hard to eat. Tenya’s batter just blows Akimitsu out of the water.
The surf clam salad came as a cold salad and was very refreshing. The surf clams were sweet and had a chewy and bouncy texture that I liked. I could also taste a little bit of spiciness in the salad, which made me guess they added some wasabi to it. It went well with the surf clam though.
My overall experience at Tenya Tendon was pleasant. The food was delicious, and the service was fast and prompt. I’d like to note that the dining duration is limited to one hour, and one might need to queue for a while during peak hours when it’s busy. However, it’s the best tendon in Singapore in my opinion, and I wouldn’t mind dining with them again!
Ratings:
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Ambience: 6/10
Tenya Tendon
2 Orchard Turn B4-56 ION Orchard, 238801
Opening hours: Daily from 11am – 10pm
