A well-established tempura specialty chain in Japan, Tempura Makino, has come to our shores! Conveniently located at #02-305/308/311 of Suntec City’s West Wing, it’s near Donki (if you need a landmark) & nearer to Esplanade than Promenade MRT.
Within the premises, there are options to dine at booth or counter seats – if you’re seated at the latter, you get a good view of chef freshly preparing made-to-order tempura.
Tempura Makino’s style of tempura is right up my alley. As you can see, the batter is light & crispy. Really appreciate how it’s not dripping (or even soggy – eeks) in oil. They even have Mochi Ice Cream Tempura ($4.80++/piece)!? There are 2 flavour options: Strawberry/Matcha. Mochi gives this dessert a chewy texture, alongside the ice cream which is creamy & takes a while to melt. While I don’t have a sweet tooth, hence am undecided if I’d order this again, this gets plus points for novelty.
I am a MASSIVE lover of eggs, & their Tempura Egg ($2.50++/pc) me greatly 😂 After seeing Jamie’s Instagram stories & hearing her rave about it, I must say it lived up to my expectations. I enjoyed every slurpy bit of it & could totally eat this on its own to savour the creaminess of the yolk. But I found myself pairing it together with the other tempura we had & enjoying it more that way.
Speaking of creamy – know what else is creamy? These Tempura Oysters ($3.80++/pc)! They were absolutely bursting in my mouth.. & I was shocked when Jamie revealed these are priced so affordably. IMHO they tasted & felt more lux than that. Will definitely order this again the next time I’m here.
Special shoutout goes to the noods, which are available in cold/hot options – we picked cold for both.
I loved how silky smooth the Inaniwa Udon ($7.80++) is, & enjoyed the Soba ($6.80++) that I nicked from Evan. Both are good for sure, & it probably is a matter of preference as both of us had a different favourite carb choice.
Wash down your meal with some refreshing ice cold draft beer – I had a pint of Asahi Super Dry ($13.80++/pint, $8.80++/half-pint)…
… Or pair it with their housepour sake:
❄ [Cold] Tomioh Gin No Tsukasa Junmai Daiginjo ($48++/300ml, $30++/180ml)
🔥 [Hot] Hakushika Nadajikomi ($30++/300ml, $20++/180ml)
🍶 They also have other sake bottles available for the discerning ones (i.e. not me)
Other tempura items on their food menu include:
➡ Prawn & Vegetable Tempura ($16++): A nice platter of Prawns (3 pieces), Eggplant, Maitake (mushroom), Butternut Pumpkin, French Bean, Lotus Root
➡ Chicken Fillet ($5.80++/plate): I’m not a huge fan of chicken tempura, but this is one of the better ones out there. The chicken was juicy & thankfully not dry
➡ Mentai Seaweed ($6.80++/plate): A heaping amount of mentai in this one – personally too overwhelming for me, but A+ for generosity! Probably best eaten with rice to balance out the salty flavours. Seaweed remains crispy alongside the light tempura batter 👌🏻
➡ Asparagus ($2.80++/piece): My favourite veggie tempura of them all – well executed, with a lovely crunch to the bite. There’s an Asparagus with Bacon ($4.80++/plate) option as well, for the porky lovers. I’d imagine that’d add a nice savoury touch to the Taste of Green.
➡ Okinawan Mozuku Seaweed ($5.80++/plate): No this is not hair LOL. It’s quite a sight to behold, also delightfully crunchy, & I think this is where the light batter really shines. I can’t imagine this being enjoyable in a thicker batter & dripping in oil. I loved chowing down on this goodness with the tempura egg 😉
Thanks Jamie/EN Group for the invite & hospitality! 💕
Bui Bui Eats 