Tempura Makino’s First Outlet Outside Japan – in Suntec City

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 Interior – Booth/Counter Seats

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)

Housepour Cold Sake – Tomioh Gin No Tsukasa Junmai Daiginjo

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! 💕

Get out of Tanuki Raw by 21:15hrs, ok?

Tanuki Raw honestly needs no introduction… Happy Hour from 5-8PM daily; their drinks aren’t anything to shout about, & I only order them because they are a prerequisite to get the happy hour bites.

Plate of 12 Oysters (max-ed out our limit with 2 drinks)

Oysters at $2++ a pop (which is half off the usual price of $4++ a piece) if you order a drink (max 6 oysters per drink); these were well-shucked & delightfully creamy to my preference.

5 slices of salmon sashimi for $7++ (limited to 5 slices aka 1 set per drink); I can’t eat raw fish so I can’t say much, only that they look fairly thick – but my dining partner said these were okay.

Lobster Salad & Salmon Bao at $5++ a piece. Again, didn’t try this but here’s a pic for reference.

Tanuki Raw’s Truffle Yakiniku ($19++) hasn’t changed much over the years – decently delicious, an average sized portion. However, quite disappointing to see that our request to serve the onsen egg (of another bowl, not in picture) separately was not taken seriously. It was indeed in a separate bowl, but had egg white remnants on the beef slices. If the diner requested for this & had an actual egg allergy.. 🤔

But wait, there’s more! That wasn’t the ultimate turn off during this particular visit. Get this – we were reminded FIVE times from 20:53 – 21:12hrs that we had to leave by 21:15hrs, as that was when they were closing.

We had already been informed of this upon arrival at 19:53hrs. Reminding us once would be acceptable but 5 times in 20 mins? Especially when you can clearly see we were in very intense conversation throughout dinner? How rude.

However, let me try to make the most out of this occurrence. I interpret this ferverent frequency of reminders as a reflection of how important this is to them.. So here’s me doing my part & making a public service announcement: To all who dine here, GTFO by 9:15PM, alright?

Our waiter was in such a hurry to clear our table that he spilled food back on the table in his haste to do so, & didn’t clear it up properly. Omg, punctuality is really so important at this outlet.

“You all are the last ones here already,” he barked at us, & even rapped on our table with his knuckles to bring his point across. Ok… Can.

What a way to make your customers feel so welcomed. Not sure if any other diners had experienced this before, but I certainly hope not.

💳 Accepts credit cards
🌬 Air-conditioned seats available
☀ Al fresco seats available
📱 Accepts GrabPay
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Only seats the group when all are present
💦 Water is not chargeable

Ah Li Mee Pok – Japanese Fusion Bak Chor Mee

My all-time favourite bak chor mee (BCM) is the one served by Ah Li Mee Pok. A disclaimer: This isn’t your regular BCM. It’s an elevated, fusion type of BCM that still retains some local elements of traditional BCM.

I’ve been patronizing them for years; on weekdays, the lines get snakingly long by the time 12PM rolls around. I’m always here early to beat the crowd.

Anti-clockwise from top left:

Bombdiggity soup for 4 pax
Shoyu Mee Pok ($6.40 nett)
Mushroom Minced Meat Noodles ($4.40 nett)
Special Mee Pok ($4.40 nett)

I love their Mushroom Minced Meat Noodles/BCM because:

It’s affordable!
It’s flavourful & delicious. Texture of the noodle is good; vinegar, chilli & sauce live in umami harmony.
They are super generous with ingredients – sliced pork, pork balls, minced pork, abalone, & pork lard. I find that I finish my noodles way before I’m done with the ingredients. So rare!
Their soup is THE BOMB, actually has a delicious umami taste. There is a pleasant kind of sweetness that maybe is from clams or prawns or some kind of seafood?

During this #circuitbreaker period, they accept online orders for self-collection & delivery. By default, you pay for a packaging fee of $0.20 per bowl. To my surprise, I received a refund of my packaging fee ($0.80 total) with a kind note explaining why – it’s because I brought my own clean containers. Very appreciated!

Ordering online is simple; & you can indicate your preferences before adding to cart:

Noodles – Mee Pok/Mee Kia/Kuay Teow
Style – Dry/Soup
Chilli Level – Yes/Less/No (their chilli isn’t very spicy)
Vinegar Level – Yes/Less/No

If you’re opting for the dry variant, do indicate that you’d like to takeaway the soup as well. You really can’t miss out the soup, trust me on that.

Special Mee Pok (background) & Bak Chor Mee (foreground)

For variety’s sake, my family ordered a Special Mee Pok just to try it out. Unfortunately, it was comparatively disappointing & fell quite flat. The sauce wasn’t as tasty & there wasn’t a lot of it so the dish was pretty dry. The only plus point was the prawn as an ingredient… Which I can do without.

Will stick to my usual favourite next time. To me, the star dish really is their Mushroom Minced Meat Noodles.

Eat at Seven’s Udon Kamon – Scrumptious Fusion Udon

Udon has grown on me in recent years – especially when I’m craving for something carby. The new menu at Eat At Seven’s Udon Kamon is right up my alley, with hawker-inspired udon dishes.

Local twists on high quality udon

Walking that fine balance with the innovativeness of local cuisine, yet staying true to its Japanese roots, diners have 3 specialty dishes to indulge in:

Dark Sauce Dry Udon

The Dark Sauce Dry Udon ($10.80++) has such a simple name that doesn’t fully capture how delicious it is. This was a hot favourite amongst everyone at the table, quite closely following its inspiration of KL chilli ban mee.

The spicy & sweet dark sauce coats the udon very well. With ingredients like with minced pork, crispy anchovies, vegetables & half an ajitsuke tamago – dare I say this is a pretty dang balanced dish!

Ipoh Style Chicken Udon

The Ipoh Style Chicken Udon ($10.80++) is my personal favourite, subtly reminiscent of Ipoh-style hor fun. Imagine their signature sanuki udon in a delicious soy-based gravy that is light on the palate & fragrant, with plump mushrooms providing that earthy flavour, & juicy texture. The silky smooth sliced chicken thigh is steamed with ginger & Japanese leek, & thereafter drizzled with light soy sauce & black sesame oil.

Are you salivating already? The multi-dimensional layers of flavours are why this was my favourite dish of the night 😍

Truffle Beef Ying Yang Udon

Last but certainly not least, tantilize your tastebuds & noses with the Truffle Beef Ying Yang Udon ($15.80++). The sauce, made from XO sauce, truffle & bean paste, is umami & thick though not overwhelming. The truffle smell is pretty strong though 😉

I didn’t expect the interesting double-texture of the udon noodles to work so well. Half of the udon is flattened & fried such that it is slightly crispy, even after soaking in the sauce for a while.

Thanks @alhsx for the invite & Brand Cellar + Udon Kamon for the hospitality! 💕

💳 Accepts credit cards
🌬 Air-conditioned seats only
🖥 Accepts reservations on Chope & Quandoo

Akimitsu’s Signature Tendon with Such Fresh Tempura

Tucked in a rather inconspicuous corner of Westgate, I discovered Akimitsu while surfing Burpple. Ordered their Signature Tendon ($14.90++); it comes with a side of miso soup, tiny chawanmushi (which they forgot about until I asked them about it) & free flow pickled radish.

My Tendon arrived teeming with tempura on top, which seems to be the norm no matter where I dine. Finished the rice way before the ingredients, so I had to deal with the carb-less oiliness on its own towards the end.

Oiliness notwithstanding, I liked how fresh the ingredients were & how they weren’t overcooked. In particular, the prawn & the white fish – still moist inside, & didn’t taste like the ocean. The squid wasn’t rubbery, either.

The variety of vegetables you get in this is also impressive: Shiitake mushroom, carrot, french bean, young corn, eggplant, nori, pumpkin, … Dang.

I’d intended to have a simple dinner, but it evolved into this. No regrets, though!

💳 Accepts credit cards
🌬 Air-conditioned seats only
📶 Free WiFi available (Westgate is a Capitaland mall)
🍽 Earn rebates with JFH membership
💦 Water is not chargeable

Yuzu Tsukemen at Afuri

Afuri‘s specialty is yuzu ramen – they have all sorts, but I chose the Yuzu Tsukemen ($15.90++), the dipping ramen, which a friend had highly raved about earlier. Obviously, because this is dipping ramen, don’t expect it to be piping hot like a soupy ramen is. Please hor.

Pick up some noodles with your chopsticks, dunk it in the sauce, & slurp. As I slurped on my noodles, I felt pleased with my good judgement. The citrus flavour from the yuzu adds a refreshing twist to the savoury sauce.

It doesn’t look like it in this photo, but the dipping sauce is plentiful. You won’t run out, nor will you want to finish it all because this isn’t a soup & it is too salty on its own to drink. Being a non-fan of Japan (haven’t been there in >15 years), I can’t say for sure how authentic this is. But I can tell you I definitely enjoyed it.

The pork chunks had little layers of fat on it, but I still felt the meat was a bit too dry for my liking. Thankfully, it wasn’t overly tough to chew, so I finished it all. The other ingredients – half a boiled egg (with a nicely runny yolk in the middle!) & bamboo shoots, were in good proportion with respect to the ramen noodles.

💳 Accepts credit cards
🌬 Air-conditioned seats only
📱 Accepts FavePay
🍽️ Earn points with your J Passport membership
📶 Free WiFi (Funan is a CapitaLand Mall)
💦 Water is not chargeable

Good Deal But Inattentive Service at Deli’s Kitchen

Came to Deli’s Kitchen with the intention of using Burpple Beyond (we were an odd-numbered group, which made it a bit awkward 😜), but we spied a Chope value meal promotion menu tucked away in the corner… & asked about it.

We ended up opting for the 2-course Beef set meal ($12.35 nett) on ChopeDeals. There is an Unagi-equivalent option of a set meal ($14.71 nett), but beef >> unagi forever.

How ChopeDeals works: Purchase your voucher online, make a reservation on Chope (we skipped this step but they said it’s ok), dine at the outlet & redeem your voucher. It can be a printed or electronic voucher – I do the latter because #gogreen.

Their a la carte menu is crazy extensive, but it isn’t priced as affordably as the ChopeDeals set menu, which is redeemable daily from 11:00AM – 8:45PM (essentially all day erriday). However, if you swipe Burpple Beyond, the prices aren’t as steep. So I’d go for that if the ChopeDeals don’t tickle your fancy.

Takoyaki were good – bear in mind you only get 2 per set, & they serve the entire table’s order in 1 bowl

The ChopeDeals beef set meal comes with a main – choose from the Wagyu Hamburg Steak Set, or the Roast Beef Don (100g). The other course in question is an appetizer of 2 takoyakis, which were pretty nicely done – served warm, with chunks of seafood inside.

The Roast Beef Don itself was not too shabby; it was in good proportion & mostly cooked well. The onsen egg on top was perfectly ooozy runny, & the beef was yummy, thinly sliced & tender. The rice was very ordinary – plain, & too sticky for my preference, but I did finish it all, together with the beef & egg.

The downside to dining here – service is quite dismal. We waited a long while to get seated, & also served. Our food was served without utensils & even though most of the crowd had dispersed by then, it took a long time to actually get utensils… So much that we got up to walk to the next table to grab their (unused) utensils.

So that was pretty off-putting. If they can improve on the service, that would be very beneficial to the overall experience.

Also another pet peeve of mine: Don’t freaking label your WiFi as “[Insert Name] Guest” when it’s meant for your POS & not public use. Nothing like WiFi misrepresentation to cheese me off, ESPECIALLY when my phone/data connection is already crummy in the premises. A simple renaming would save your staff & diners a lot of unnecessary enquiries & explanations. But that’s just my own pet peeve (or is it yours too?).

💷 Cash/NETS only
📱 Accepts GrabPay & FavePay
🖥 Accepts reservations on Chope
🍽 Burpple Beyond partner
📶 Pretend free WiFi (actually cannot use one)

DIY Japanese Pancakes at a Cosy Okonomiyaki Joint

Won a prize from a Kiss 92 contest – vouchers to Ajiya Okonomiyaki. Great reason to check them out, having passed by many times but never stepped in.

Inside Ajiya Okononiyaki – a couple of counter seats

You can order 3 kinds of Okonomiyaki here – Seafood Deluxe ($16+), Meat Lovers ($15+), Veggie Delight ($13+). For each one, you can choose 3 ingredients from the list –

SEAFOOD: Prawns, squid, scallop, crabmeat, tobiko
MEAT: Bacon, belly pork, smoked duck, ham, cheese
VEGGIE: Shiitake, spinach, kimchi, grilled onions, capsicum

If you want a mixed combo, you can look to the Ajiya’s Combo ($16+) as an option, where you can pick 3 ingredients across all categories.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes) are served!

You get 10% off you DIY your own Okonomiyaki – presumably only possible if you sit where the hot plates are. I sat at the booth seats so I missed out; I can imagine it’d be pretty fun.

The waitstaff cook your pancakes for you, unless you request otherwise

I like how Ajiya’s okonomiyaki isn’t crazy oily, & it’s cooked nice & firm. The sauce, mayonnaise, seaweed flakes & bonito flakes are all self-service from bottles/containers at the table. Being able to control this to cater to personal preference is a value-add as well.

While this isn’t something I’d rave about or crave, I don’t think there are many Okonomiyaki places in Singapore, so this might be worth checking out. It’s fairly crowded on weekends, with customers sometimes having to wait a while for a table. My vouchers were not valid during Fri/Sat/Sun dinner hours – maybe that’s when it’s even MORE crowded?

Pro-tip: Don’t order 1 okonomiyaki per pax; save space for the other dishes on the menu! I enjoyed the appetizers & sides more than the okonomiyaki, actually. Good variety & freshly cooked, served piping hot or cold as it should be.

APPETIZERS
Century Egg Kani Tofu ($7+)

SIDES
Chawanmushi ($4+)
Homemade Gyōza ($7+)
Shio Koji Tori Karaage ($12+)

RICE/NOODLES
Garlic Fried Rice with Prawns ($6+)
Hiyashi Chuka Ramen ($12+)

💳 Accepts credit cards
🌬 Air-conditioned seats only
📞 Accepts reservations – I called them
🙋🏻‍♀️ Service charge applicable
🚫 No GST
📶 Free WiFi available