Ginza Tendon Itsuki (Tanjong Pagar)

Working in the Tanjong Pagar area? Congratulations! This might be the only reason you’ll look forward to going to work? Visited Grilled Fish Keisuke — the latest concept from the Keisuke Group, where fire meets flavour and fish gets its glow-up! We had the Salmon Shiokoji Yaki Ikura Set $31.90 — tender, savoury, and crowned with ikura pearls of joy. The Gindara Misozuke $28.90 was buttery, miso-marinated black cod that simply melts in your mouth! And the Maguro Kama $24.90 was smoky, juicy tuna collar that is super satisfying! And the best part? You get to play flavour scientist with free-flow condiments like mentaiko ika, pickles, seaweed and much more! I had so much fun making my own mini handroll with the free flow seaweed! Dont forget to grab a bowl of rice [free flow rice] with your favourite ingredients, pour in their Kyoto-style dashi broth to unlock the ultimate comforting ochazuke!

I ordered the Toro Saba Shioyaki Set and really enjoyed it! The fish was perfectly grilled, and I loved that the meal came with a tempura egg. It was also great that they let you choose between multigrain or white rice. I paired mine with their Kyoto dashi soup and seaweed to make ochazuke, and it was so comforting. The variety of condiments added fun touches to the meal too. The space felt cozy and welcoming, and the staff were attentive and genuinely friendly, which made the experience even better. Overall, a satisfying and memorable meal.

Food was generous portion and nicely presented. Observed a long queue whenever I walked past and very luckily managed to get a table for 2 at the counter yesterday when we turned up early for dinner around 615pm. Pleasantly surprised with the appetiser chawanmushi, soup and mini rice. Tendon was huge I could barely finish it! I noticed the chefs double frying to perfection. The spicy sauce is the real deal that spices up the tendon to the next level. Open frying so be prepared to smell like fried food after dinner 😂

Tried the special tendon set which comes with miso soup and chawanmushi and free flow of sides. It’s basically just deep fried chicken, prawn and a variety of vegetables (corn, long beans, sweet potato) drizzled with teriyaki sauce. Value for money.

Walked in at 2pm and were seated immediately. We were totally stuffed. Food was good. Docking a star because the place smelt/felt greasy given how small it was + the open kitchen.

Food is delicious. We loved the tendon, it's savoury, well marinated and crispy. Seating is limited. There is complimentary pickles, and one of them came with small chunk of beef. Each set also served with chawanmushi and miso soup. Price is reasonable. Will be back.

Fantastic food! All the don bowls have amazing taste! The batter is deliciously thick and crunchy and everything can be made right in front of you! I’m not going to say so much , you can go there and let the food speak for itself!😋😋

Generous servings of tendon and the batter was pretty good. Overall good experience here but seems like they are closing soon. So do visit them before they close in nov.

The tempura rice bowls here are truly epic. They come packed to the brim and they're so delicious!! They don't let you share so each person has to order their own bowl...come hungry! I do remember service being quite slow. But this was our 2nd or 3rd meal of the day (before lunch lol) so we needed all the time we could get to digest. We also came on a weekday and got there right before they opened so there was no line.

Arrived 11:45am on a Wednesday and there was already a queue of 8 in front of me. The restaurant was already full. It seems that this is typical since there are stools along the building's outside wall for waiting patrons. They will take your order while you're waiting though to make it more efficient. Menu had only two options - one veg and one mixed tendon set. I heard someone in line say they don't take reservations either. Arrive early if you don't want to be disappointed. Once we were seated the pre-ordered food arrive shortly afterwards. The mixed tendon sets we ordered were huge! Two chicken breast strips, a couple of prawn & mixed veg tempura. I thought the bowl could've used a little more sauce and fortunately there was a bottle of it on the table to add until your heart's content. Help yourself to the pickled cabbage too while you're at it. These set lunches will surely make the rest of your afternoon go by very slowly.

The outlet is another Japanese restaurant by Ramen Keisuke.One could smell the strong sesame oil even before stepping into the outlet. The kitchen hood exhaust system did not seem to work. Ventilation was poor. There is only 2 choices on the menu : Special Tendon ($13.90) or Vegetable Tendon ($12.90). It was a 20 minute wait before being showed to a counter seat. Help yourself to the iced water while waiting. Special TENDON (Tempura on Rice) ($13.90++) 2 pieces of prawn, 2 pieces of chicken, half-boiled egg, 4 pieces of vegetables (long beans, pumpkin, Shimeji mushrooms) Served with chawamushi, miso soup, and complimentary pickled vegetables. The tempura was not as crispy and light as I preferred, especially for the chicken tempura which I felt was a bit dry and tough. Not wonder the female sitting next to me, requested it to be replaced with eggplant tempura which looked much better. One really stunk very badly after eating a meal in there.

I should have trusted yelp instead on Google for review ratings! The Long lines outside the store and its relations to Keisuke had misled my expectations. But most of all i was lured by the tempura onsen egg (which by the way, was indeed my favourite tempura). Service was mediocre after you were seated. I must commend though, for having enough seats for 20 people in line, managing an orderly line, providing tea for the waiting customers, and taking orders while you were in line so your food is ready when you get seated! The lady who handles the line brings you to your seats but don't bother asking her if drinks and food fail to arrive. We promptly got the Chawanmushi but only my sister got her tendon, while 3 other dudes who got sat later got their tendon before me! I notified the lady but she jut shrugged and left. Later on the same thing happened to my miso soup and she also ignored me. The helpful people are the cooks and the other waiter. There are only about 20 seats, most of them are on the counter with one or two tables that fits 5 or 6 people. I enjoyed the counter seats so I could see the chefs frying and plating the tendon. The plating is very intricate - the rice fills the bottom of the bowl, the tempera egg sits in the middle, the shrimp and vegetables are layered on top and the two chicken fillets are inserted like fans into the bowl. So the main reason why I gave it a poor rating because the batter was too thick and dense. The ingredients were fresh but not very flavourful. We got the special don. The saving grace is the tempura sauce and tempura egg, runny on the inside and great to flavour the rice.. drizzle tempura sauce all over your tempura! This is the last time I will visit this place. Hopefully the other Keisuke ramen stores will be better!

I think this place is a 3.5 stars so I'm glad there is already a 3 star review. My 4 star will balance it right out to 3.5. Passed by Tendon a bunch of times and always marveled at the ridiculous queue of folks waiting outside around the corner. I'm always amazed at the patience of Singaporeans to queue extensively for good food. Walked by today and saw there were only 2 people in line and jumped at the opportunity to try Tendon. Their operations are very efficient, a cashier takes your order while in queue and you're seated as folks clear out. Food is ready within minutes of sitting. There's only 2 choices - Special or Vegetable. Each set comes with miso soup and the chawanmushi steamed egg appetizer. I was surprised at the quantity of food, it's a LOT, and I have a voracious appetite. Left very full. Everything was tasty. The tempura was a bit soggy as the other reviewer mentioned but not horrible. I'd come back, only if there is no queue.

No Perfect Ten For This Don. For months we had wanted to try this little Japanese restaurant at the corner of Tanjong Pagar. A peep in reveals a small restaurant with mostly counter seating. How much more Authentic Japanese can it get? The queue here is pretty crazy though. Every time we walked pass, there were at least 20 people in the queue. Don't expect an extensive menu at Tendon though. A brainchild of the Ramen Keisuke Group (which we do happen to like their Ramen quite a fair bit), the concept is simple. 2 choices (Special or Vegetarian) of rice topped with a tempura, drizzled with their speciality sauce, served with a mini chawanmushi and miso soup, all for $13.90 ($12.90 for the vegetarian option). Finally having a day off for from work, we decided to try it for dinner. Arriving at 6pm, there were already 5 groups ahead of us (they open at 5.30pm for dinner). While queueing, it did suddenly hit me . What if the queues we saw were because of its value for money and because it was good? Unfortunately, it was the former. Special Tendon Set. There's no denying the generosity of each set. Each set starts of with a mini chawanmushi and free flow of vegetables (it's placed in a little container on the table). The Don (rice bowl) itself came with a generous amount of tempura. 2 chicken fillets, 2 prawns, 2 pieces of string beans, a baby corn, a mushroom, a pumpkin and a soft egg that's been battered and fried (10 pieces, maybe that's where the name tendon came from). The Vegetarian option comes with a pumpkin, Shiitake Mushroom, Lotus Root, Eggplant and other vegetables (4 pieces). While the chawanmushi was good, the rice was decent and sauce complimenting the dish well, the star of the show, the tempura was a bit of a let down. Unfortunately, it was more a case of quantity over quality. While the vegetables were nicely battered, we felt that the proteins were too heavily battered. Not only that, but, due to the speed that food is required to be churned out, the Tempuras weren't given time to rest, making the flour fairly soggy when it reached the table (this could be seen because the cooking was done in front of us while we were waiting for food). Out from the fryer, onto a drip pan, but before it really gets any time to rest and drain, it gets picked up and goes straight into the waiting rice bowl, drizzled with their house sauce and served to us. Sad because the quality of the produce used was pretty decent. The chicken fillets were tender, the prawns were sweet, just that it was all masked under a thick soggy batter. So if you're looking for value than Tendon is the place to be but if you're looking to fulfill your craving for beautifully battered, crispy tempura? We'll suggest other Japanese restaurants to satisfy your craving. For the time being, I'll be sticking to the Ramens from Keisuke instead.

I had high hopes for this place because I'm a huge fan of the ramen just next to Tendon at Orchid Hotel, and the Keisuke chain in general. Unfortunately this was quite an average meal, nothing really special about this tempura joint, and I don't think I'll be back. The good thing is that the portions are generous, the chawanmushi is decent, the interior is well decorated and cosy. It's a decent cheap eat in the area. The bad -The tempura batter itself was nothing special and was quite heavy. They don't have the special tempura sauce for dipping too, and instead drizzle a heavier, saltier sauce onto them directly. I definitely prefer being able to dip as much as I wish. -As previous reviewers mentioned, the ventilation is poor and I emerged with my hair and dress smelling of oil...worse than the aftermath of Korean BBQ. There are only a few tables besides the counter seats, so I guess the smell comes from the close proximity. -My friend's order of hot green tea cost $3 and was non refillable. If I'm in the area next time I'd probably get a steaming bowl of delicious ramen at Orchid Hotel or some Korean at the Superstar branches nearby, or cafe fare at duxton.

If you're only looking for grease, food was actually okay. Though given they only did one thing - it needed to be better. Also, the overall treatment and attitude wasn't what we needed to end the day with, or at any given time for that matter. Check out Takeda Shoten, literally about 3 doors down. Best service x Value on the street for a Japanese fix so far. Reasonable happy hour too.

I confirmed with a Japanese friend that this is the correct style of this type of tempura. Yeah it will be thick batter and the sauce you can add on rather than dipping. Yeah you're gonna feel oily with the oily ventilation. Hmm we really enjoyed it to be honest but we waited 15 min?

Not sure what the hype is about. I found my bowl of tendon average and greasy. With countless tendon options out there now, doubt I will return.

Unreal how people always queue here regardless or day, time and weather. Your typical overhyped tempura place. Can't understand where the hype comes from--is it a tour book advertisement? Anyway, better off getting fried chicken from any KFC place down the street.