RJ and I made a date to try Kohaku's tendon which is receiving much hype. We really enjoyed the tendon at Tenichi when we were in Kyoto and wanted to see if we could find a tendon that was as good. Ser decided to join us for the tendon!!
We heard that a long queue forms up outside Kohaku during meal times and so I planned to reach the place earlier and kickstart the queuing. On this Friday evening, I left work on the dot to reach Kohaku at 6pm. And there was no queue yet! But I couldn't enter because my friends had not arrived.
Because I was so 'gan cheong', I joined the queue at 6-ish so that I could be at the front of the queue when the girls arrived at 7.30. At about 6.20pm, a short queue started to form and the queue swung into full force at about 7pm. On hindsight, I should have just joined the queue at 7pm because the girls arrived at 7.40-7.50pm. And even though I knew they would reach at 7plus, close to 2 hours of queuing really got to me. I was Very Grouchy from 7.30pm onwards. I couldn't really blame them because they were at work and I was the itchy back*ide who started queuing at 6-ish,but I just couldn't control my angst. And so our meal started on an awkward note.
The menu at Kohaku is straight forward, veggie bowl, kohaku bowl in spicy and non spicy versions. You can choose to get them ala carte or in a set that comes with a mini udon. I took the spicy Kohaku version in a set and a Suntory Premium Malt. The malt was really quite yummy btw.
The udon came first and it was really good! Ok, the pictures today are really bad, and I have no excuses!
The udon was chewy smooth and retained this texture even sitting for a while in hot soup. *Clap clap* The soup was nice, hot and light. Good udon!
Arrival of the Tendon!
The tempura in the bowl was just so overflowing - 2 prawns, 1 pretty thick sotong, 1 shitake mushrooms, 2 in 1 long bean, 1 slice of pumpkin, 1 piece crabmeat, 1 thick slab of juicy chicken, soft fluffy rice from Niigata topped with sweet and spicy sauce. The ingredients were all fresh and I could taste each item's flavour past the batter. I especially liked the sotong, chicken and prawns, though I would prefer it if the sauce was less sweet.
The batter was just slightly crispy and seasoned, but after a while it felt abit thick and slightly too greasy for me since I'm not a fried food fan. The yuzu flavoured daikon which I really loved, helped to balance out the grease.
In summary, Kohaku serves a satisfying Tendon with a load of tempura, though it could get a little heavy and greasy!
Tempura Kohaku
Eat @ 7, 3 Temasek Boulevard
Suntec City Mall #03-311
(S) 038983
