Not gonna lie, this has to be one of the best places for tempura I've ever been.
You know, it's funny how we often think we've experienced the bestest of the best when it comes to food, but then one day we find ourselves in a place discovering yet still another.
I'd thought I'd already been eating the best of tempura.
But then I had dinner here at Tempura Makino in Suntec City one evening, and I got pretty much blown away.
It wasn't because they were (exclusively) branded or expensive- none of that sort- they are in fact also a chain- but there's something about them, and their menu that interests me, and I'm sure, a good number of other patrons in their restaurants too.
The dishes we ordered that evening where you need same-day air-flown freshness, or require the skillful knife skills of a master but it did require a good control of the stove fire, a balanced dexterity when slapping the food into the tempura mixture, and a good wield of ladle.
One of the dishes we ordered this evening was soft shelled crab.
And it was one of the largest ones I'd ever seen.
Best part of this crab was that it didn't come served twisted in some awkward shape as some places- even popular ones- are wont to do.
Instead it came looking like one full piece, as if it had been freshly caught, killed, dipped into the flour, deep fried and served.
I must admit, it was great fun attempting to pinch off the different parts of the crab with my chopsticks.
Even the big ones didn't deter me.
I just munched my way through them.
-If there's one thing that does stick out for me about this meal, it is that their batter tastes better than any of the others I've previously had.
No kidding, seriously.
I didn't know that tempura batter could taste this good, like it had the right amount of chew (as in the thickness of the batter), it had the crunch, a little, like tempura bits, and best of all, a taste of salty and savory with a very, very faint hint of sweet.
You can't taste the sweet, literally, but there's definitely the salty and the savory.
It didn't matter what it was you ordered.
It might have been the vegetables.
It might have been the chicken.
Or even the prawn.
Whatever you ordered, they all would taste as great, and the same.
I should know-
We ordered a serving of chicken, as well as a donburi bowl.
The chicken surprised us- not just by the batter, but also the size.
Maybe we have been too used to being offered skinny pieces of chicken breast meat,
But theirs here was a filet of breast that was tender, soft, and, together with the batter, granted us a most wonderful combination of taste and texture of chicken breast as much as this usually bland poultry part can be.
Then of course there was the donburi bowl.
I wish I could tell you exactly what came in the bowl, but I'm afraid I wasn't paying sufficient attention, and so all I can tell you is that there were vegetables, there were prawns, and maybe another chicken or two.
With the bowl being shared, I got most of the vegetables, as usual, and I loved them all.
There was the pumpkin, there was the eggplant, then there was also, I think, seaweed or lettuce or cauliflower or something.
I remember the latter (whatever it was) to be very crunchy.
And I loved how the eggplant came sliced in a way that resembled that of a beautifully opened paper fan.
We all know that nothing beats a satisfying meal at the end of a workday, and I'm really glad I came to this one.
Now I know where I can go if I want delicious, affordable tempura, and with this meal at Tempura Makino, chances are I probably won't be making any orders of tempura next time at places beyond.
They're good enough for me.