Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant

Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant
6 Raffles Boulevard
#03-129 Marina Square

https://tenkaichi.com.sg/

Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant Signage

Mid-Range Japanese Barbecue, Go For The Wagyu

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 4
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 6
Value for Money: 6
Spent about SGD $65 per person.


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Established in July 2013, Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant is a premium Japanese barbecue and grill buffet restaurant, specialising in wagyu beef. If you like wagyu beef, then Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant is among the most value-for-money dining options in Singapore, else, there is little reason to visit. Personally, I don't think I will return.

Ambience at Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant was a disappointment for me. Not so much the dim, warm lighting and sparse, cushioned wooden furniture that is closely packed. Rather, the tables and cutlery aren't completely cleaned, and hygiene matters are a basic requirement for a restaurant. There is also a slight lingering cooking odour which will cling to your clothes.

Service at Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant is decent. Staff are friendly, and display good product knowledge, able to advise on the menu options. They regularly come around during the meal to clear away finished plates, freeing up your table space. They're also efficient when serving orders from the ala-carte buffet menu, but you'll have to self-serve from the ready-to-eat buffet line.

Food at Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant is focused on Japanese cuisine, in particular, barbecue and grill, with a speciality in wagyu beef. Freshness and quality of ingredients is hit-and-miss, the premium ingredients are usually good in quality, but the cheaper ingredients can be dodgy. As a buffet, portions are unlimited. Prices are upper mid-range, but expensive in terms of value for money, as the quality is inconsistent. Budget about SGD $65 per person for a meal here.


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Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant Exterior

Tenkaichi Japanese BBQ Restaurant Interior

Buffet Prices

Menu

Ready-To-Eat Display

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

Table Setting

Sauces & Food Tongs

Chopstick Rest

There are a variety of drinks you can self-serve, such as Lemonade. However, I note staff don't top up drinks in the dispenser when they run out, so you'll likely have to switch drinks depending on availability.

Lemonade

The ready-to-eat buffet line helps whet the appetite, but don't fill up on it. Sampled the Ready-To-Eat - Yakitori, Gyoza, Ebi Fry, Kaki Fry, Tamago, Chuka Hotate, Tako Wasabi. Of these, the tako wasabi with its diced octopus chunks marinated in wasabi was refreshing, with its tangy sweet savoury earthy herbal flavour. Was disappointed by the overly salty gyoza pork dumpling. Horrified by the kaki fry, the oyster likely wasn't defrosted properly, with an intense foul taste; I spat it out.

Ready-To-Eat - Yakitori, Gyoza, Ebi Fry, Kaki Fry, Tamago, Chuka Hotate, Tako Wasabi

Ready-To-Eat - Yakitori, Gyoza, Ebi Fry, Kaki Fry, Tamago, Chuka Hotate, Tako Wasabi

The Wagyu Yuuke Sashimi is nice, with strips of tender juicy wagyu beef, marinated in egg and sesame seeds. Mix everything, and enjoy the silky texture with savoury eggy sweet nutty flavours. Good!

Wagyu Yuuke Sashimi

The Assorted Vegetables Raw - Shiitake Mushroom, Carrot, Pumpkin, Green Bell Pepper, Golden Mushroom help to complete a meal, with their juicy, crunchy, tender textures, and earthy vegetal sweet flavours. Of these, the green bell pepper / capsicum is particularly nice when grilled. The shiitake mushrooms take a longer time to grill, but are worth the wait for the aromatic smoky fragrance infused within.

Assorted Vegetables Raw - Shiitake Mushroom, Carrot, Pumpkin, Green Bell Pepper, Golden Mushroom

Assorted Vegetables Grilling - Shiitake Mushroom, Carrot, Pumpkin, Green Bell Pepper, Golden Mushroom

The Ika, Shake, Hotate Raw features fresh seafood. The ika / squid is the most straightforward, with a bouncy crunchy texture and delicate sweet savoury flavour, and I suggest pairing this with the dipping sauces. The shake / salmon fish fillets grill quickly, tend to stick, and also dry out fast, not that great. The best is the hotate / scallops, with their bouncy, juicy texture, and light sweet savoury flavour. So good we went for 3 rounds. Great value for money too. Would highly recommend the scallops.

Ika, Shake, Hotate Raw

Hotate Raw

Shake Grilling

Ika Grilling

Hotate Grilling

The Kurobuta Karubi Raw and Tontoro Raw both look visually promising, yet were a let-down. Despite the tender crunchy fatty texture, the main problem is the kurobuta karubi / black pork belly and tontoro / pork jowl / pork cheek have a strong, unpleasant gamey taste, which is distracting. Skip this.

Kurobuta Karubi Raw

Tontoro Raw

Kurobuta Karubi Grilling

Kurobuta Karubi Grilling

Tontoro Grilling

Of the Tori Momo & Tebasaki Raw, my suggestion is to skip both, as they are the least value for money. But if you want, the tori momo / chicken breast is pretty good, as the medium-thick chunks are tender and moist, with good savoury sweet flavour. However, the tebasaki / chicken wings are too large, not defrosted properly, and occupy copious amounts of grill space, with a lengthy grilling duration to boot. Even when done, the chicken wings are dry and not very tasty.

Tori Momo & Tebasaki Raw

Tori Momo & Tebasaki Grilling

Tori Momo & Tebasaki Grilling

Loved the Wagyu Tan Raw, with the thinly sliced wagyu beef tan / beef tongue having a tender crunchy texture, with a light savoury meaty peppery flavour. Grills really fast too, so it's best to start with this. Love it so much, we got 4 servings of this. Highly recommended!

Wagyu Tan Raw

Wagyu Tan Grilling

The Wagyu Karubi, Wagyu Rosu, Wagyu Nakaochi Raw are the highlights here. The wagyu beef karubi / beef short rib is tender with good marbling, and a good depth of savoury meaty flavour. The wagyu beef rosu / beef rib eye cap has a meaty chew, with a bold savoury salty flavour. The wagyu beef nakaochi / beef intercostal is basically diced beef cubes, with a bouncy chew that is so satisfiying. The Wagyu Beef & Pork Patty Raw is loosely formed, and tends to fall apart on the grill easily, but is still tasty.

Wagyu Karubi, Wagyu Rosu, Wagyu Nakaochi Raw

Wagyu Karubi, Wagyu Rosu, Wagyu Nakaochi Raw

Wagyu Beef & Pork Patty Raw

Wagyu Karubi Grilling, Wagyu Beef & Pork Patty Grilling

Wagyu Rosu Grilling

Wagyu Nakaochi Grilling

They offer Ben & Jerry's ice cream here, and it's a good dessert to complete a meal. I got the Salted Caramel Blondie & Super Fudge Chunk flavours. The Salted Caramel Blondie has a sweet cream ice cream, laced with a salted caramel swirl, and blonde brownie cake. The Super Fudge Chunk has a chocolate ice cream, studded with white chocolate chunks, dark chocolate chunks, milk chocolate coated almonds, pecans, and walnuts. Good!

Salted Caramel Blondie & Super Fudge Chunk

Salted Caramel Blondie & Super Fudge Chunk

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