Tenmasa, Macau - Tempura All The Way

Sitting at the tempura counter at Tenmasa, Macau

This is why I shouldn't (and tend not to) take junkets* - this meal was from my Macau trip to which the City of Dreams very kindly invited me back in July May (that is how awful I am).

Tenmasa serves a range of Japanese cuisines but its main focus is tempura, and appropriately, we were seated at the tempura counter.

I went all out and chose the Hibiki "deluxe tempura set", which, aside from an appetiser, sushi, sashimi and dessert, had 8 pieces of tempura. Let's make one thing clear - no matter how much you love tempura, or fried food in general, there is such thing as too much tempura, especially when your dining companion is G, who never eats a single crumb more than his stomach tells him to.

Fresh shiitake and uni wrapped in seaweed

I couldn't get very good photos of all the tempura, so I won't post them all here, but of course, the uni was a highlight. I kind of wished I had some rice and something cold/cooler to go with it, although honestly, I could not have fit more food into me.

Vegetable and prawn tempura "cake"

The final tempura was a killer. Just that alone and a bowl of rice would have been enough for a regular meal.

Kuzukiri

Alas we also had dessert - kuzukiri (kuzu (aka Japanese arrowroot) starch noodles with black sugar dip). A much needed cold and refreshing end to the meal. The black sugar dip was light and well-balanced. One of the few "traditional" Japanese desserts that is to my taste. (Normally there's lots of red bean, of which I'm not a huge fan - I know, I know, I'm not a good Asian).

Petit fours

And of course, petit fours and a tiny wedge of honeydew that is the stuff of all honeydew dreams, directly from Japan.

Tenmasa delivers a good experience, but don't go overboard like I did with the ordering (the grease does get to you, no matter how airy and light each piece seems), but do stick to the tempura, it's what they do best.

* I paid for none of these meals, but I asked (and was granted permission, thank you CoD) to book and go anonymously, which is the way some restaurant guides work - take from that what you will - so it's good enough for greedy ol' me.

Tenmasa
11/F, Altira Macau,
Avenida de Kwong Tung
Taipa
Macau
+853 8803 6611
Lunch & dinner Tue-Sun