Burnaby now has all-tempura restaurant and I’m one happy eater, although it will make things tougher when deciding where to eat in Brentwood.
Tendon Kohaku, a Singapore-based chain focused on Japanese tempura dishes has opened on Rosser Street, just north of Lougheed in the Brentwood neighbourhood.
I checked it out on Labour Day and the lineup was 25 people or more.
Since I’m obsessed with seafood, I started with a sashimi salad that had a really fine sesame dressing.
For my main, I got a seafood tempura bowl loaded with squid, fish, prawns, plus seaweed tempura. The coating was light and yet crispy, and full of flavour.
I then finished the meal off with their signature strawberry cheesecake, which comes in a bowl and is more like a mousse than a cake. It’s so incredibly light.
Tempura is one of the increasingly popular branches of Japanese fast-casual food. Earlier this year, the Japanese tempura franchise Hannosuke opened its first location in Vancouver.
In addition to their multiple locations in Singapore, Tendon Kohaku operates in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Their strategy is to begin by promoting Japanese-style tempura rice bowls, featuring Japanese rice, signature sauces, and freshly fried ingredients, and to elevate the popularity of the dish globally. The brand launched in 2016.
According to a global franchising portal site, the name “Kohaku” means “amber” and "like an amber gem shining mysterious with plant inclusions, fresh ingredients are dipped in the golden batter and fried to an amber perfection to satisfy their customer’s palates."
Tendon Kohaku's signature dish is tiger prawn, chicken breast, shiitake mushroom, crabstick, squid, baby corn, green beans and pumpkin, all tempura fried, and served on rice with your choice of regular or spicy house sauce.
The food scene is really heating up in Brentwood. The area’s mall, the Amazing Brentwood, has opened its Tables food court, which will have 19 restaurants when finished.
The Haidilao hot pot company is also going to be moving into the mall, as well as a variety of other restaurants such as Gram pancakes. The mall also saw the recent opening of OEB, an all-day breakfast place, plus a Basil Box.
- With additional reporting by Lindsay William-Ross
