About 90% of Tempura restaurants in Singapore serve Vannaemai Shrimps which are often injected with saline to plum up its size. At Tenya, we use only black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), a close cousin to the famous Japanese Kuruma Ebi. Striped like its jungle namesake, the black tiger shrimp is available year-round and is one of Asia’s major aquaculture products. Most tiger shrimps are farmed, though a significant amount are harvested from the wild by trawlers working mud bottoms from very shallow water to depths beyond 300 feet.

The shrimps are naturally raised in mangrove forests. By maintaining a functional ecosystem of the mangrove forests and its aquatic species; using the natural environment of the surrounding forest and its habitat, the farming of these shrimps ensures that they are free from external stress and are more resilient and less vulnerable to disease. Managed by Japanese aquaculture experts, our shrimps are procured from sustainable sources and are natural and free from any adulterations.

One of the key ingredients at Tenya is its Tempura flour. The light and fine texture of the flour makes our tempura both crispy and delectable . The secret of this light texture comes from its blend of meticulously selected wheat. 

Tenya’s Tempura flour is from Nisshin Seifun Group, the No. 1 producer of flour in Japan. Made from our special blend and secret recipe at Nisshin Foods’ plant in Gunma prefecture, the raw materials are strictly controlled through a highly elaborate process ensuring the quality of the wheat while maintaining its consistency. The quality of our Tempura flour is both stable and of the highest standard. Unlike other major Tempura flours, Tenya’s Tempura flour do not use food and artificial coloring. 

Nisshin Foods’ plant in Gunma prefecture attained the food safety system certificate “FSSC22000” for its food safety and strict controls of raw materials.

Reference:
https://www.nisshin.com/english/company/group/foods.html

Tenya’s Tendon Tare was developed together with a traditional soy sauce maker “Kinoene Shoyu” which was established in 1830. The essence of our sauce comes from its exquisite and flavorful taste made specially for a restaurant renounce for its quality and value. 

Soy sauce used in our Tare is produced in Noda city of Chiba prefecture, a famous production area famous for its high-quality soy sauce and known for its excellent hue, taste and flavor. 

Dashi (base) used in the sauce is made with bonito flake from Kagoshima Prefecture and from Yaizu city; both are famous for their strong, natural taste and rich flavor respectively. The dashi also contains dried sardines produced in the Kyushu region and is renounce for its clear and clean flavor. The secret to making good Dashi, lies with strict temperature control  and the production timing  to achieve the best condition.   

The soy sauce and Dashi are blended carefully to maximize Umami (savoriness), and to achieve a stable degree of density or viscosity. Product colour and glaze are also of utmost importance.

Our Tare has perfect viscosity. When poured over Tendon, the sauce slowly penetrates into Tempura and rice, while barely making its way the bottom of the bowl. The appetizing bronze-brownish color glows beautifully over Tempura. 

Another feature is its sweetness achieved through the careful blending of sugar, liquid sugar and glucose. The sweetness is mild and do not over-power the taste of the Tempura. 

The secret of our Tare sauce is grilled eel essence. The combination of both soy sauce and grilled eel essence stimulate our olfaction and gustation when mixed with Tempura. This make our tare an indispensable part of Tenya’s Tendon.

Reference:
https://kinoene.com/story/

Tenya’s rice select is cultivated and harvested at the northern most region of Honshu, in the Prefecture of Aomori. Aomori is also famous for its apples and the environment is also perfect for rice production. Aomori rice is grown and harvested from May to October when  sunlight exposure is the best. This strengthens the rice and the photosynthesis process enriches nutrients in each grain. When cooked, the grains appear glossy white and each grain maintains its uniformity and integrity on shape and size.

The Masshigura rice is characterized by its firm texture, low viscosity and possess a clean rich taste – a perfect pairing with our signature Dontare sauce. When hot rice fills our bowls, moderate amount of steam can be seen raising from the bowl;  sauce is added and it flows through the Tempura to the rice beneath. This process quickly ensures the right balance of sight, smell and taste in every bowl we serve.

Reference:
https://www.umai-aomori.com/products/rice/masshigura/

Yagenbori is an old and traditional spice company which roots can be traced back to the Edo era in 1625. The Yagenbori- blended togarashi was widely popular during the Edo era and was enamored by Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third Tokugawa Shogun. Yagenbori Togarashi is blended by hand in the traditional method according to their secret recipe or on the request of customers . The 395 years old house produces togarashi for Tenya which is a special mix of roasted red pepper, fresh red pepper, sasho pepper, black sesame seeds and mandarin orange peels.  

Reference:
https://yagenbori.jp/about/english/

Our soba and udon are from Shimadaya in Akita Prefecture, Japan and made specially for us using our specification, taste and texture.

Udon is a high-grade noodle (inaniwa-fu udon) reproduced with a glossy, velvety and smoothness texture. Inaniwa Udon has a different taste and texture to the commonly found sanuki variation. This delicious noodle is very versatile and can be served either hot or cold. It is produced using a patented cutting blade unique to the manufacturing company.

Our soba (taikoban yabu soba), has a smooth, firm, chewy texture, and it is served either hot or cold. Made from Wheat flour, Buckwheat, Salt, Buckwheat leaf powder, Tenya’s soba is low in calories and a good source of nutrients. 

Shimadaya was incorporated in Japan in 1950. 

Reference:
https://www.shimadaya.co.jp/en/pdf/corporate_history.pdf

Our soba/udon tsuyu (dipping sauce) is produced by a traditional sauce company established in 1950 in Kyoto, Japan. It is made from carefully selected katsubushi (bonito flakes) giving a rich flavor with an elegant and mild taste. Only served at Tenya, our tsuyu made specifically to complement our Soba and Udon unique taste.

The soup for our soba is made for the same sauce and the different between the cold and hot application is merely the amount of water used.

Reference:
http://www.somifoods.com/about/

Making Udon soup is a fairly complex task encompassing two main parts, the dashii (stock) and the tsuyu (base). 

Unlike the soup used in Soba, Udon soup stock is primarily fish base and made from a dashi stock mix of Mackerel, Sardines and kelps.  Fukushima Katsuo from Kyoto, Japan processes and sells kezuri katsuobushi to Tenya and they have been doing this business in Japan since 1922.

Reference:
https://www.fukushima-k.kyoto/en/aisatsu.html

The second part of udon soup is a concentrated soup base made with a well-balanced blend of genuine brewed soy sauce and dashi (yatsu bonito and rishiri konbu), sugar and mirin.

It is manufactured in Shoda Tokusen Tsuyu Tatebayashi factory and Shoda Shoyu’s history dated back to 1873 and it has almost 147 years of experience.  

Reference:
https://www.shoda.co.jp/en/p04.html

Interesting fact. The current Emperor of Japan’s mother, Empress Michiko is related to the Shoda Soy Sauce empire. Incidentally, her father, Hidesaburo Shoda was also the Honorary Chairman of Nisshin Flour Milling Company.

Tenya serves Nisshin oillio’s salad dressing with zero calories. A low oil that uses 1/3 of the used oil, pursuing the richness and the distinct taste of the ingredients used. A mellow salty dressing that enhances the aroma of sesame oil and ground sesame. Your health matters!

The manufacturer Nisshin oillio is situated in Shinkawa, Tokyo, Japan and it has been around  since 1907.

Reference:
https://www.nisshin-oillio.com/english/products/index.shtml 

We only use 100% pure Canola oil from Naturel with no cholesterol to fry our tempura.

Health Benefits of Canola Oil: 

1) High in “good fats”

Fats are made up of smaller units called fatty acids. Canola oil is rich in two polyunsaturated fatty acids that are essential in your diet because your body can’t make them:

a) Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is an essential omega-3 fatty acid

b) Linoleic acid (LA) is an essential omega-6 fatty acid

Canola oil also contains very high levels of monounsaturated fatty acids.

2) Lowest in “bad fats”

Compared to the other common vegetable oils, Canola oil has the lowest levels of unhealthy fats:

Saturated fats raise the bad cholesterol (LDL) in your body and have been linked to coronary heart diseases. Olive oil and Soya Bean oil contain twice as much saturated fat as Canola oil.

3) No Cholesterol

Canola oil is free of cholesterol.

4) Contains vitamins E & K

Vitamin E is an antioxidant and Vitamin K is essential for normal blood clotting.

Reference:
https://www.lamsoon.com/company-background-history