It does seem that the folks at Omote have been making adjustments within the collective of brands that they are operating — there definitely has been an expansion of their Six Hands brand in recent times where they had been opening a number of outlets at various locations, while they had also opened a second outlet of Umai in the location where the now-defunct Nolita was previously situated at Lentor Modern. Umai’s very first location is situated in Midtown Modern; their location at Lentor Modern has pretty much seen the interior of Nolita being carried through to the rebranding of the space to Umai save for the elements that referred to Nolita previously. Umai is an establishment that is best noted for their artisanal Udon offerings — the Lentor Modern location focuses on two (2) main types of Udon offerings centred around their Sanuki Udon and Hoto Udon. The food menu is being split into sections dedicated to The Crowd Favourites, The Kamatama Series (exclusively available to Lentor Modern), The Wok Series, Cold Sanuki, Hot Sanuki and Beyond Tradition. There is a selection of side dishes, whilst the beverage menu at Umai at its Lentor Modern location features a small selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

The Tempura Kamatama is an item that is listed in the The Kamatama Series of the food menu at Umai’s Lentor Modern outlet — this is also the line-up of Udon offerings that is exclusively available at this location. Based on the description of the item on Umai’s menu, the Tempura Kamatama features elements such as their Sanuki Udon, egg yolk, pollock roe, housemade nori butter, tempura prawn and vegetable and Shiso Perilla Leaves. Giving everything a mix before digging in, what makes the Tempura Kamatama so enticing here would be the fragrance of the housemade nori butter and the pollock roe — the combination of both elements was simply an umami bomb considering how the roast-y notes of Japanese seaweed comes together with the briny flavours of Mentaiko that makes it especially addictive to be had with the chewy, smooth and slurpy udon noodles. Mixing in the runny egg also helps to give that mix of housemade nori butter and the pollock roe a creamier and silkier texture as well. The Shiso Perilla Leaves does seem to be lightly fried in batter that helps add a bit of crispness to the Tempura Kamatama — also further enhances the flavours of the housemade nori butter. The tempura elements included here would be the Tempura Prawn and the Tempura Eggplant; both elements do come with a light and crispy golden brown batter without being particularly greasy — the prawn coming with its own natural crustacean sweetness with a bite as well. The inclusion of vegetables does give a bit of balance amidst the fried stuff and the carbs going on in the whole bowl.