Timbre

Went to Timbre@The Substation for dinner with a few friends last week. Parked outside Timbre as it is free after 5.00pm. There is only outdoor/al fresco seating in Timbre. Even though it was a weekday and we arrived about 6.30pm (Timbre opens at 6.00pm everyday), there were a number of tables occupied already.

Once we were comfortably seated at our table, we ordered drinks and food including Timbre chicken wings, lamb and mushroom kebabs, and a roasted duck pizza (picture). The lamb pieces were tender but what we liked most about the kebab was the mint sauce that came with it. As for the pizza, pieces of roasted duck meat are arranged on a thin crust pizza, topped with crispy bits. Finally, a dark brown sweet sauce is drizzled over.

Since we were still hungry, we ordered a margarita pizza and a plate of prawn and garlic pasta. The pasta was al dente but the poached egg was disappointingly overcooked as the yolk was solid.

It was a relaxing evening at Timbre but what disappointed us was Timbre's reluctance to serve us water. When we ordered our food and drinks, the waiter informed us that Timbre only serves one round of tap water. Among the five of us, we drank four pints of Erdinger, a glass of house red, a glass of lychee martini and one shirley temple. But we had to ask for our one round of tap water three times before we got it, water served in small glasses. Customers pay 7% GST, 10% service charge and at least 50% marked up alcoholic beverages. Therefore, why should we not get free flow of tap water?

Nabins at Bali Lane

Having been to the original Samar at Kandahar Street while it was still there, I searched the internet to find out where it had shifted. I heard the owner of the original Samar closed it and some of the staff had opened another Samar Cafe somewhere else.

After much research and search, Samar Cafe at 17 Bali Lane does not exist anymore. It has shifted to 27 Bali Lane and the name has changed to Nabins. Was told by a friend, who is a belly dancer, that Nabins is headed by ex-Samar head waiter, Nabin Naral. Although Nabins has a arabic/middle eastern theme, it serves arabic, greek and nepalese food.

There are chairs and tables downstairs but for those who want to lie on pillows in an "arabic" ambience, upstairs is where you'd want to be. Shoes need to be removed before entering the dining area.

Called up to make reservations for 5 people and specified non-smoking. When we arrived, the waiter invited us to go upstairs. There was a "No Smoking" sign outside the toilet but two groups of people were smoking shisha. The place is air-conditioned but it was not smoky at all. Smoke-less shisha? Since smoke didn't bother us, we decided to go ahead and order food.

For appetizer, we ordered the Samar platter (picture, right), the most interesting food item we had that evening. Mains included lamb rack that was tasty but had little meat, tasty grilled chicken thigh served with tasteless cous cous, and lamb kebabs that were tasty and tender. Portion size of mains were small for the kind of price we paid.

Since two of us were not full, we decided to eat at the Kampong Glam Cafe (17 Bussorah Street) while the rest went home. Had a really mean roti john (picture, below) smothered with mayo and chilli sauce accompanied with susu halia (milk with ginger).

Would I go back to Nabins? Probably not unless I have to. I would rather go back to Kampong Glam Cafe and try the rest of the food there. The guy next to our table was eating mee siam and it looked yummy...

Porky feast

Last Saturday, we threw a surprise birthday party for a friend. Since one of her favourite foods was belly pork, sio bak (chinese roast pork) and fried hokkien noodles (with pork!) was on the menu. Went to Cold Storage in United Square early Friday morning and a really friendly, upbeat young butcher (hmm.. dishy?) sold us a beautiful slab of belly pork. Quite lean, with just the right amount of fat to prevent it from drying out during roasting. Making sio bak is actually not that difficult, contrary to popular belief. It just takes a bit of planning and meticulous detail to preparation. A good hot oven is also essential.

Ingredients:

• Belly pork, 1kg
• 5 spice powder
• coriander powder
• coarse salt
• white pepper

You'll need to wash and pat dry the pork, score the skin deep (down to the fat). I prefer to score it to tiny diamond shapes about 2 mm wide. This helps to produce good crackling.
Rub the meat and skin all over with spice and salt mixture. Wrap the meat (bottom and sides) with cling film, leaving skin exposed.
Place in fridge overnight for skin to dry out. (a dry skin is essential for crisp crackling)
Next day, bring pork out and let it come to room temperature for an hour before roasting.
Pre-heat the oven to 200C
Place pork on a roasting rack, cover skin with a thick (5mm) layer of salt*
Roast pork in centre of oven for 50min
At the end of the 1st hour, take pork out, scrape off the salt, wipe the skin with kitchen paper and prick it all over again with a sharp knife or metal skewer.
Return to oven and roast for another 1h 20min (during the last 15min of this roasting period, the skin will start to to sizzle, crackle and pop - this is your reward for all that tedious scoring and salting) Remove from oven, let cool before cutting into slices.
Eat & Enjoy !! (and exercise the next day!)

*It sounds like a lot of salt, but most of it is removed and does not add significantly to the saltiness of the roast. If it is a concern, use less for the spice rub.

Oh yes, we also used a small portion of that slab to make the essential boiled pork slices that go into traditional fried hokkien mee.