We’ve always had a soft spot for Spanish food. After all, it has a great deal in common with local cuisine. Rice, hearty seafood and rich flavours all seem like something that we can all agree with.
Oh, and of course, who can forget the drinks?
FOC has become an established name in Singapore. The Spanish restaurant has been in Singapore since 2015, where it opened its first outlet at Hong Kong Street. It has since opened a tapas-and-drink-focused outlet at Claymore Connect, the shopping arcade adjoining the Orchard Hotel. Pim Pam itself has undergone a revamp. It now includes four distinct dining areas, including a main dining area, a tapas bar and an alfresco seating area on the terrace for post-dinner drinks.
Naturally, all that would be for nothing if the food and drinks didn’t have that Iberian flair.
That Iberian flair
We tried the tinned Espinaler Premium Cockles ($28++ per can), which might seem a little odd- considering that we were in a restaurant. The Spanish, however, have an obsession with canned food. The very best quality produce is stored in olive oil, brine, or sauce, and “finished” in the tin. They’re considered to be delicacies- and priced as such, routinely costing more than the fresh specimens.
The cockles were juicy and succulent, and do, indeed, have a deep, rich brine flavour that is definitely not present in the seehum that we love so much here. 28 bucks still seems a bit excessive for canned stuff, or cockles for that matter, but we doubt that you’ll find better cockles anywhere.
The Europeans, Spanish included, enjoy wine with their food, and what could be more appropriate to go with seafood than the wine of Southern Spain? First-time sherry drinkers might find the combination of crisp sharpness and nuttiness quite unusual, but we absolutely enjoy the pairing with canned cockles. In particular, the Manzanilla Sherry ($30++ for a flight of 4, $50++ for a flight of 8) works very well with our shellfish. Manzanillas, a refined form of Fino sherry produced in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a coastal region fairly close to Gibraltar, have a light savouriness, reminiscient of soy sauce, but also a complex blend of sharp acid, bread, and nut flavours.
If it’s sherries that you’re having a craving for, FOC PIM PAM has one of the widest collections in Southeast Asia, available by the bottle and glass. We found the entire range of sherry styles there, from the crisp, acidic Finos, the richer, nuttier Palo Cortados and Amontillados to the heavier, caramel-like Olorosos and the plummy, syrupy PXs.
Tasty Tapas
We also quite like the PIM PAM Croquetas ($6++ For 2 pcs, $12++ For 4 pcs, 2 types). The mushroom variety, which are stuffed with button, black trumpet and ceps mushrooms and bechamel sauce, is especially tasty. While the exterior crust is a little soft for our tastes, the earthy, sweet flavours of mushrooms are right up our alley.
Also enjoyable are the Patatas Bravas ($6++ for main dining area, $10++ on tapas menu). A form of millefeuille, layers of wafer-thin deep-fried potatoes are topped with dollops of creamy aioli, salsa brava and chopped chives. Delicious.
Unfortunately, we didn’t like the Cauliflower Steak ($14++) quite as much. While the Romesco sauce makes for a satisfying blend of roasted hazelnuts, roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic and basil flavours, the cauliflower is entirely too soft and lacked a satisfying crunch.
The cocktails also flowed freely. We tasted the January’s Breeze ($18++), a tipple made from Pomelo-infused gin, chamomile, plum powder, pear liqueur and Benedictine. It’s on the sweet side, but there is a mellow bitterness to bring it back down to earth. Bouquet would be an appropriate term to describe the aromas coming from the glass, with a flowery fragrance mingling with autumn fruit and herbs. Not bad.
The Sloe Dance On The Inside ($20++), was also pretty good. Sloe gin, raspberry, Josefina sweet wine, a vermouth blend, paprika salt and almonds make for a nicely complex cocktail. It’s got a strong herbal backbone, with a good balance of sweet-sour and an interesting spicy edge. It touches the entire spectrum tastebuds (lightly) and works especially well as a palate opener.
The night is young
The heavier food is quite good as well. The FOC Pig Tripe Stew ($12++), a rustic combination of beef and pork parts. sundried tomato, chickpeas and chorizo sausage, is as wholesome and filling as it sounds.
The FOC Tomato Tartare ($19++), a confit of tomatoes mixed with chopped capers, mustard mayo, pickles, shallots and salt, then topped with tomato ice cream, is particularly enjoyable with the accompanying cristal bread. The tartare is rich and heavy, bursting with tart and sweet tomato flavours. It’s balanced well with the ice cream, which is, paradoxically, lighter and adds a tingling cold mouthfeel.
The Fresh Burrata ($22++), too, is a standout. Burrata cheese is topped with crispy Ibérico ham, sundried tomatoes, preserved pippara peppers, mint, capers, pine nuts, baby spinach and extra virgin olive oil. There is a whole cornucopia of contrasting flavours, from the savoury ham, fresh green mint and tart capers to our absolute favourite- the hot peppers. A fantastic take on a classic.
Dalmore’s Remedy ($24++) proved to be very good. Dalmore 12 year old is mixed with an unusual combination of Green Chartreuse, lemon, cinnamon and black peppercorn. The citrus and spice add a light tartness, rich sweetness and a slight bitterness. The Chartreuse’s herbal profile blends surprisingly well with them and the spicy Dalmore. Quite unexpected, but the balance is well-struck.
The Classics
Our favourite dish must be the Ibérico Secreto Pork & Mushroom Paella ($33++). While most paellas that we have had are seafood based, we find that the combination of ibérico secreto, seasonal mushrooms and garlic aioli is irresistible. The rice turned out soft, but firm in texture. It’s creamy without being cloying, and rich with sweet pork and earthy mushroom flavours. Tasty indeed.
Another Spanish specialty that one would like- nay, expect- is the Suckling Pig ($130++). The suckling pig, served tableside, was chopped up in the traditional fashion- with plates- to prove the tenderness of the pork and the crispness of the skin. While the texture was on point, flavourwise, it needed a stronger savoury element.
The pork does go well with the Penicillium ($21++), which is riff on the classic Penicillin, with Ardbeg, red ginger, smoked honey, lemon- and matcha. While it has a very strong smoky element thanks to the Ardbeg, the scotch doesn’t dominate. There’s a nice play between bitter, sour, and slightly savoury from the matcha that adds a lot of interest. Probably the best cocktail we had that evening.
A Happy ending
We finish the evening with the Classic Churros ($6++ For 2 pcs), which we found to be a little limp. The Sherry’s Old Fashioned ($22++), however, was pretty good. A rum-based Old Fashioned, stirred with caster sugar a blend of sherries and chocolate bitters. It retained the spirit-forward nature of the classic, but blended in the caramel and nut aromas of the sherries for added complexity. The drink was quite the enjoyable tongue-teaser. We did think that it needed a little more emphasis on the sherry to round off the drink’s harsher edges.
And to finish, there were 17 gins to be paired with tonics and garnishes in the Spanish style. While individual results from pairing the gins will vary, we liked the execution of ours. It was clear, crisp, and had a nice balance of gin and tonic. If there’s a small pickle to be had, it was that it needed to be even colder.
Summing it all up
FOC Pim Pam captures the flavours of Spain and manages to do quite a good job of it, at that. The tapas are mostly good and the prices, while certainly not cheap, are not unreasonable either, considering its location in Orchard Road.
The cocktails are of good quality, though perhaps only the Penicillum stood out to us. The highlight of the drinks menu has to be the huge range of sherries available at a bargain price. We doubt that you’ll be able to get most of these anywhere else, let alone try 5 different ones. It’s worth a trip to FOC for that alone.
