FOC PIM PAM: Spanish Tapas Bar & Restaurant at Orchard

Good Spanish food is hard to find in Singapore. No matter what you say, it just isn't the same as eating in the country itself. The produce, the vibe, and the service: it's best experienced in Spain. But with places like FOC PIM PAM, we can get a taste of Barcelonan bodega buzz.

Starting with the food!

Witness the magnificent Ibérico Secreto Pork & Mushroom Paella (above, S$33). Let me first say that I am not a fan of European rice dishes. But this paella blew me away. It's the richly infused flavours of mushrooms (ceps, button and oyster) and whatever magical stock they've conjured up using chicken and pork trotters; like a spell, it pulls you in and just makes you reach for more. The special cut Ibérico pork topping the rice is marvellously tender too.






My favourite dish is probably the Prawns ‘Al Ajillo’ (S$22) - Argentinian prawns generously pan-fried with sliced garlic, chilli, olive oil, salt and sweet paprika, all coddling atop a ratte potato espuma. This is a dish unapologetically bursting with flavours. Have it as a tapas (S$13) or main (S$22).





Fresh Burrata (S$22): Creamy Italian burrata cheese jazzed up with a picadillo of chopped sun-dried tomatoes, preserved piparra peppers, mint, pine nuts and extra virgin olive oil. Refreshingly good!




Patatas Bravas (S$6 Tapas; S$10 Main): deep-fried potato millefeuille! Crispy thin layers of potato - these are so much better than fries! I would halve or omit the overly rich aioli and salsa brava on top. They actually take away from the experience.








The Half Suckling Pig (2.5kg, S$130) comes with dramatic presentation - it will be chopped up tableside by a waiter using a plate.



This can easily feed 3-4 pax. The suckling pig comes from Segovia about 3 to 6 weeks old. It is first sous vide cooked for juicy tenderness, and then roasted for crackling skin.




Iberico Cold Cuts Platter (S$13 half/ S$24 full; tapas menu): From the tapas bar, you can nibble on acorn fed Spanish Jamon Ibérico Pork Loin 'Lomo', 'Salchichon' sausage, Chorizo and bread sticks.

So those are all my favourites here. The other dishes were a bit more hit and miss.




Leek Salad & White Asparagus Salad (S$16): dressed with a butter-soy cream, rocket leaves and anchovies; it's pleasant enough but not memorable.

PIM PAM Croquetas (S$10-S$12 for 4pcs; main menu): Various choices of filling include ham, mushroom, crab, spinach & pine nuts. These are easy to eat but disappear too quickly. 

FOC Pig Tripe Stew (S$12): this is a medley of so many good things - beef tripe, pig ears, trotters, head skin, cheek and pork belly chopped into small pieces, and cooked with white wine and sofrito. There's chorizo and chickpeas too adding bulk and flavour. Comforting though it was, it just fell a little short of wow. Maybe it's just me; I'm not big on tomato-based anything.




And yet...the FOC Tomato Tartare (S$19 Main Menu) left a positive impression. It's a party of confit tomatoes, chopped Morrocan caper berries, mustard mayonnaise, pickles, shallots and salt. The tomato ice cream adds some sweetness to balance the tart. I'd have this over beef tartare any day.







The Chocolate Forest (S$16) looks like a modern designer dessert. Chocolate ice cream, leaves and soil nestles amidst pistachio sponge, raspberries and crispy hazelnuts. Providing some contrast is white chocolate passionfruit jelly and yoghurt custard. Squeeze the pipette of Arbequina extra virgin olive oil for that  Spanish touch.

Other desserts are simpler.



The Lemon Lemoncello (S$12) should prove a good palate cleanser after all the heavy dishes. The limoncello sorbet sits atop burnt meringue, garnished with fresh mint and lime zest.




The Spanish ‘Torrija’ (S$10) is a traditional Spanish french toast with housemade vanilla ice cream. Portion looks small but it really is quite filling.

And of course Spanish dessert would be incomplete without churros.


They have a white chocolate covered one studded with freeze-dried strawberries.



But I much prefer the classic. It's good on its own even without the chocolate sauce.

FOC PIM PAM (which means ‘quick and easy’ in Spanish) recently underwent a refurbishment. It now sports a more sophisticated palette of blacks and greys with timber finishes and metal accents. Partition walls, display shelves, pillars and counter tops flow in sleek curves, at once unifying the different spaces as well as defining them.

The Tapas Bar, Main Dining Room, Private Dining Room, Bar and Terrace present unique alcoves for diners seeking different experiences, be it a quick meal on their own, feasting with the family or casual drinks with friends.

You can look forward to a pared down, yet varied selection of casual tapas at the Tapas Bar and Terrace to a full and comprehensive menu at the Main Dining Room; and for special occasions and events in the Private Dining Room, a
customised menu conceived by the culinary team.



Outside, the takeaway counter has been transformed into the Bar. Here you can try 16 different cocktails for whatever mood you're in. FOC PIM PAM also boasts the widest collection of Sherries in Southeast Asia, sourced from sherry bodegas and boutique producers from different regions of Spain. Enjoy it by the glass (S$12) or bottle (S$60).



The Spanish love their gin & tonic, so appropriately there is a heady array of 17 gins paired with tonic water and garnishes, served Spanish style. There is also a wine list with 150 labels.


Interestingly, FOC PIM PAM carries a variety of retail products for customers to enjoy at home. Spanish wines, olive oils, preserved vegetables, snacks, salsas, acorn fed Ibérico cold cuts, premium canned seafood popular in Spain such as cockles and mussels, can be picked up at the restaurant or ordered online.



Espinaler Premium Cockles (S$28/115g) in Brine. They taste more like clams than the blood cockles that we know. Not for the light of wallet, but certainly Spanish food aficionados will be glad you can get these here.



These Les Peperetes Preserved Percebe (Goose Barnacles) from Galicia would be quite the conversation starter but they are not on the menu yet. Let's hope these can come in soon. I had the Japanese version called kamenote. How amazing that the same bizarre creature is appreciated across cultures!

Would you eat this? #Kamenote or Leaf Barnacle from #Yamaguchi, #Japan. Tastes like shrimp x crab x funky seawater. See it at the Food Japan exhibition (27-30 Oct) at Level 4 @suntecsingapore ($20 admission)

A post shared by Catherine Ling (@camemberu) on Oct 26, 2016 at 9:20pm PDT

At any rate, FOC PIM PAM is a pretty cool place to chill out at. It's at the laid-back corner of Orchard Road near Orchard Hotel. While I've not been to Spain (yet), I'd happily come back here for the food and the easy-going vibe.


FOC PIM PAM
442 Orchard Road #01-29
Singapore 238879
Tel: +65 61004242

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu: 12pm - 3pm, 5pm - 11pm
Fri-Sat: 12pm - 3pm, 5pm - 1am
Sun: 12pm - 3pm, 5pm - 11pm






Many thanks to FOC PIM PAM for the invitation.