FOC by Pim Pam

Dining at FOC by Pim Pam (FOC) could be a day long affair, like how the Spaniards would advise. Start with some Tapas for some cocktails and light bites, then move on to the main affair in their Main Dining Room, and end with some desserts and night-caps on the open Bar and Terrace, located in the heart of the Orchard Road. 

Starting off with some classic tapas, the Patatas Bravas ($6 Tapas Bar/$10 Main Dining) wowed me. Unlike the regular cubed and fried potatoes, FOC has sliced and steamed the Agria potatoes before layering them millefeuille and deep-frying them for that extra crunchy texture. The house-made aioli and brava sauce was spicy and pungent and absolutely addictive. You must definitely order this!

PIM PAM Croquetas ($5 - 6 for 2 pcs Tapas Menu/ $10 - 12 for 4pcs Main Dining) are glorious fried creamy bombs of flavor! Pick from the lot of ham, mushroom, crab, and spinach & pine nuts. I really enjoyed the earthy mix of mushrooms with béchamel sauce, encased in a crispy crunchy crust.

Another Spanish classic done well was the Prawns 'Al Ajillo' ($13/22) featuring sweet and soft Argentinean prawns pan fried with sliced garlic, chilli, olive oil, salt and sweet paprika, topped on a ratte potato espuma.

An European kway chup was the FOC Pig Tripe Stew ($12), a gelatinous pot of beef tripe, pig ears, trotters, cheek, head skin, braised pork, chorizo, in a comforting sofrito. Dip the dense and starchy housemade sun-dried tomato and sweet paprika foccacia into this for enhanced satisfaction! It's impossible to identify the parts i'm eating but i didn't really care as long as it was tasty.

For something really simple but good, you can't go wrong with the crusty pan de coca brushed with grated Roma/Pear tomatoes ($6/10) and seasoned with olive oil and sea salt.

Of course, Iberico cold cuts platter ($13/24) is available here. A nutty acorn fed Lomo, Salchichón sausage, and paprika spiced Chorizo go onto this board.

Over at the Main Dining area, we continued with more tomatoes. We won't blame you for thinking there's meat in the FOC Tomato Tartare ($19) given that it has such depth in flavor and texture. Plus that tomato ice cream made with tomato water blew our minds. Expect a spicy kick in this one.

I couldn't resist the Fresh Buratta ($22) topped with a picadillo of chopped sun-dried tomatoes, preserved piparra peppers, mint, pine nuts and extra virgin olive oil, PLUS bits of crispy Iberico ham.

For more greens, the Leek Salad ($16) with butter soy cream and toasted almond flakes satisfies with its medley of caramel and crunch, plus pops of the sea from the Spanish anchovies. 

Onto more filling things (as if we weren't already stuffed), we had the Ibérico Secreto Pork & Mushroom Paella ($33) which surprised us with its creaminess despite no cream being used in the al dente bomba rice. The slices of Iberico secreto (butcher’s cut) was buttery and juicy, having been sous vide for 30 mins at 65 degrees celsius and finished in the josper, then sliced. 

The highlight of dinner has got to be the Segovia Suckling Pig (Half, 2.5kg, $130). The 3 to 6 weeks old piglet serves 2 - 4 as a full sized main, though 6 of us could barely get through it after all the other dishes. The pig is sous vide for 10 hours at 83 degrees celsius, then roasted in a convection oven for 30 minutes. Served tableside, we saw first-hand how crispy the skin was and tender the meat was (it was cut using a saucer). Each order comes with a side of your choice and i'd recommend the grilled pineapples ($8)!

You'd think that we'd be done with eating but no! Desserts await on the terrace. If there's only space for 1 dessert, make it the Classic Churros ($6/2pcs).

I loved the crunchy and savory dough coasted with cinnamon sugar (it could do without actually), which was perfect with the herby bitter dark chocolate sauce.

Dig into a Chocolate Forest ($16) which brought together different textures- cream, soil, leaf. The sweetness is cut through by the yogurt custard, white choc passionfruit jelly, pistachio sponge, fresh raspberries, and candied hazelnuts. The few drops of Arbequina extra virgin olive oil gave the dessert a nutty earthiness.

For something refreshing, the Lemon Lemoncello ($12) does its job. It's the right balance of sweet, tart, and bitter.

FOC by Pim Pam also has an extensive sherry list here and they do sherry flights from $30 (4 glasses). Sherry are not all sweet and i had the Manzanilla which was salty and savory (like marmite). The Olorosso was nutty and sweet with a hint of salt. But for desserts, definitely the pruny Pedro Ximenez which is all about candied figs, chocolate and spices. Gins ($32/60ml pour) are also big here so give them a shot! Plus their special cocktails are great too. I really enjoyed A Date With Carino ($21), a strong dessert concoction of coffee-infused dark rum, homemade date coffee liqueur, cognac, and sweet sherry blend. If this doesn't end the night, i don't know what else would.

The excessive eating at FOC by Pim Pam is encouraged further with their La Boqueria Market Brunch ($88/$128 with free flow alcohol) on selected Sundays from 11.30am to 3pm. A la carte brunch dishes, live stations of meats and seafood, and also tableside servings of the suckling pig are available. From 3 to 7pm, the party continues with a 1-for-1 offer of three gin varieties with tonic water and garnishes of your choice.

Go big or go home. FOC by Pim Pam is where you wanna be when you want to celebrate life.

FOC by Pim Pam

442 Orchard Road #01-29, Singapore 238879

Tel: +65 6100 4242

Mon - Thu: 12 - 3pm, 5 - 11pm

Fri - Sat: 12 - 3pm, 5pm - 1am

Sun: 12 - 3pm, 5pm -11am

Terrace: Daily 5pm till closing

La Boqueria Market Brunch on selected Sundays: 11.30am – 3pm or 3pm till closing