BAM! Tapas- Sake Bar - 1st Mar 2016
BAM tapas and sake bar
Last week I decided to re-visit a restaurant that I haven’t been to for over a year. BAM tapas and sake bar is a cosy restaurant that marries two of my favourite cuisines, Spanish and Japanese. It features bar counter seats over-looking the whole kitchen. There are a few more tables around the side and back but being up close to the chefs is the best way to enjoy a meal here. You will not find a menu on their website as this place promises a constantly evolving menu based on the best ingredients available. I attest that 90% of the menu is different from when I last dined here. Everything looked good on the menu and though I couldn’t order everything, my consolation was that I was dining with 3 other family members so we could at least try over half of what was offered.
ankimo tofu that was topped with cavier and chives
We started with the ankimo tofu that was topped with cavier and chives. Ankimo tofu is monkfish liver that is usually cooked with sake. It is like Japanese fish foie gras with a texture like tofu although the taste is not as strong. Next we had smoked burrata with beetroot and mentaiko. The sweetness of the beetroot paired well with the lightly smoked and savoury burrata. The burrata though has taken on another texture due to the extra processing. Balancing our meal with greens came in the form of a Japanese salmon skin salad with ikura and calamansi followed by mixed vegetables in foie gras broth. The salad was refreshing and crunchy while the vegetables went well with the broth though there was hardly any foie gras flavour.
carabinero prawns with pasta
My mum’s favourite was the Spanish octopus with vizcaina and spring onion. Vizcaina is a Spanish sauce made with either tomato, red peppers or both. This went well with the perfectly cooked octopus that was neither too chewy nor too soft. It came with onions coated in a black batter either from charcoal or squid ink which tasted like delicious onions rings. Next we had the carabinero prawns with pasta. The pasta was grilled which gave it a slight crust and it had a great chewy texture. The prawns were barely cooked through which preserved its juiciness and sweetness perfectly. Next we had the lamb shank gyoza with quince and grue de cacao. The skin of the gyoza was well browned and very crispy. The lamb shank filling was moist and tasty which was well accompanied by the quince and cacao nibs. I decided to have the two dishes of Toriyama Japanese wagyu that night as I wanted to see how Chef Pepe did them. The first was the tenderloin cut into small thick bite size pieces and lightly seasoned and grilled. The beef was meltingly tender without being rich like most Japanese wagyu are. It still had good flavour and the fries it went with was to die for. The next was the short rib which was either slow roasted or sous vide and grilled. The pieces of short rib were super rich which was opposite from the tenderloin. I enjoyed both versions though I would go with the tenderloin if I had to choose one. We finished with their signature dish of cold cappellini with uni and sakura ebi. The cappellini was mixed with a citrusy dressing which helped to cut the richness of the uni and the ebi provided all the umami one could hope for in a dish.
It has been too long since I returned to BAM especially when I enjoyed my meals there both times. I have been guilty of chasing after new restaurants when we should really be visiting and supporting the restaurants we love. I guess that’s why so many good restaurants still end up closing doors. This year I will endeavour to visit my favourite restaurants more often and hopefully you do too.
BAM! Tapas- Sake Bar
38 Tras Street Singapore 078977
Make reservations here
~ Andre Huber
Executive Director
