Satay In A Stylish Setting, With An Organic Salad Bar

Lian knew exactly what he wanted to do. Satay. “There was never anything else,” he says. And it had to be Hainanese Malaysian-style satay in an air-conditioned setting. “Malaysian satay is different from those you find in Singapore. It’s salty, not sweet,” says Lian, who’d sunk almost $300,000 of his savings into the three-week-old biz. “I took about six months to finalise the recipe. Every alternate day we were eating satay at home. I’m quite confident you can’t get these flavours elsewhere, especially our sauce. I’ve brought a lot of Chinese friends to Malaysia to try satay and they all seem to prefer it, too. And in Singapore, most of the satay joints aren’t air-conditioned or have a café setting. I wanted something different. We’re also healthier. Our satay is not cooked on charcoal. We have two satay grills that can produce 1,000 sticks an hour each and each uses gas or electric. There’s no direct fire, so you don’t get burnt bits. We also have a 100 per cent organic salad bar. Even our cucumbers and onions are organic.”

His maiden foray into F&B was fraught with obstacles, though. He was harassed by the police (he lodged a complaint and got an apology), got buried in paperwork and haemorrhaged funds caused by inexplicable delays. And not everyone was as enthused about his business concept as he was. “Working with top landlords in Singapore is a big headache,” says Lian. “The first one I dealt with was terrible. They told me straight up that my menu and concept ‘cannot make it’.”

And then there were the many hurdles he had to navigate. “It was a very steep learning curve. We had delays with almost every department,” he laments. “Doing this, I realised just how hard it is for entrepreneurs to start a business here, especially small businesses. All the talk about supporting local small businesses is all talk. We were supposed to open on Nov 8, but all the paperwork was tied up for weeks. And there’s nothing you can do about it, but wait. In F&B, that’s a lot of time and money to lose. How many people have the resources to wait that long? I complained to all the departments, even to the MPs.” But his harrowing ordeal hasn’t put him off. He has big dreams for his business and plans to open a chain in Singapore. “My idea is to expand the business. I’m looking at 10 to 15 more stores here.” That’s a lot of hurdles.

Located in the new wing of China Square Central, opposite hotel Capri by Fraser, the 80-seater café features a masculine industrial loft-style aesthetic with lots of wood, steel and leather accents. The air-conditioned indoor area seats 35 and features wood chandeliers that preside over long wooden tables, a floor to ceiling wooden wall relief, and a plush tan sofa. There’s also a huge 120-inch projection screen that plays TVB Jade programmes and complimentary bowls of truffle chips, metal canisters for used satay sticks and quirky wet tissue packets that look like condom wrappers. There’s table service here since Lian wants to offer a satay “fine-dining experience”.

For our tasting session, Lian served the satay in a buffet style spread, but you can order the sticks ala carte or in set platters ($9.80 - $$55.80) with rice or noodle combos like nasi lemak and mee goreng or ketupat. For locals accustomed to the taste of Singapore-style satay, the ones here are quite a departure from the usual. Each 7cm skewer, about one and a half times larger than regular satay, is prepared in-house. It has 10g of meat and is marinated with the same base that includes lemongrass, blue ginger, turmeric, shallots and garlic. The house-made satay sauce, served in a warmer, is Lian’s own invention. Apart from the usual spices, peanuts and chilli, it is sweetened with star fruit and pineapple with very little added sugar for a refreshing and tangy hit.

Top row from left: Jumbo Tiger Prawn, Japanese Wagyu, Special Pork.
Bottom Row: Sichuan Pork, Chicken and Truffle Pork​​​​​​​

Japanese Wagyu Beef, $2.80 (min 5 sticks)

Soft and tender, the fatty meat, caramelised on the grill, imparts a natural sweetness that plays off nicely against the salty marinade. The meaty flavour of the wagyu is rather forthcoming and comes through the marinade. We actually prefer this without the sauce, which masks the natural beefy goodness of the wagyu. It’s a shame that the sticks aren’t cooked over a charcoal grill, though. The smoky fragrance of charcoal would’ve lifted this up several notches.

Each stick is a crisped and blackened 60g frozen tiger prawn. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to eat this hot off the grill. You can eat the prawn satay whole or peeled. However, when cooled, the shell sticks to the meat and is not crispy enough to eat whole. The flavour of the spicy gingery marinade against the sweetness of the prawn is not bad. We also like the brininess of the prawn head infused with the goodness of that marinade. However, once again, that robust charcoal aroma is sorely missing.

Chicken, $1 (min 15 sticks)

Our least favourite of the bunch. The thigh meat is tough and dry. Not even the sauce, with its rich, tart flavours, can save this. The discrepancy of the saltier Malaysian-style marinade becomes apparent here. Our taste buds crave bigger flavour and that familiar caramelised sweetness of local satay.

Special Pork, $1.20 (min 10 sticks)

A fattier cut of pork with a good balance of lean leg and belly meat, this skewer is softer and more unctuous on the palate. The meat is also sweeter, which goes nicely with the salty marinade and sweetness of the sauce.

Truffle Pork, $1.50 (min 10 sticks)

Slathered with a black truffle paste, this skewer is best eaten on its own. There are too many conflicting flavours vying for your attention when paired with the sauce.

Sichuan Pork, $1.80 (min 15 sticks)

An interesting blend of flavours here. The fragrance of lemongrass goes well with the potent mala spices. The zingy flavours also pair well with the sweet sauce with its nutty undertones.

This skewer features separate chunks of fat and lean meat. The key difference in Lian’s Malaysian-style satay, apart from it not being sweet, is it allows the flavour of the meat to come through. The different textures of the pork give it a good mouthfeel and the meat pairs exceedingly well with the fruitiness of the sauce. All it lacks, again, is that signature smoky fragrance. It’s about like Japanese-style grilled pork skewers, but with Asian spices.

If you like greens with your meat, you can get the Satay Salad set, which comes with five sticks of chicken/signature pork/Sichuan/laksa satay, an organic egg and one “fill-all-you-can” bowl from the salad bar, which boasts a selection of organic produce like lettuce, cherry tomatoes, beetroot, corn, baby carrots, broccoli and peas, that you can smother with your choice of dressings like thousand island, avocado and garlic, balsamic vinegar and honey mustard.

A different take on satay in a comfy café setting, which you’d enjoy if you prefer your meat saltier instead of sweetish like our local version. It’s healthier too, since it’s grilled without charcoal and comes with an organic salad bar. But we miss the smoky, caramelised flavour that cooking meat on coal boasts.

Bigbrand Satay is at 181 South Bridge Rd, #01-04/K3 Capri By Fraser China Square, S058743, Tel: 8613-3133. Open Sun - Thu 11am - 9pm & Fri & Sat 11am - 11pm. Last orders at 8.15pm. www.facebook.com/bigbrandsatay

Photos: Kelvin Chia