FIVE TEN: A Casual Taiwanese-Inspired Pop-Up Restaurant With Cheap Small Plates in Chinatown, Singapore [CLOSED]

PUBLISHED July 25th, 2017 06:30 am | UPDATED January 12th, 2020 03:32 pm

If you’ve been to a night market in any of Taiwan’s major cities, you will remember the large crowds and boisterous atmosphere – but beyond that, a confused mishmash of scents permeating the air as veteran stallholders whip up fragrant bowls of beef brisket noodles and colossal skewers of grilled squid, for hungry locals and tourists alike. Chances are you revelled in it, even craved for it when you returned home. Well, you’re not alone, not if a certain pair of siblings have anything to say about it.

Unlike any other Chinese restaurant in Singapore, Shawn Kishore, the Managing Director of The Bespoken Group, and his ditzy sister Nickii are the folks behind FIVE TEN, a casual restaurant bar inspired by that very same scene. Their big idea: to serve up affordable small and large plates that, at just $5++ or $10++ each, encompasses the quintessential and robust flavours of Taiwanese cuisine – with a Southeast Asian touch.

When you walk into the restaurant, situated directly opposite the Sri Mariamman Temple, you will find a space that’s relatively modern – grungy cement flooring, beam ceilings, heavy tall chairs, and long polished grain tables that seem like they’ve been through a fair bit. It hardly looks anything like a restaurant you would find in Taiwan, but you’re not here to pretend you’re back in the narrow streets of Kaohsiung or Taipei. You’re here for the delicious plates created by Head Chef Shawn Koh (who’s worked in places like Pizzeria Mozza, Skirt, and Salted and Hung.

It has long been established that Taiwan, where China’s aristocrats and their chefs fled to after the 1949 communist victory, is a full-fledged torch bearer for Chinese gastronomy. While those who remained had to deal with Mao Zedong’s endless purges and cultural revolutions, the ones who left were free to evolve and expand on Chinese cooking as they wished.

What we get are specialities like the Lu Rou, fatty pork belly braised in soy sauce and other aromatics. Here, Shawn does a mouth-watering rendition with his homemade “sawse” (because sauce isn’t kickass enough), the flavourful meat tender to the point of falling apart in the mouth. In the afternoon, you can get this on rice with veggies and a sous vide egg for just $10++ as well. The same goes for the Australian Sirloin Steak, 90 grammes of lean and marbled beef, seared and garnished with pickled Chinese cabbage. Simple and well worth.

Try the succulent bite-sized morsels of Fried Chicken, cooked karaage-style – that is, crisp on the outside and very juicy on the inside, having been marinated with sesame oil and soy sauce. A dollop of seaweed mayo accompanies the plate, and it is quite spectacular. There’s also the Fried Smashed Potatoes, first steamed, then deep-fried and coated with chilli pepper and plum powder, a uniquely Taiwanese condiment that’s used for anything from fruits to chicken, and of course, fried potatoes. If you’re thinking that it will be oily, it is not. Whoever does the frying should keep doing it.

Then comes along a beautiful Grilled Squid, glazed with another special sauce. It turned out well-charred, smoky, and perfectly tender. You’ll do well to order the House Made Taiwanese Sausage too, which Shawn prepares the same way a Taiwanese grandmother would: stuffed with a funnel. He adds in wu xiang fen (five spice powder) and Shaoxing wine, and for all its lack of colour, it tastes better and way more natural than the red stuff you see in markets.

At this point we come to the sweet end of the meal: the Fried Milk, or rather, a dozen balls of milk roux coated with breadcrumbs before being deep-fried. The batter is different from what you’d usually see in Taiwan, and I’d say this version is better, particularly with the accompanying bowl of caramelised condensed milk.

Be sure to check out the dedicated coffee programme headed up by the barista Tim Chew, who has seen stints at the likes of Department of Caffeine and La Ristrettos. After painstakingly developing his own Cold Brew coffee formula for the past two years, he’s finally come up with an impressive selection of white, black, and brown (mocha) variants, each processed for three days and all darn impressive. There’s even a fizzy Cold Brew Lemonade for a small hit of caffeine, and yes, these drinks are just $5++.

If you happen to find yourself in the vicinity, don’t hesitate to step into FIVE TEN for some incredibly value-for-money comfort plates and drinks, everything unpretentious and fuss-free to boot. Better still, comes with your friends and family, because how else are you going to finish all that deliciousness on your own?

FIVE TEN is located at 237 South Bridge Rd, Singapore 058786, p. +65 6924 7352. Open Tue-Sat 10am – 10pm, Sun 10am – 2.30pm. Closed Mon.