Food Picks: Restaurant Kin, FlagWhite, Olla Specialty Coffee

There are three kinds of people in the world: those who like to hark back to the old days, when they say food tasted better; those who constantly look for the next big thing in food; and my favourite kind - those who can bring past and future together on a plate.

Chef Damian D'Silva belongs very firmly in the third group. He has a way of making heirloom recipes, some more than a century old, relevant to the times we live in. You can taste that at Restaurant Kin, his restaurant at the Straits Clan club in Bukit Pasoh.

He has just launched several new dishes, drawn from recipes from his grandfather and family friends.

Jackfruit seems to be the darling of the vegan world, very of the moment, as people look for convincing alternatives to meat.

It is used for barbecue, pulled "pork", teriyaki rice bowls and such.

But 50 years ago, Aunty Zainab, married to Chef D'Silva's father's best friend, was making Nangka Rendang, where the unripe fruit is braised for seven hours with coriander, cumin, fennel and garam masala.

You have to eat this dish, which costs $28 at the restaurant, with rice. It is much more spellbinding than rendang with meat. The warm spices bring lashings of comfort, which is what the world needs now.

Two other dishes stand out for me. Daging Sambal Hijau ($42) is made from a century-old recipe from Chef D'Silva's Eurasian grandfather.

It's the juxtaposition of the fresh green chilli sambal with the warmth and depth of flavour in the beef - rubbed with cumin, coriander and fennel - that does it for me.

But if I have to pick one must-order dish, it is Pork Knuckle Debal ($68), which should not just be a Christmas dish, although that is when the chef's grandfather would cook it.

Every Eurasian family has its own version of devil curry. Chef D'Silva's has the perfect balance of tartness from vinegar and deep warmth from mustard.

Smoked pork knuckle and roast pork go into the stew, together with soft potatoes that have soaked up lots of flavour from the gravy.

In the last few years, there has been a backlash against fast, slapdash food.

Think about the sourdough bread revolution, which values the slow fermentation of dough.Or home pickling, low and slow barbecue, the making of kimchi and kombucha, all of which take time.

These new offerings at Kin take time to make. They hark back to when care and attention were prized. These values are back with a bang.

You will, I trust, take home any leftover debal. The gravy gets better and richer as you add meat to it. Then, you will see, what's old is new again.

Where: Restaurant Kin, 31 Bukit Pasoh Road

MRT: Outram Park

Tel: 6320-9180

Open: Noon to 2.30pm, 6 to 9.30pm (Monday to Saturday), closed Sunday

Info: Restaurant Kin's website

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Cafe

March is so early in the year, but it is already salad days.

The unrelenting heat makes me crave crunchy, cool food. But rare is the salad that sustains my interest to the last leaf.

Recently, I had a kale salad in a cafe and it made me feel like a cow. It was tough going, chewing through a bushel of under-dressed greens.

Also recently, I had a perfect Caesar salad in a restaurant. The second time I had it, it was over-dressed and soggy.

My idea of a perfect salad is one with vibrant greens mixed in with nuts, dried or fresh fruit and something a little naughty - say, bacon or cheese, or some other compelling protein. All of it should be mixed with a perky, slightly tart dressing - enough to coat the salad ingredients without drowning them.

I have found the perfect salad at FlagWhite, a cafe in Bukit Timah. Smoked Salmon And Feta Salad ($16) comes topped with the smoked fish arranged like a rosette.

Among the leaves, tossed with just enough honey-mustard dressing, are interesting add-ins: toasted pine nuts and candied walnuts, sweet-tart dried cranberries, cherry tomatoes, fried capers and avocado cubes.

The little bit of naughty comes from crumbled feta cheese, which is creamy and not too salty.

Every time I dig my fork into the bowl, up it comes with different combinations of tastes and textures. I finish every last bit. The salad and a glass of Earl Grey Cold Brew Tea ($6) revive my flagging spirits.

I should quit while I am ahead, but I order the Hojicha Swiss Roll ($8). It features stiff, petrified squiggles of tea-flavoured frosting and tastes of too much time in the fridge.

Where: FlagWhite, 106 Jalan Jurong Kechil

MRT: Beauty World

Tel: 9894-9882

Open: 10am to 8.30pm (Monday and Wednesday), 10am to 3pm (Thursday), 9am to 5pm (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), closed Tuesday

Info: FlagWhite's Facebook page

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Cafe

There are cafes which offer a smorgasbord of options - serious drink and serious food.

There are also those which offer just serious coffee and tea, with not a crumb of anything else to be had.

Olla Specialty Coffee at Sunset Way is a mash-up of the two. It serves serious coffee made with beans from Nylon Coffee Roasters, but also has a simple menu of unpretentious, well-priced food.

My 5oz White coffee ($4.50) is flawless, with no jagged edges. I order Mr Sunshine ($9.50) and get a bun for which the word "pillowy" was invented. It is split, toasted and stuffed with bacon, ham, cheese and a fried egg. Oh, and a too-small scoop of caramelised onions.

It is not fancy by any stretch of the imagination - and of course, I can make it at home, given enough motivation. But Mr Sunshine is what a rainy day calls for.

Where: Olla Specialty Coffee, 01-03, Block 109 Clementi Street 11

MRT: Clementi

Open: 8am to 5pm daily