I personally think that Sichuan food is one of the most distinct Chinese cuisine to come out from that country that is built primarily around the spicy, numbing peppercorn but also through the use of aromatics to elevate meat, veggies and carbs. It's definitely not an everyday food for me, but occasionally I do crave for that unique hit of spice. I was super intrigued then, when I heard Chef Pang (ex-Antoinette head chef) has ventured into this new gastrobar called Basdban (apparently it is the Chinese phonetics for ๅทดๆฏๆๆฟ, which is a local slang for awesomeness) at Telok Ayer serving up modern Sichuan food alongside some unique cocktail creations.
There are some pretty good weekday promos too! We were there on a Wednesday and managed to get the Happy Hour.
Here's a video of Basdban's menu. Everything looks so good!
We started with a bagful of Fried Crispy Pork Trotters (S$14), shaken (not stirred) with spice powder by the staff. What a way to add some drama to the food, as if it wasn't enough already! It was braised and fried which means it is very flavourful and crispy while retaining the soft interior. 4/5
Next was the signature Roasted Eggplant (S$14) with garlic sauce, smoked bacon, mixed cheeses and funky popcorn. Yep you read and seen it right, it's popcorn! The eggplant was almost the token veggie to have all these sinful ingredients, and I ain't complaining. I think it might be the best dish of the night - a must try! 4.5/5
We also had 2 sorts of fried chicken because we couldn't decide. First the Lalalalalala Fried Chicken (S$25 for small) with green chilli and lala (clams). Hence the name, haha. This was quite interesting because the green chillis are distinctively different to the red ones and the tangy flavours worked well with the clams and chicken. 4/5
Then there's the B-52 (S$20 for small), their signature fried chicken with chilli which was so addictive. Couldn't stop eating! Luckily, the spice wasn't the killer type so we could all manage.
We were also curious about the crab meat mapo tofu (S$20) dish which WAS served with mixed grain pearl rice, but Chef had also recommended the their signature claypot rice. Therefore we decided to embark on a culinary exploration for Chef to use linguine instead on the mapo tofu. We were aware of the risks of an untried dish and gladly accepted them! Well, it was certainly an interesting dish but we could understand why rice would work better than noodles in this case. No rating for this dish since it wasn't on the menu but 5/5 for Chef Pang's willingness to experiment and accommodate us!
The highlight of the night (sorry for the bad photo) was the Basdban Donabe (S$35 for 2-3 pax) claypot rice and Sichuan waxed meat and spicy sausage. YUM! The entire pot was so fragrant. Portions are not gigantic too since we only wanted to try it, but ingredients were generous enough that every bite was a flavour explosion. If you have a hankering for good claypot without suffering from hawker centre heat, this is the place to share some with a friend or 2.
Unfortunately on this trip we did not order any cocktails, wanting to try the food more than anything else first. But I will want to go back for the drinks and repeat the eggplant and claypot, plus have the chilli chicken as a drinking side dish! If you are a fan of Sichuan food, definitely go to Basdban to try out their Rock N Roll renditions!
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Basdban
51 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 048441
11am-3pm and 5pm-11pm Mondays-Fridays, 11am-11pm Saturdays,
Closed on Sundays
Reserve on Chope
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