Sunday, May 23, 2021

The S’Mao Barbecue Pop-Up at Singapore Botanic Gardens

Dalmatian Belly Sandwich

The Les Amis folks are incubating another shop at Casa Verde now, this one being named after chef "Smokey Mao," a local CIA grad who spent time at barbecues in places like Austin. The prices aren't cheap, but fortunately they do more affordable sandwiches for breakfast and lunch starting at 7:30 AM.

It was impressive, and was much better than some of the other places I've tried around here. The Dalmatian pork belly above was my preference, as it was not only very tender and moist, but more importantly, it was seasoned just right, with a fragrant ground black pepper and fresh green herbs, as well as cucumbers and onions that were pickled just mildly enough not to dominate the rest of the sandwich.

It was so good that it took a lot of will power for me to not devour a second sandwich, an andouille sausage with a strong smokiness and firm casing. Next time I'll have to try the pulled pork, and remember to tell them again to keep the sauce on the side so that it doesn't overpower the meat.

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