It’s easy to walk by Slate on Purvis Street thinking it’s yet another hipster joint serving antipodean coffee and avocado toast, but there's more to it than meets the eye. A café by day, and “Asian contemporary tapas-style Restaurant & Bar” by night, the 45-seater which opened on 4 February is an ambitious project led by three young F&B entrepreneurs. Just about everything here is made from scratch, which means some very tasty grub that's way more inspired than the usual café offerings.

Director and co-founder Adrian Yeo, 45, and general manager cum co-founder Belinda Khoo, 29, were part of the opening team for Hoshino Coffee in Singapore before breaking away to start Japanese-style Western café Miam Miam (though they've since left the partnership), opening outlets in Singapore, KL, Penang and Melbourne. Both spent a year in Melbourne and felt so connected to the place that they decided to open a café in the style of the cool joints that populate the Australian city: relaxed yet refined, serving food that's familiar yet inspired.

However, calling themselves an “Aussie-style café” also got some diners expecting “Aussie-style” food (though we aren’t exactly sure what Aussie-style food means either), which isn’t what they are trying to do. See random rant from random Ladyironchef visitor above.

They've since taken “Aussie” out of the description on their Facebook account to avoid confusion. Their food is, in a nutshell: modern Asian. The menu might seem a little unexciting on paper, but soldier on and you'll be rewarded. The food is cooked by Slate’s third co-owner and head chef Winkee Chong, 38. This enthusiastic Filipino-Chinese who is a graduate of SHATEC, digs into his Pinoy and Chinese heritage for inspiration as well as his diverse work experience. Prior to this, he’d worked at pasta joint Mad for Garlic in the Philippines, and then went to Hong Kong (where his dad lives) to work at a few places, including Nordic fine-dining restaurant Nur, and casual modern Korean joint Jinjuu (by Korean-American television chef Judy Joo of Iron Chef).

Some of the dishes at Slate are also conceived by one of his chefs, who used to cook at mod Peranakan eatery Candlenut. Another fun fact: Winkee’s Singaporean cousins are from the family that runs the 99-year-old biryani institution that is Islamic Restaurant on North Bridge Road. Slate x Islamic collab down the road, perhaps? (Though Slate does serve pork…)

The three co-founders work closely — but they are close even outside of work. Winkee (right) and Belinda (middle) are married to each other. Incidentally, it was also Winkee who steered Belinda from a career in performing arts to culinary arts while they were dating — she happens to be a trained pastry chef. And Adrian (left) is their daughter’s godfather. Adrian, who was also the former director for restaurant operations for Spanish joint FOC, shares that many of his staff have followed him for years, and some have joined him at Slate.

The trio have often talked about setting up a restaurant together. So, when Adrian decided it was time to take the plunge, Winkee and Belinda promptly relocated their young family from Hong Kong and came back to Singapore. The renovation took about two months and $200K from the point they took over the unit, previously occupied by Thai5 Restaurant. And while Belinda had engaged a design firm to conceptualise the interiors, Adrian further optimised the interiors by getting a Fengshui master. And yes, all three founders’ bazi (characters denoting one’s destiny based on time of birth) were taken into account, so the space is really fengshui-ed out for success. Guess the geomancer didn’t predict the downturn brought about by the COVID-19 virus. That said, Belinda reveals that while opening during this period probably translated to slow business in the first weeks, the restaurant has observed “an improvement lately”.

Just in case you picture some obiang monstrosity, know that the space is chic in a blue-and-black palette (prescribed by the Fengshui master), and you have to look quite hard to find the strategically-placed talismans. It's also a lot plusher than your usual minimalist, white-washed hipster joints, with upholstered benches and curved banquette seats wrapping around some dining tables to form cosy nooks perfect for intimate gatherings.

What you'd notice upon entering is a towering La Marzocco coffee machine, custom-sprayed in black to match the bar, and costing a five-figure sum. “A proper café should have a proper machine,” says Adrian proudly. The café offers a range of espresso-based coffees (from $3.50 for an espresso to $6.80 for a mocha) as well as hand-dripped brews ($6). The beans and blends are from Melburnian roaster Industry Beans, whose founders Adrian came to know during his time in the city.

The house blend of Brazilian and Ethiopian beans is an easy-drinking concoction that has chocolate-y notes that Singaporean seem to dig, but also a bit more acidity for balance and depth. Adrian, who learned his coffee-making skills from the brothers who founded Industry Beans and also while opening Hoshino Coffee in Singapore, pulls a decent cup of Java, though Belinda points out that his latte art needs to be “improved on”.

Adrian is also proud of his other drinks programme — the alcoholic one, which includes a Spanish-heavy wine list, a collection of seven cocktails starting at $16 for a vodka-based Wonder Mule laced with lemongrass, kaffir, cardamom, lime and ginger beer. “Our bespoke cocktails are a lot more affordable than other bars,” says Adrian. “And for other spirits we do a Gentleman’s Pour of 45ml rather than the usual 30ml.”

For us, though, the reason to come to Slate remains the food. While it's busiest during weekday lunch right now, given its proximity to Raffles City and a WeWork just around the corner, the larger brunch and dinner menus better showcases the Asian inspiration behind the food — certainly a lot more than oxtail pasta and avocado toast. And though they call themselves “Asian contemporary tapas-style Restaurant & Bar”, the food is frankly not very tapas-ish. Rather than small bites, what we sampled were presented as hearty plates good for sharing. The menu is written very plainly, simply stating the ingredients, leaving one to be surprised when the dishes are presented: such as a cold starter of “marinated scallops” bringing to mind yusheng porridge with its flavours, or a “baked fish” resembling otah. The co-founders explain that not stating the influences behind the creations is intentional — so that diners do not have any preconceived notions of how the dish “should” taste, but enjoy it for what it is. “We don’t call our dishes ‘Peranakan’ or ‘Cantonese’ or anything, we don’t want to be tied to any stereotypes,” says Winkee.

Say “crab omelette,” these days and foodies would think of Jay Fai’s Michelin-starred rendition in Bangkok, which is frankly more crab than egg. It would be unfair to compare the two, as Slate does not even have a wok in the kitchen, rendering it impossible to achieve the lacy, crisp exterior characteristic of zi char-style fried eggs. What it is though is a perfectly golden and tender omelette that slices open to reveal a ridiculously generous filling: 110g worth of hand-picked Lump Grade Indonesian Blue Swimmer Crab meat mixed with so much crab fat that it’s a glorious pink-orange mixture. Generously portioned so that it can easily be shared between two, and divinely creamy and rich, it's a rock star of a brunch item that'll make you forget about other eggy dishes. The plate is balanced with a side salad topped with slivers of vinegar-pickled baby radish, while crisp slices of buttered house-made sourdough toast make the perfect foil for the luscious dish. Oh and if you were wondering about its name, Belinda jokes: “Because crabs walk sideways!” Available for weekend brunch only.

Available on both the brunch and dinner menu is the half-bird served with its gnarly feet intact, this dish boasts a dramatic presentation made for the 'gram. When asked why he chose to serve the chook with its feet, Winkee says: “Why waste it?” We loved gnawing on the bone-y bits. The chicken — which has been brined overnight in a mixture imbued with lemongrass, bay leaf, peppercorn and onion — boasts succulent flesh that is also super flavoursome. The batter, double-fried so that it stays crisp even when cooled, is only lightly seasoned in contrast to allow the flavours of the chicken to stand out. However, those used to fast-food-joint fried chicken laden with seasoning might find it a little bland. The shoestring fries that accompany it are good, but the real stars are the mildly fiery sambal mayo and tangy banana ketchup, which Winkee makes by fermenting bananas at room temperature before blast freezing and then whirling it into a ketchup-like consistency.

On the nibbles menu comes Winkee’s personal favourite dish. Because it's so simple,” he says. One taste of the tender stalks of baby corn licked by the charcoal flames in the Kopa grill (think of it as a top-end, Slovenian counterpart of the Spanish Josper. FYI, it retails for a five-figure sum too) and you'll probably fall in love with it too. Coated in a sweet and spicy glaze made with furikake (Japanese spice blend), chilli paste and honey, the corn is served with a dollop of tart house-made crème fraiche to balance the flavours perfectly. The dish is drizzled with dill oil and a scattering of micro herbs, adding a refreshing vegetal edge to the dish. Sophisticated yet simple and addictive.

This dish is inspired by one of Adrian’s favourite things to eat: yusheng porridge. A little mountain of fresh Japanese baby scallops are tossed in a soy shiso dressing, and topped with slivers of green apples, jicama, ginger floss, and toasted kombu soaked in house-made ponzu sauce. Every mouthful is a pleasant mix of juicy and crunchy textures, plus umami, sweetness and acidity, making it a rather appetising starter to share.

With 200g worth of glistening pork belly slices of the fatty Duroc breed presented on a grill placed over a piece of smouldering charcoal, this dinner item is yet another dish perfect for the ‘gram (or Tik Tok or whatever social platform that’s trending these days). Its taste is no less impressive either: brined then marinated with a house-made marinade that uses banana ketchup as a base, it's then grilled in the Kopa with a soy-and-annatto (a nutty spice that also serves as a natural red colourant) basting sauce. The result: super juicy slivers of tender pork belly reminiscent of char siew, but even better, because of a tangy edge to its flavour courtesy of the banana ketchup. The richness of the dish is further balanced by a house-made vinegar dip, which Winkee makes using spiced coconut vinegar from Ilo Ilo in the Philippines, steeped with shallots, garlic, sultanas and smoky ancho chillis. The dish absolutely begs for plain rice, which you can order though it isn’t on the menu.

A dinner item that was conceptualised by Winkee’s chef who used to cook at Candlenut, this is presented as a banana leaf parcel resembling a giant otah, but is actually a milkfish fillet smothered in coconut cream mixed with sambal rempah, rojak flower, ginger, and then some. It’s wrapped in banana leaf and then cooked in the Kopa grill for a hint of fragrance from the natural wrapper. The lemak-and-spicy flavours reminds us more of a mild laksa, especially given the shredded laksa leaf sprinkled on top of the coconut cream paste. Other toppings of tart vinegar-pickled pineapple chunks and spiralised cucumber and jicama help to cut through the richness of the dish, which also begs for rice.

We were initially confused by Slate's identity since its menu spans coffees and pastas to fried chicken and otah-like parcels. We weren’t quite sure how it's a tapas restaurant either, given the generous sharing portions. But when we finally tasted the food, its modern Asian identity is clear and consistent. Happily, the flavours are inspired and cooking sophisticated. It's been a while since we encountered a new restaurant that shows so much originality — we hope the chefs continue to insist on doing things from scratch, for it translates into some truly delish food. It's tough opening a restaurant on any given day; even more so in the time of COVID-19. So we hope month-old Slate weathers the storm — we'll definitely return to try its other items, such as the house-baked pillowy buns (pictured) with guava jam and cultured butter. Tip: go for weekend brunch or dinner, where the dishes offered are more interesting.

Slate is at 24 Purvis St, #01-00. Tel: 6261-1724. Open Mon – Thu 10.30am – 10.30pm; Fri 10.30am – 11.30pm; Sat 9am – 11.30pm; Sun 9am – 4pm. Last orders one hour before closing. www.facebook.com/slate.singapore/​​​​​​​ (Pictured: House-made pickles).

Photos: Aik Chen