Dinner at Timbre @ The Substation

Whew. Whatever virus or bacteria it was, it really did a number on me. It's been close to three weeks since I reached Singapore, and I spent most of the days blowing my nose and coughing. And avoiding all kinds of food on account of my sore throat. Well, the last part is kind of true. I hold off my impulses until I get almost well, and decided to indulge in a chocolate cake or a plate of nasi lemak or durian ice cream or yuan yang. And then I'll be back again at square one. There's a psychological experiment that concluded with how children with good self-control can translate into later-life successes, and the results don't seem to bode well for me. 

But finally after the third week, and with a dose of antibiotics to cover all possibilities, I finally do feel better. And just in time for a friend's birthday too, which we celebrated with dinner and drinks at Timbre. 

(Although, I did missed out on a lobster roll dinner at Clifford Pier with some of my friends the week before... But we can't win them all.) 

About 4 plus in the evening, we made our way towards Dhoby Ghaut station. There was a slight detour because all the construction in the area, but we finally found the entrance to Timbre via an unassuming alley between the Peranakan Museum and the Substation. I am horrible at directions and can get lost anywhere even on campus. But on the bright side, I am kick-ass at using Google Maps. 



We walked into Timbre bright and early at 6pm, where the long-hours of corporate (and student!) life in Singapore ensured that we were the first customers. We ordered a jug of Frozen Lime Margarita ($38 between 6-7pm from Monday-Wednesday), which was cool, refreshing and delicious. There's not much alcoholic content, and we drank to our hearts' content. Halfway through lapping the salted rim, I realised I am a sucker for these ladies' drink, but a willing sucker at that who regretted not ordering another jug. Their impeccable service here deserved a mention, because I was pleasantly (and very) when they replaced a spill with a giant cup of frozen magarita. 

Lime Margarita, left. 

Their pizzas, Smoked Salmon ($18) and Roasted Duck Pizza ($20) were among the most popular dishes of Timbre, and they were delicious. 

Their Sweet Potato Fries ($10) were also pretty crispy and good. 

The Buffalo Wings ($15) were good as well, although nothing extraordinary. The 7 of us ordered 2 bowls, which were plentiful.  

The clock hit 7pm and we ordered a jug of Frozen Mojito ($38 from 7-9pm). It turned out that going early around 6 plus was the perfect time to have dinner at Timbre. Who knew? 

No salted rim though. 

As the night progressed, the live band 53A started their performance and was taking song requests. I couldn't resist asking for the most underplayed song of 2014.

I'll refer you to the 'lack of self-control' portion of the blog post above. 

Which they didn't end up playing after all. Maybe they were as sick of the song as everybody else was? 

As the live band started, the conversation lulled. It was just fun and comfortable, after talking so much (and spilling so much beans, and exchanging tales) to just relax and listen to the band play. Which we did. Sometimes, I sit up and realise how rare it is to have a cozy dinner by the side of a restaurant/bar and drink alcoholic slushies ("Another jug of mojito please!") and talk about anything under the sun. Anything. Under the sun. And as the sun went down, the conversation got more interesting. But you won't hear nothin' from me...