Pork Belly Satay BaliNice had been one of those establishments which had been operating for quite some time, but was also one that we had only know about after passing by the coffeeshop or which it is located at. Looking through the Google page created for the establishment, BaliNice had been in operations in the area for at least three years by now; this is at least based on the very first Google review that was being left on the page itself. Located in the coffeeshop at Blk 630 Yishun Street 61, this is also the same coffeeshop that also houses an outlet of Heng Heng 老火汤. BaliNice is located right at the end of the coffeeshop, itself being neighbours with the stall serving up Wanton Noodles; the bright yellow signage as well as flashing lights indicating that they are open for business being especially eye-catching for passers-by. Being an establishment that specialises in satay, BaliNice offers their satay in several different meat options — they offer Pork, Chicken, Mutton and Pork Belly satays, with patrons having the option to add Ketupat to their orders. Minimum order for dine-in for Pork, Chicken and Mutton is capped at 10 sticks (with the flexibility of going for any number of the three meat options as long as it hits a sum of 10), though Pork Belly satay of minimum order of 3 sticks is excluded from the total count of 10 sticks for the remaining three meat varieties. BaliNice also explicitly states that additional portions of cucumber, satay sauce or onions are considered to be chargeable items as well.
It might be a little odd to find out that BaliNice considers their Pork Belly satay as a separate item that is not counted to the total count of satays ordered across the other three meat options. That being said, things start to get more apparent when the order arrives the table. Electronic buzzers are issued at the counter at BaliNice when one makes an order; the patrons would be paged via the said buzzer once orders are ready to be served and collected from the counter. Even by the way the satays are being plated the Pork Belly satays are stacked aside from that of the Pork, Chicken and Mutton satays that we had also ordered; visually, one can also observe that there is indeed a difference in the way that the Pork Belly satay is being seasoned against the rest. Having a taste of the Pork Belly satay, the Pork Belly Satay remains as tender and juicy with a good bite like how most other pork belly satays that we have come across are; that being said, these were seasoned in a way that seem to comprise of cumin powder and a light salt and pepper seasoning — that also meant that the Pork Belly Satay from BaliNice tasted something similar to Chinese-style Chuan Chuan 串串 which is a rather refreshing change for a satay stall.
We also noted that the Pork Belly Satay does come with a smokier flavour that the Pork, Chicken and Mutton satays as well — while it does sound odd to dip them in a peanut-laden sauce that comes with a pineapple sauce, that turned out to be pretty fine as well. As for the Chicken, Pork and Mutton satays, these were all marinated with turmeric with the flavours from the marination process being fairly evident. That being said, these somehow lacked the smokiness that the Pork Belly Satay came with. Between the three, we liked the Pork variant the best — there was sufficient bite without the meat being too tough; they had also included a layer of fat in between that gives a good chew and a hint of sweetness from the marination process. The Mutton satay was interestingly sweeter than the Pork satay, though there was an evident gaminess that lingers — not too stark, but still something that those whom dislike such flavours would be able to pick up. When it came to the Chicken satay, this was something that was more of a safe option; sufficiently tender and having an evident flavour coming from the marination process, the only thing here would be the lack of smokiness. The peanut sauce here comes with pineapple compote; while the peanut sauce of a runnier texture, the nutty flavour profile was definitely evident with the slight zing and sweetness of the pineapple compote providing some contrast. BaliNice charges their Pork, Chicken and Mutton satays at $0.80 per stick, while the Pork Belly satay’s price tag is a little heftier at double the amount — at $1.60 per stick. The satay at BaliNice aren’t the best that we had tasted, and we would like to think that there might be some other satay-centric establishments in the North that offers something comparable; that being said, this is an establishment which would be more than happy to visit if we are residing near the coffeeshop.
