Mellben seafood @ pasir ris

Back to Mellben for more crabs! This time at pasir ris, which the eastie in me is deliriously happy about. (We dont have that much good food here in the east i.e. pasir ris, so must celebrate more)

Mellben in my opinion serves the sweetest crabs.

The signature crab bee hoon soup, rich thick soup filled of crab essence, remember to order extra soup because you are going to want more

The golden sand crab came in a luscious creamy buttery salted egg yolk sauce, soooo good.

And finally laksa crab with too much 'hum' , we went overboard and added too much, scaring even the waitresses there lol

Cholesterol overdose but ah we throw all health concerns out of the window with crabs this good.

Blk 440 pasir ris dr 4
#01-13 S510440
6582 0397

Mellben Seafood @ Opal Crescent

Wow I didn't know there was a Mellben Seafood here and apparently so do a lot of people cos this place was pretty empty. Yay no long waiting times for crabs!


 

Awesome crab bee hoon soup. Soup full of crab essence, so rich and so good.
The crabs here were really fresh and sweet too.
Tip :Remember to order extra bowl of soup because one pot is not enough. Also ask for less noodles, that way you get more soup!

   

So we never knew Mellben sells Laksa Crab. Sooo darn good, that thick laksa broth went really well with the sweet crab plus lots and lots of cockles (ok we added more cockles)
Btw not all Mellben serves Laksa crab, for example the famous AMK branch does not, so do call and check before heading down.


 


 
 

9 Opal Crescent
S328404
6509 0918

Da Si Xi

My mum read about this place on Straits Times and excitedly dragged the whole family down to try its signature Claypot crab rice

First up, spicy ikan bilis (at $8 ouch!), this was crispy and addictive but pricey compared to the rest of the dishes here

Our two clay pot dishes of the night. The curry fish head was mildly spicy, more towards the milky side which some may dislike, especially if you are used to the assam/indian style of this dish. I personally enjoyed it (like eating laksa!) especially with the addition of the dried bean curd skin. 

The star of the night - crab clay pot rice (with 2 crabs). Very fragrant and enticing but the crab itself was pretty disappointing, tiny with hardly any flesh. Perhaps the restaurant should come up with a Sri Lankan crab version? The rice though I love, having absorbed the juices of the crab it was extremely tasty with the satisfying crunch one associates with clay pot rice. 

Service here was efficient. No complains. Best of all no GST no service charge!

19 Sims Way
Singapore 388831
67446728

Mellben Seafood

Finally, finally, trying Mellben Seafood. Partly because Ang Mo Kio is really far away (doesn't exactly help that the location is in the middle of some housing estate) and too lazy to queue. We bit the bullet and decided to cab down, after making reservations. 

Started off with some crispy seafood tofu and salted egg prawn. Both dishes were decent, the tofu was nice and crispy but who comes to Mellben for anything else but the crabs right?  For side-kick dishes, they were good. 

Ahh the star of our meal. We got 2 (medium) chilli crabs and 2 (medium) crab bee hoon. The flesh of all the crabs were sweet and pretty delightful to eat. The chilli crab sauce was equal part sweet and spicy, just the way I like it and basically damm 'shiok' to eat with the deep-fried mantou. 

 And the crab bee noon, dammm is the soup good. You can see from the picture how the essence and roe of the crab has been 'transferred' into the soup, leaving a rich briny quantity that I love so much. Remember to order extra soup in advance, its $5 more but no regrets. Waiting time is pretty long because I believe they cook each pot of soup upon order, but worth it!

TLDR, go for the crab bee hoon soup.

#01-1222

 232 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3

6285 6762

Tong Ah Eating House

"Celebrated" a colleague's farewell with lunch at Tong Ah Eating House, recommended by one of the aunties at work. Aunties know best right? And her recommendation was spot on cos the food here was pretty decent.

Am no expert but this place does serve some unique zhi char dishes.

I dont eat fish maw but the soup was really thick and flavorful. HUGE portions

Claypot chicken was delicious. Fried in curry leaves(?) and coated in some kind of umami chinese sauce. Great with rice!

These rolls were weirdly delicious. You tiao stuff with everything imaginable (crab meat, chestnuts, asparagus etc) with a layer of mayo and a outer crepe layer. Yes weird but tasted pretty darn good.

Table full of food.

I like this place, good food and service (cute aunties),  will definitely come back.

Tong Ah Eating House

36 Keong Saik Road,

#01-2017

Big Eater Restaurant

Salted egg yolk is one of those ingredients that taste good with basically everything.

Where can you get the best salted egg yolk crab in Singapore?

I personally like the one from Big Eater Restaurant. The salted egg yolk sauce is really kick-ass and goes so well  with white rice.

Big Eater Restaurant

34 Jalan Pari Burong

Picardy Gardens

Revisiting Ting Heng Steamboat

Ting Heng is still hands down, my favorite steamboat place in Singapore

Gorgeous, marbled, melt in your mouth beef

Paired with sweet soup, fresh fish and those yummy handmade meatballs.

Sure its pricey but at least here you know you are getting quality fresh stuff. 

Ting Heng Seafood restaurant

Blk 82 Tiong Poh Road

#01-03

6323 6093

New Ubin Seafood

Nothing else to say other than New Ubin Seafood sells damm good tze char.

Located in the middle of nowhere, next to some car workshops, the crowd at New Ubin proves that the food is really worth traveling for. 

The hokkien mee was full of seafood goodness and sinful lard. 

Signature rib-eye with caramelized onions and wedges did not disappoint. Arriving on a wooden block in all its glory, the beef was tender and juicy. But the highlight of my meal was the amazing fried rice served after, cooked in beef fat. Utterly sinful and unhealthy but oh soooo good. 

Must Try. 

New Ubin Seafood

Blk 27 Sin Ming Road (Behind Blk 26)

#01-174 Sin Ming Industrial Estate Sector A

6466 9558

This place is pretty popular, reservations are a must.

Seafood Paradise

When i have a craving for Seafood, the first place I think of is Seafood Paradise.

Yes, Jumbo, long beach etc might be the traditional places that we grew up eating but Seafood Paradise just serves better quality food. There.

Went here for my Mum's birthday dinner and ordered the set dinner.

The soup of the day, lovingly doled out by the waitress at the restaurant. 

Tender pork ribs, soup that was boiled for several hours. No complains here and I am a true-blue cantonese. I know my soup.

The veg dish - bean sprouts with salted fish. 

It was done well.

Tofu with prawns. Ah this was good. Soft melt-in-your mouth pillows of tofu with plump prawns.

Great with rice!

One of seafood paradise's signature dish is their coffee pork ribs.

And I love this dish! Sweet and savory, with those charred bits and that tiny hint of coffee to keep you coming back for more. 

The assam fish which was great for people who likes the sour taste of assam.

The fish was really fresh as well

And of course, the dish of the night. The one MUST-ORDER dish at Seafood Paradise.

The Butter Crab. Ah the sauce! SO. GOOD. 

Dip your mantou into it and just savor it. Sweet, salty, rich, creamy. Delightful.

Drizzle over your rice, your veg, basically everything. 

A word of caution: this sauce is really heaty, so try not to go overboard or you may end up with a nasty throat.

Remember to make reservations!

Seafood Paradise

91 Defu Lane 10

#01-01 Swee Hin Building

6487 2429

Ting Heng Seafood Restaurant

'Singapore is a food obsessed nation', words famously spoken by Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations. One of the reasons why we enjoy food so much is that we view food as essential for gathering, bonding and one of the best 'get-togethers' over food would be the humble steamboat.

Steamboat used to be a purely Chinese New Year eve's event; the reason why they call it reunion dinner. However with the emergence of several buffet style steamboat in the past 10 years , steamboats have now become part of our everyday dining lifestyles. Unfortunately the popularity of steamboats have been somewhat marred by the presence of way too many buffet-style steamboat restaurants dotting the streets of Bugis; containers of seafood, meat left in the open for people to dig through, substandard stock and overall poor quality of food and hygiene really leaves a bad taste in one's mouth. 

One of the most underrated steamboat places in my opinion is Ting Heng Seafood Restaurant. Tucked in a little corner of Tiong Bahru and resembling a typical coffee shop, it really does not stand out. Look closer and you will notice the reservation signs on most tables, busy waitresses and tables piled high with steamboats and raw food. This place is known for its fishhead steamboat and is a MUST order in my opinion; service staff make up mainly of middle-aged women and are very friendly and helpful so do ask them for advice on food choices. Here are some of my recommendations:

 

Fatty Beef ($24 for a large plate). Long thin slices of melt-in-your-mouth beef. Marbled, fresh and dipped in chili,  its enough to give any foodie an orgasm. A must-try!

                   

Handmade meat balls (prawn, beef and pork). Unlike the generic frozen packaged meatballs, these tend to be slightly softer which one might not be used to. However, get past this and you will find that these meatballs are the real deal; packed with flavor and that taste that only comes when you bite into something handmade.

  This place is known for its Tze Char (cooked dishes) as well and on the waitress' recommendation we ordered the cooked Lalas in black bean sauce and no regrets there. The lalas were sweet, huge and extremely fresh and the sauce complemented these shellfish very well. This is going to be a regular dish on our visits to this restaurant in the future.

Other items I enjoyed were the pork's neck which was very very tender, the fresh fish slices (although a tad too expensive) and the fresh liver which is great for steamboat.

Ambience at Ting Heng might not be fantastic; the restaurant consist of a small indoor area and a larger outdoors area about the size of 2 badminton courts. However, the service and food more than make up for it and this place is great for a family gathering over piping hot soup and fresh seafood.

Ting Heng Seafood restaurant

Blk 82 Tiong Poh Road

#01-03

6323 6093