Hua Yu Wee

I've been missing in action for a couple of weeks. I was really busy the week before I left for Bali, then I packed and went off for a week-long break in Bali, after which I came back to another crazy week! Finally found time to sit down and switch on my own laptop. It is, however, around 1am now and you might spot some typos below which my weary eyes are too tired to identify. 

I went for a seafood dinner with my secondary school friends at Hua Yu Wee before I went to Bali. One of my friends wanted to have crabs and someone suggested Hua Yu Wee so that was where we went! I have to confess that I honestly did not know Hua Yu Wee existed even though I live in the east and apparently Hua Yu Wee is an "eastie" thing. It took me awhile to find my way from Tanah Merah MRT to Hua Yu Wee on Bus 48 but somehow Google Maps got me there and I was quite stunned when I saw the restaurant.

I did not know what I expected but I certainly did not expect Hua Yu Wee to be housed in a sprawling compound with a large mansion at the back and an equally impressive parking area in front.

I was the third last person to arrive, having left the office pretty late. But I arrived in time to watch the others order the dishes. We had a thai-style tofu, drunken prawns, something called the Fang Sha Chicken, and two crabs (one chilli and the other black pepper).

The thai-style tofu was all right. The tofu was crispy on the outside and very smooth and soft within.

I was super amused when the waitress told us that the drunken prawns will be cooked in the kitchen and there will not be any "performance". By "performance" she meant the cooking of live prawns right in front of you on the table. I could not help but find that really funny. How is that a performance? But I suppose it is since there is no other reason why anybody would want to witness live prawns being cooked other than for the sake of entertainment.

The drunken prawns were really fresh. Do you know how to tell fresh prawns from the really horrible frozen types? Just see if the shell can be peeled off the body easily. These prawns were definitely very fresh and sweet.

Now the Fang Sha Chicken. I swear we had a very amusing waitress taking our orders because when she recommended this dish, she described the cooking process as "we marinate the boneless chicken, fry it and then hang it up to dry". This dish was really unique! It reminds me of Ayam Peynet because it was really flat and the choicest bits of the chicken were the thin crispy parts.

Finally, THE CRABS! Only managed to take a picture of the chili crab because my fingers were all covered with awesome chili sauce when the black pepper crab arrived. I love the crabs! It was so fresh, so soft, so sweet, and so yummy with the respective sauces! I am always a chili crab person so I obviously thought the chili crab was better than the black pepper crab but I am certain people will refute that. 

It's so cute to eat crabs with your friends! Everybody likes a different part of the crab. Some like the pincers, some have a soft spot for the legs. As for me, I enjoy a very particular part of the crab, namely this small joint area between the pincers and the body. I find that part very soft and juicy. It's not as hard and muscular as the pincers, but definitely tougher than the legs. 

I went home all happy in the belly but oh my goodness, I was so sleepy after the meal. Major food coma. I vaguely remembered taking a quick bath and jumping right into bed.

462 Upper East Coast R