JB Ah Meng

Came by for dinner after work with Stef and W! Managed to secure a reservation which was quite a feat considering the fact that nobody picked up the ringing phone for days. We were so glad we had a reservation when we arrived at JB Ah Meng to see a snaking long queue at the door. We went in and were directed to an auntie who was in charge of the reservations. The auntie looked very confused and overwhelmed, and hustled around for a long while before finally pointing us to an available table at the front. The restaurant was super crowded even though it was a weekday and things were so chaotic. Shortly after we sat down, the auntie asked if we could share our table with two others and we agreed, so 5 of us were packed around a round table.

After we got over the chaotic process of getting our table and receiving the menu, we ordered our food eagerly.

Salted Egg Prawn Roll. Not really a roll, but really just deep fried prawns with salted egg sauce. The best part of this dish was the deep fried corn. Omg the corn was so crunchy and delicious. The prawns were good, but the corn was definitely better. 

The highlight of the meal had to be the White Pepper Crab. We were told we could choose between 3 small crabs, 3 medium-sized crabs or 2 large crabs. Our first choice was 3 small crabs but the auntie commented that the small crabs were really small (her exact words were "Like baby lor") and that we could comfortably finish 3 medium-sized crabs since the crabs were much smaller than the usual Sri Lankan crabs. Auntie was very persuasive so we went for 3 medium-sized crabs.

The crabs were so good. I am not a fan of black pepper crabs and always opt for chilli crab. But this white pepper crab was amazing. The taste of the pepper was not overpowering and the crab was so sweet and fresh. I loved that they knocked the shell apart so we could get to the flesh quickly without having to grapple with the shell.

Stir-fried kang kong. Some greens to balance the (unhealthy) meal.

Fried Bee hoon. One of JB Ah Meng's specialties and totally not what we expected. When the dish first arrived, we were rather taken aback that the bee hoon looked charred. But the wok hei in this bee hoon was amazing!

534 Geylang Rd, Singapore 389490

67412418 (keep calling and you would eventually be able to get someone on the phone to fix your reservation!)

Captain K Seafood Tower

This was super popular a while back so I decided to wait for the hype to die down a bit before bringing my parents here to celebrate Father's and Mother's Day last year. Yupp, you read that right, last year. I cannot believe I am writing this almost a year later. I am so swamped that I don't even know where my time has gone anymore. Anyway, glad that Zg could join us! I made a reservation before turning up but there was some mix-up in the reservations so we almost didn't get our table. Thankfully they rectified it quickly enough and we were soon seated.

You can choose the number of tiers you wish to have for your seafood tower based on the number of people having the meal. Since there were 5 of us at the dinner, we chose 7 tiers. The last tier was a soup base and we picked the kimchi soup base.

Our 7-tier seafood tower arrived!

The clams were really fresh and sweet. I'm not really a fan of mussels so I can't really comment on them.

I felt there were too few prawns but they were also very fresh and sweet.

I had great difficulty shucking the oysters and struggled to pry the shell apart. I wished they shucked the oysters for us before placing them in the tower!

Rice stuffed in the squid.

Mini crayfish. This was another tier which was terribly difficult to eat because it was just so hard to remove the shell from the small crayfish.

Finally, my favourite tier! Scallops with garlic and vermicelli. Love the fresh scallops and fragrant garlic.

The essence of the seafood from all the tiers flowed into the kimchi soup base at the bottom. The kimchi soup was so sweet! We picked various items from the back of the restaurant (instant noodles, pork slices, cabbage, golden mushroom, random balls) and placed them into the kimchi soup. Soon, we had a bubbling pot of delicious kimchi steamboat!

The seafood at Captain K was fresh and sweet and I really liked the kimchi soup base. But I felt it was quite pricey and the food we received did not really justify the hefty price tag. Will be back if they reduced their price. Or maybe I would visit a cheaper alternative to see whether Captain K truly deserves its price tag.

#01-02 Income@Prinsep
30 Prinsep Street
62552270

Pince and Pints, Duxton

I have been completely missing in action on this blog and I have sooooo many outdated draft posts in my blogger that are just sitting there waiting for me to post them. But frankly, I have been so busy recently that I can't even find time to click the publish button on blogger, much less blog about anything new. I have a bunch of pictures in my computer and in my phone that are also waiting for me to do something about them. But all I really want to do is crawl into bed, curl up, listen to some music and read a book. Or sleep. Sleep sounds like an incredibly rare commodity these days. So here goes one of the very outdated posts that I pulled out from my draft folder and clicked publish. To demonstrate just how outdated this post is, my boyfriend's birthday was in July. Omg. That's almost 4 months ago.

Visited Pince and Pints for the boyfriend's birthday because we miss New York's lobster rolls so much! We came right after work in high spirits and there were hardly any other customers around (thank goodness!). I heard that there were insane long queues when Pince and Pints first opened and I am not sure if that is still the case. But thankfully, we need not queue that evening and were ushered in quickly to a seat at the back.

Service feels... like New York. The casual greetings, the friendly banter, the waiters behaving more like friends than the usual distant staff. The menu was simple and essentially consisted of 3 items: Live Whole Lobster (Grilled or Steamed), Lobster Roll, and Chilli Lobster. All 3 items are priced at $58 each and each dish comes with approximately 600g of lobster. We chose a Grilled Whole Lobster and a Lobster Roll.

The Lobster Roll was yums! Big chunky fresh lobster meat in a light fluffy roll. I still miss Luke Lobster Roll in New York but this is about as good as it gets in Singapore. I know I should not compare but omg, the Lobster Rolls in Singapore are so expensive! I can get a similar roll for about a third of the price in New York.

The Grilled Whole Lobster felt way more substantial and worth the price. A large lobster sliced into half and served with salad and straight cut fries. I love the huge piece of fresh lobster meat which could be torn away from the shell easily. So sweet and juicy!

And here we are enjoying the time together, digging into fresh lobster meat and having a good laugh together. That night reminded me of the good times we had in USA with Stef and King, the fun, the cold, the adventure. I am thankful for the years we had together and the years to come and I am glad that we have spent many birthdays together, celebrating the wrinkles and laugh lines we have accumulated. To a brighter, better year ahead! :)

32-33 Duxton Rd, 089496

62257558

Opening Hours. Mon - Fri : 5pm - 11pm (Dinner Only) Sat & PH : 12pm - 11pm (All Day) Open on Public Holidays Last Order for Kitchen 10pm. No reservations.

The Boiler: so good that it deserves a second post!

I blogged about my first visit to the Boiler here. Back then, the place was rather empty on a weekday night and a reservation was not strictly necessary. Fast forward a couple of months and the Boiler is receiving a steady crowd even on weekday nights. Thank goodness I made a reservation for Stef's birthday feast! I would definitely recommend making a reservation if you intend to drop by Boiler.

It was an awesome feast. We had the Bombdiggity Bag with the Works sauce (just the right amount of spicy!). The bag came with Dungeness crab, prawns, mussels, clams, sausages, corn and bun. It was a lot of seafood and we worked our way through it happily with W. I also learnt that night that crabs had 8 legs and 2 pincers! After all these years of feasting on crabs, I was under this warped impression that crabs had 6 legs and 2 pincers oops.

We also had beeritas (beer with lemon slushie) and wings. So very happy to be celebrating this smart, funny, awesome girl's birthday! I bought her the most ridiculous gift ever and had a good laugh presenting it. I must remember to ask whether it was effective!

Tue to Thurs: 17:00 to 22:30

Fri to Sat: 17:00 to midnight

Sun: 17:00 to 22:30

Closed on Mondays

66351285

The Boiler, Tai Seng

The Boiler is housed in an unlikely location off the beaten path. Situated in the Tai Seng industrial estate, The Boiler takes up a unit on the first floor of the Novelty Bizcentre. Haven't heard of that building before? Well, neither have I until Google Maps brought us here and we bumped around trying to find the unit.

We made a reservation for a weekday night but it turned out that they were not too busy on weekdays (thankfully!). I kind of like places which are not insanely crowded, and which do not pressure me to gobble up my food at lightning speed and evacuate. I like to eat slowly, sit around, drink some beers, then stumble home happily.

The Boiler serves seafood in Cajun style, similar to Cajun Kings and the Dancing Crab, and I should say that The Boiler is definitely a fierce competitor.

Beer first. They have some pretty interesting craft beers, none of which I have heard before, so I picked one randomly. St Bernardus Prior 8 was creamy and heavy, with a distinct bitter after taste. 

We ordered Bacon Shrimps with Hickory BBQ sauce and Spam Fries to share. The Boiler was not strong in their side dishes. The Bacon Shrimp was yummy with salty bacon wrapped around crunchy prawns. But the fresh prawns were completely overpowered by the Hickory Sauce. Spam Fries were good, but, as my friend pointed out, you can't go wrong with spam. 

The highlight was definitely the seafood. We had the Boiler's Duo Bag which came with prawns, mussels, clams, sausages, corn in a big plastic bag. You could pick the sauce and we had the pepper butter sauce. The sauce was incredible. It was not too heavy and had just the right amount of pepper for a kick. The seafood was just so fresh. 

Food was served quickly and the staff was very attentive. They offered the usual bibs and even provided a small clear bag for me to keep my phone which was sitting on the table. When we were done with our food and were chatting over our drinks, the waiters appeared swiftly and cleared the table at once. 

The Boiler was so good that my friend returned the week after and reported that their beerita was awesome. I'm definitely ordering that when I return!

Tue to Thurs: 17:00 to 22:30

Fri to Sat: 17:00 to midnight

Sun: 17:00 to 22:30

Closed on Mondays

66351285

New Ubin Seafood, Sin Ming

I heard loads of good stuff about New Ubin Seafood from many people at work and I decided that I just have to try this for myself. Located in the industrial estate along Sin Ming Road, this place was rather inaccessible and I was waiting for the opportune moment when I could hitch a ride to New Ubin. Eventually, I decided to create this opportunity when my brother's and dad's birthdays were around the corner and I suggested that we have dinner at New Ubin Seafood.

I called to make a reservation on Saturday morning and was told that they were fully booked on Sunday except for a slot at 8 pm. Might be a good idea to call earlier in advance so that you could have an earlier dinner. I made plans for a late lunch with my parents so that a late dinner would not make us too hungry. 

When we arrived at 8 pm, the place was crowded. All the tables were full and kids were running about while families were chatting exuberantly. We settled down at our table and flipped through the menu quickly.

For our daily dose of veggies, we ordered the Stir Fried Garlic Dou Miao ($10). This was ordinary, nothing spectacular. Crunchy dou miao fried with chopped garlic.

Har Cheong Kai ($14) was a recommended item on the menu so we went with it. This was good, crispy skin, juicy chicken meat, and the shrimp paste was so fragrant!

The Salted Egg Squid ($14) was another recommended item on the menu so yes we ordered it too! I really liked this dish. The squid was soft and not overcooked, the salted egg sauce was just so thick! I could taste chunks of real salted egg in the thick sauce which coated the squid evenly. I would recommend this dish if you are at New Ubin.

The Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle ($12) was highly recommended by my friend at work who could not stop raving about it. But I have to admit, this was solid and totally worthy of an incessant amount of praise. The broth tasted of fresh sweet prawns and it was just bliss swallowing mouthfuls of noodles coated with that delicious sauce. I was not paying too much attention on the assorted seafood since the main attraction in the Hokkien Mee was definitely the broth. 

Oyster Omelette with Sambal Blachan ($16). This was average, just normal fried egg with oysters and sambal tossed on top. I would give it a miss if I return. 

The Back Ribs were also highly recommended by my friend so we ordered half a rack ($38). Unfortunately, the Back Ribs left us sorely disappointed. The ribs were not well-marinated and tasted like the chef merely grilled them and smeared some sauce on top. It was also not tender enough, and required quite a bit of chewing to get the meat off the bone. Overall this was one sad dish.

Large Barbecued Tiger Prawns ($45). The prawns were overcooked and lacked the juicy texture I expected. They were generally quite fresh and easy to peel off from the shell. Unfortunately, the tough texture of the prawns meant that this dish was not really enjoyable. I would much prefer juicy crunchy prawns as compared to tough overcooked prawns.

Perhaps all the good stuff that I heard about New Ubin meant that my expectations were naturally very high. The food was generally ok, with some items exceeding my expectations while others falling short. It was overall a good hearty meal but I doubt I would be excitedly planning my next trip to New Ubin unless I have a craving for their Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle.

Block 27 Sin Ming Road, Sin Ming Industrial Estate Sector A
#01-174
64669558
Daily 11:30 to 14:30; 17:30 to 22:30

Dancing Crab, Grandstand, Turf Club Road

Heard lots of good things about Dancing Crab and I was dying to try this. I was especially curious as to whether Dancing Crab was better than Cajun King which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a tough week and I really wanted to feast over some good seafood and truffle fries so I came by one night after work. 

Dancing Crab was pretty empty when we dropped by on a weekday night. But to be fair, Grandstand as a whole was like a dead city on weekday nights so it was not a surprise that the restaurants and eating establishments were similarly deserted. I mean, who would drive all the way to such an inaccessible location and brave the horrifying traffic at the Newton roundabout on a weekday night after work? 

The concept at Dancing Crab was similar to that in Cajun Kings. The tables were covered with white paper and we were eating with our hands. I should mention that I love eating with my hands even though I know it is not the most convenient nor hygienic way to put food into my mouth. 

My friend did the homework and researched about the must tries in Dancing Crab. We ordered the Garlic Noodles ($6), Crab Cakes ($13), Truffle Fries ($7), and Flaming Moonshine Tiger Prawns ($8 per 100g). 

Garlic Noodles was a bit meh. It was fragrant and tasty but definitely not al dente. We were kind of disappointed by the Garlic Noodles which could certainly be better.

Crab Cakes were pretty awesome! Crispy on the outside yet creamy and juicy inside. Crab Cakes at Dancing Crab were the soft kind and fell apart if you squeezed it harder. I made the wrong mistake of squeezing my Crab Cake unknowingly when I was chatting and it disintegrated into pieces onto the white paper. I promptly picked the pieces up and threw them into my mouth. 

This was the highlight and I apologise for the lousy quality of the picture. My fingers were kind of oily and dirty by the time our Flaming Moonshine Tiger Prawns arrived and I was in a hurry to use as little fingers as possible to take this picture before resuming our feast. The Flaming Moonshine Tiger Prawns were prepared beside your table in a small pot set over a stove. The flames shot up excitedly and our prawns were tossed in the pot for a couple of minutes before they were served. The prawns were very very fresh and sweet. The prawns were not cooked in any overpowering sauce so you could enjoy the sweetness of the prawns. 

The Truffle Fries were super awesome too. Crispy thin fries fried to perfection. Fragrant with the taste of truffle oil and just perfect!

Another exciting addition to Grandstand. I would definitely return!

200 Turf Club Road
The Grandstand
#01-20/21 Singapore 287994
64663303
Tue - Fri 17:00 - 22:30
Sat and Sun 11:30 - 15:00, 17:00 - 22:30
Closed on Mondays

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