Melben Seafood - Best Crab Bee Hoon

Where do I even start.  Well, first with a HUGE thank you to Kai for introducing me to the most scrumptious food on earth…Crab Bee Hoon.  OMG! 

I have always been a crab purist, eating it just steamed and maybe with a slight dip in melted butter or a drop or two of lemon juice.  I find that to truly enjoy the taste of such a delicate food you mustn’t slather it with spice after spice after sauce after whatever…If you have a nice, fresh crab it’s so sweet and succulent it truly needs no spice.  The natural seawater would have already slightly salted it and that’s all you really need.  Bad crab, on the other hand can be dry, salty and tasteless, but don’t even go there.  Yuck. 

So, while visiting Singapore, which is now our home, our friend Kai took us to Melben (yes, as is Melbourne).  He strongly suggested the Crab Bee Hoon although I was skeptical.  Once it arrived (in soup), I was a bit hesitant to take a piece as I really don’t like having sauce/soup all over my hands and it was damn hot.  However, once the crab cooled down a bit, I grabbed a piece, took one bite and aaaahhhhh I was in heaven.  Seriously???  Holy crap!  I have never had such a delightful taste dancing around in my mouth.  The buttery soup kept the crab soft and tender, but it wasn’t so creamy that I felt sick after eating nearly ¾ of the crab.  Yup, that’s right, amongst the three of us, I dare say I dominated.   When there is crab, watch out, I do have a tendency to get over zealous. 

I have not even mentioned the noodles that are swimming around in the soup and of course the soup itself.  It’s hard to describe what the flavor actually is.  It’s like a butter cream soup, but not thick.  I found myself slurping the remaining soup in-between bites of crab.  It added to the flavor of the crab and sent me into heaven.

This is our go to restaurant whenever we have visitors unless they are like Adrian and use a fork and knife to eat crab.  Really?? I know your mamma raised you with manners that say no food eaten without fork and knife, but every now and then you need to cast all that aside and indulge.  My mamma raised me as a crab lover like herself and oh how grateful I am for that.  I am too easy to please. Just tickle my taste buds and your “in”. 
Blk 211 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, #01-11/15 Singapore +65 6353 3120

Best Black Pepper Crab & Chili Crab Thus Far

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Eng Seng Restaurant, Still Road & Joo Chiat Place

When we made plans with Vic’s co-workers to have black pepper crab I was excited about the thought of having crab because I LOVE crab, but I'm not absolutely thrilled about the black pepper part.  I’ve had black pepper crab and chili crab, on several occasions, at well-known places such as Jumbo Seafood.  I know, it’s a bit touristy, but they did become famous for their Chili Crab.  Let’s just say I find the Chili Crab at Jumbo tasty, but not "knock your socks off" delicious.  The gooey, messy part makes me shy away from it altogether because the taste does not warrant dealing with slimy hands all throughout dinner.  But, I digress.  Back to dinner. 

When we arrived it was the usual wait for a table.  20 minutes later we got our table and the fun began.  The black pepper crab arrived first.  Hesitantly, I reached for a manageable piece.  black pepper crab is not as much of a burden as chili crab because the sauce isn’t so wet.  I tore into the crab as I normally do, manners left at the storefront, and much to my surprise I could actually taste the crab.  black pepper crab is normally not that exciting for me because: #1 the s@%t burns my entire mouth and #2 I love crab and you can’t even make out that it’s crab with all that black pepper swirling around in your mouth.  

 The sauce was quite different than all the other black pepper crab places I’ve been to.  There was a slight sweetness/mildness to the pepper that allowed you to actually enjoy the moist and tender crab meat.  There is also a secret to the way they cook their crab, I swear.  They must soak the crab in milk or cook it in milk first because it’s so juicy.  It tastes like they cook it in Crab Bee Hoon Soup, the most delightful dish on earth (refer to previous blog on 7/30/2011), but that’s a whole other story. 

Next came the chili crab.  Again, much to my surprise it was so yummy.  Every other chili crab I’ve had tastes relatively the same.  This one, however, was different.  I can’t quite place it, but again the chili sauce is not just a bunch of chili and egg.  It collaborated with the crab instead of dominating the crab.  The start of the dish was able to shine through allowing me to enjoy each and every succulent bite of the crab meat.  

Words cannot describe how excited I am to have found a place that has black pepper crab that I can endure and actually like (as well as chili crab, although I prefer the black pepper crab). The bummer is Vic (my husband) isn’t as excited as I am about crab.  Anyone ever interested in a crab-eating partner, you know who to call.

p.s. I don’t want to think about the idea that MSG had anything to do with the amazing flavor, so I won’t!