Chili Crab is a dish that originated in Singapore. The crabs are steamed, and then stir-fried in a thick, sweet chili sauce. They are served with little rolls, that are great for mopping up the excess sauce.
We headed to the waterfront (well it's an island so the whole place is a waterfront!) to the East Coast Seafood Center and Jumbo Seafood. It was a Thursday night and this place was packed! Luckily Evan was smart enough to make a reservation, and we were seated immediately. We were a little overwhelmed by the menu, so Evan did the ordering.
The meal started with a pitcher of the local brew, Tiger Beer.
We then had cereal prawns (so sweet and crunchy!) and satay (who doesn't love meat on a stick), as well as some rice.
The came the chili crab. We ordered the traditional chili crab as well as the black pepper crab. It was good, but way too messy for me. I enjoyed the flavor of the black pepper crab much better than the chili crab. I thought the crab with each had good flavor, but it was way too much of a hassle to eat. It was sticky and slippery and kind of a pain in the ass to get the crab out. It was an experience though, and I'm glad I tried it.
We also had some steamed Sea Bass, which I loved. Much easier to eat then than damn chili crab, and so delicious - even if it was staring at me the whole time.
As much as I didn't love the chili crab in Singapore, it was still a great meal and a lot of fun to sit outside and enjoy a local dish - despite the scent of oil in the air.After a few more pitchers of Tiger we were off to a Thai nightclub, now that was an experience...
Look at that food! I have been watching TC and now am very interested to try more food from there (though not eating meat might be a problem).
ReplyDeleteIt was fantastic, and these pictures aren't even that great!
ReplyDeleteThe hawker stalls had the best food, by far. I loved all the choices.
What a great experience! I can only imagine the memories flooding back from your trip now that the TC finale is in Snigapore!
ReplyDeleteCan you post pics of the nightclub next?! ;)
Thai nightclub post ASAP. Is it a good place for a beer summit?
ReplyDeleteThis season of Top Chef has been kind of boring. The market they were in looked amazing though. Your lucky to have seen it all!
Watching Top Chef last week brought the memories of my Singapore vacation as well. And we LOVED chili crab. Maybe the place you went to wasn't very good at it. It definitely was messy but such amazing flavor. I want to find an authentic Singaporian restaurant in Boston... I wonder if China town has one. Hmm.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome experience! I have never heard of chili crab... I will be on the look out for it next time I am traveling!
ReplyDeleteI had black pepper crab in Singapore too! Sooooo good! And Tiger....well, that's a given!! :D
ReplyDeleteThere will be no sharing of any Thai nightclub pictures, use your imaginations!
ReplyDelete