Coincidentally, my last night in Singapore fell during my mum’s holiday, so she asked me to go out to dinner with her. To my surprise, or perhaps not that much of a surprise, she also invited some of her friends who live in Singapore.
We left it up to them to choose where we should eat, and they suggested chilli crab, which I was quietly very excited about. We tried a few places closer to the city, but they were all booked out, partly because they had air conditioning and partly because the F1 was starting in a few days.
So, instead, they took my mum and me out to Bedok to try Crab Kingdom. My mum’s friends had eaten there before, although they had only tried the takeaway, but they still thought the food was really good.
We also let my mum’s friend take charge of the ordering, which turned out to be a great decision. She ordered the chilli crab with mantou, jade beancurd with pine mushrooms, the yam ring, salted egg green beans, and a deep-fried pork dish whose name I unfortunately can’t remember.
The salted egg green beans were the first to arrive. Man, these were seriously tasty. What a combination. The beans were still crisp, while the salted egg added a delicious mix of saltiness and creaminess. It worked incredibly well.
The beancurd, which seemed to be house-made and had seaweed cooked on top, was also absolutely delicious and I had never tried pine mushrooms, which were also really good, and their were also fresh snap peas (yum) that went well with the tofu. Between the tofu/beancurd and the green beans, we had two really good vegetable dishes to start.
The yam ring was particularly impressive. It reminded me of a Cantonese bird’s nest, except it was made from taro/yam. It was beautifully deep-fried, and inside was a great mix of pork, sliced onion, prawns, and other ingredients. There was a lot going on, but it all worked really well. It slightly reminded me of the Wu Kok (Taro root dumpling) you get at Yum Cha.
The pork dish was also good, although I didn’t get to experience the full effect because the accompanying sauce was loaded with peanuts, which isn’t really my thing. The pork itself, though, was cooked really well.
Then came the chilli crab.
What a dish!
The crab was incredibly sweet and tasty, and the sauce had this wonderful combination of tomato and salted egg yolk. It was totally delicious. Eating chilli crab does take a bit of time and patience, but if you’re willing to put in the effort, you are rewarded.
And then there was the mantou. Deep-fried bread dipped into that chilli crab sauce. Wow.
I also dipped some of the pork into the crab sauce, which actually made for a great substitute for the peanut-based sauce that came with it.
We also had barley water, which was my first time trying it. It was really nice and refreshing, particularly because we were sitting outside under cover and it was still pretty warm. Also we order it with less sugar, which which I liked.
Overall, this was a fantastic dinner.
One thing I really love about eating in Singapore is how the locals just seem to know where to go. My mum’s friends took us somewhere I probably would never have found on my own, and the food was excellent.
I was really impressed, and it was a fantastic way to finish my time in Singapore.
Address: 25 New Upper Changi Rd, #01-654, Singapore 462025
