Uncle Leong Seafood

In a nutshell
Fudz: Uncle Leong Seafood (Toa Payoh) <- look out for Punggol and Jurong
Cuisine: Chinese
Location: 15 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh #01-01 Singapore 319262
Dial: +65 6554 3453
Email: yongheng_1986@hotmail.com
Interweb: http://www.uncleleongseafood.com/
Damage: Your doctor's advice on your cholesterol levels. You decide.

The story

It started with nobody.

Nobody could decide what we should have for dinner. We threw in suggestions in our group chat. Some groan and moan. More suggestions came up, albeit more hesitantly. Yeah, not bad. We can eat that. I'm fine with anything. A few muted responses. There were lapses of silence when everyone was tired of getting nowhere.

It went on for the entire Saturday afternoon until someone mentioned crabs.

'Please' is no longer a magic word. The magic word is 'Crab'.

It sparked off an entire debate on which seafood restaurant we should go and what time to meet. A few volunteered to call for reservations. Most places were fully booked, no surprise. Oh where oh where. Wanting to eat crabs should not be a pipe dream!

Pearl Leong (in no relation whatsoever) called Uncle Leong Seafood and told us that she managed to reserve a table, but there was no guarantee. We thanked our lucky stars (the Cancer constellation in particular) and made our way down to Toa Payoh in great anticipation. The Leongs must had felt a familiar connection somehow.

The non-crab dishes came first to line our stomachs.

Deep Fried Bean Curd

The bean curd is homemade. Crispy and soft. The sweet sauce is really optional because it already tasted good on its own.

Cereal Prawns

Frankly, I ate more shell than meat for this one. Your regular tze char place may give you a better version. Still tasty but it's not a must-have in my books.

Chinese Spinach with Eggs

I wish there were more century egg and salted egg in this dish. Spinach has a rich source of iron that is good for your red blood cells and heart. It's our vain attempt to balance off the rich cholesterol-laden food that we were about to consume.

Xaviere and I were adamant to order four crabs for the dinner group of six. Mabel (the scrooge) stared at us in disbelief. 

'太夸张了你们！' (translates to, 'You people are exaggerating!')

Mabel recounted that her family of four always order only one crab to share. Xaviere and I (the greedy pigs) stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you sure?"

"Okay, maybe two but no more than that!" said the unreliable storyteller.

We insisted to order four because we need them in different cooking styles. If you take a look at Uncle Leong Seafood's menu for crabs, you will realise that these crabs come in more styles than the models from Vogue.

Shimmering Sand Crab Delight

The thick sauce is creamy. Butter, milk, cereal oats, salt, all rolled into one. It is one of their signature crab dishes, together with the Claypot Crab Bee Hoon Soup. The latter is a good contrast if you are feeling a little 'jer lat' from the creamy sauce.

Claypot Crab Bee Hoon Soup

The soup is filled with crabby goodness. It is rich in flavour and you can really taste the essence of crab with every spoonful. Almost every table ordered a Claypot Crab Bee Hoon Soup. We were glad that we did too.

Chilli Crab

Singapore is well known for many things. Chilli crab is one of the good things. Who knew crab and chilli sauce can go so well together?

The crab feast made our weekend. Due to our current age, we will plan the next seafood dinner many months later to give ourselves some recovery time. However, crab cravings come soon after you have some. It's like coke.

Till the next time we reach an impasse on what to eat.




P.S - I would like to try the Black Pepper Crab the next time I visit. It is still my favourite style of crabs. 

The novelty and nobility

In a nutshell

Fudz: Paradise Dynasty

Cuisine: China to the Chinese to the Ching Chong Man

Code: Whatever you can bring yourself to wear to ION Orchard

Location: ION Orchard Singapore, 2 Orchard Turn, #04-12A

Dial: +65 6509 9118

Interweb: http://www.paradisegroup.com.sg/

Damage: $30-$40 per pax

Taste: Chinese. You can also taste Chinese in a neighbourhood zichar stall too.

Ambience: You would also think you've stepped into royalty with all that gold

Service: The feeling of being served by the chefs themselves is authentic... no?

The story

You can avoid the number queue if you arrive a tinge earlier than the dinner crowd. The trick in Singapore is to feel hungry before everyone does. Some call it kiasu-ism. These some don't know how to plan an efficient timetable to save their lives.

Food blogs have been spawning reviews of this 'not-so-new-anymore' Chinese restaurant who is giving Crystal Jade and Ding Tai Fung a run for their money. Locals have an unexplained fixation on xiao long baos. I can explain it. I blame it on food documentaries that enjoy showing glistening buns that look pregnant with soup while being held up by a pair of chopsticks. Since then, fantasies of popping one of those soup buns into our mouths have lingered relentlessly on our minds. So much so that there are still ridiculous long queues outside DTF that I can NEVER comprehend.

Chandeliers lining up the ceiling

Eat it whole or suck up the soup first but I prefer the former because it saves time

Chinese equivalent of the Korean rice cakes

Chinese equivalent of carbonara... a broth of crabmeat and egg

Shredded ginger and vinegar

Finery

Dragon was hovering above us throughout dinner

Shanghainese Fried Rice done well

Stir-fried tofu

Straight from the kitchen

Kungfu Cha!

And it swirls from the spout

I've never been to China so I can't tell you if the Shanghainese Fried Rice is the real McCoy. However, everything tasted pretty much the way I think it should be. I wouldn't lick the plates clean but I will still use the chopsticks in a vigilant effort in order to feed myself.

The different flavoured (and coloured) xiao long baos are attractive if your tastebuds have eyes. Try it once and consider it done. Revert to original xiao long baos thereafter. I can always find truffle in other foods that aren't Chinese. I am quite a stick-in-a-mud when it comes to food unless new creations are revolutionary... which is highly unlikely. Traditions run deep in Chinese blood.

I fell in love with the rice cakes. I made a mental note to order a plate for myself and NOT share if I ever visit Paradise Dynasty the third time. 

I've used up my word count of the day. Just remember what I said about getting hungry early.