Dancing Crab Singapore by Tung Lok

In a nutshell
Fudz: Dancing Crab by Tung Lok
Cuisine: Creole and American influences
Location: The Grandstand - 200 Turf Club Road #01-20/21 Singapore 287994
Dial: +65 6466 3303
Interweb: http://www.dancingcrab.com.sg/

The story

Eating seafood is a happy occasion. The name itself sets you up on your feet and they will tap merrily away to the beat. Who worries about spiking cholesterol levels when you just want to put a piece of that seafood into your mouth? No one ever. You should always be ready for it.

We were ready for it when Xaviere wanted to go somewhere 'ulu' for dinner. There are 'ulu' restaurants in Singapore where no birds would lay eggs but people would flock over for the love of food and being hippy. And happy. Whatever. Like where, Xaviere? Where is 'ulu'?

Xaviere is seldom at the loss of words. In fact, her replies often catch me unaware and they are blows to my heart and brain. Sneaky. And happy. Whatever. I've battle scars from her but I'm well-trained.

"Let's go to The Grandstand. I want to eat at Dancing Crab!"

For non-Singaporeans reading this, please do not be misled into thinking that The Grandstand is somewhere 'ulu'. In fact, it's already an establishment for restaurants, cafes and dessert shoppes for the past couple of years. If you have a car, it's not that 'ulu'.

Sheena had the car that day. So we went.

Nobody questions Xaviere too much when her heart is set on something.

(By the way, where she lives is at the far end of Singapore lor. That's more 'ulu' to me. This is the matter of opinions and we shall leave it as that.)

We found a car who took up four lots at the car park. No, it's not a lorry. It's a normal sedan. Very impressive but I believe it is quite common there. Rogue drivers are always mentally chastised by other drivers. I wonder if all the mental negativity is ever strong enough to get to them. I hope so.

Dancing Crab sounds very cheerful. The image of a crab dancing in the head looks extremely adorable. I'm just sorry that their happiness will be short-lived because they would be eaten.

Here's the entrance with all the crab shells. If I'm a crab with human brains, it's like walking into Sedlec Ossuary for a tour and you then find cannibals in there. Okay, too early for Halloween-infused posts.

You get to see some live ones at the window aquariums.

Once you enter the restaurant, you will find a very relaxed and cheerful atmosphere. Colourful flag streamers and fish nets hung low across the ceilings, dim lightings except on your dining table, comfortable chairs for your butts and enthusiastic servers with big smiles. I thought it is a good place for family dinners and rowdy friends' gatherings.

Lobster Roll ($23)

Their lobster rolls are famous. Xaviere wanted to eat them before we even looked at the menu. She still wanted to eat them after we spent quite some time looking at the menu. I think you will want to eat them after reading this post. Please do. Tell me what you think about it after eating it. I didn't eat it.

Atlantic Cod Fish and Chips ($22)

It's not just fish and chips. It's cod fish and chips. A generous serving of chips with three soft and succulent pieces of cod meat that allow you to chomp on even if you've just tightened your braces that day. Squeeze the lemon over the fish and chips for zest. The fish is fresh enough without the lemon but I like the taste of tang with it.

Combo Bag #01 ($80)

Combo Bag #01 comes with a Sri Lanka crab, prawns, mussels, potatoes, corn, sausages. It's good for two but on my good days, I may just want the whole bag for myself. You can choose the sauce - Dancing Crab Signature of mild, spicy or extra spicy, Herb Butter or Beurre Blanc. The server comes with the clear plastic bag of seafood and dumps it right in front of you on the table. You get down and dirty with the meal, bare-handed. I like that. Nobody should use utensils on a chicken wing too. It will not taste as good without licking your fingers as you eat.

If you order The Flaming Moonshine Tiger Prawns ($8 per 100g), you will get a show of flaming prawns right next to your table. We did not have that but I think it's worth a go. The name of the dish is romantic enough. Pictures of it from other food blogs are gorgeous. I love prawns more than I love lobsters.

Check their website for their full menu. There are a lot to choose from and prices are surprisingly reasonable.

Dancing Crab certainly satisfies seafood cravings and at the same time, you will get hooked for more.

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. 

Perle Noire

In a nutshell
Fudz: Perle Noire :: Oyster & Grill Bar
Cuisine: Western
Location: 85 Upper East Coast Road Singapore 455222
Dial: +65 6448 1732
Interweb: http://www.perlenoire.com.sg
Damage: $50 and above because you have to eat those oysters before you eat your mains

The story
Pearl and Xaviere were in dresses. The general request was to dine somewhere so that their attire was made of good use. I don't know what purpose dresses serve except for salads.

Food took a couple of light years to arrive. We can't fault them because good food takes time to prepare. To add, their service was impeccable. Nobody gave us a stink eye even though we were late. (Some websites still state that their restaurant location is at 687 East Coast Road and I alighted at the wrong stop.) Nobody minded that we giggled like prepubescent teenagers while taking photos of each other. We had to find something to occupy our time while waiting for the food to be upon us. The servers were smiley, cheerful and attentive.

The name of the restaurant, Perle Noire Oyster and Grill Bar tells you two things. First, you can have wine. We heard loud guffaws from another table, someone who had a drop too many. Secondly, oysters. Nobody leaves without eating the oysters. Okay, except for Xaviere who is still a child when it comes to food. Otherwise, nobody.

Oysters, dozen.

There are Natural Live Medium Oysters ($20/half dozen) and Natural Live Large Oysters ($24/half dozen). Naturally, I'd ask for Natural Live LARGE Oysters. The waiter apologetically told us that they ran out of large oysters. I gave an unnatural wince. Nature took over when everyone else said medium is okay. The waiter gave a good-natured smile and took down our orders.

I was not disappointed. Their Natural Live Medium Oysters looked large by my standards. I slurped three of them in a jiffy because they are naturally addictive.

Their bread rolls ($1/each) were warm and comforting while we waited for the rest of the food to come.

Seafood Capellini

Scallop, squid, fish, prawn and mussel. I like it that they mean seafood when they say it's seafood. In some places, 'seafood' means only two types of seafood in puny amounts. I don't see their point. Seafood Capellini ($35) was also served with long beans and a pine nut paste that was unique in flavour. It tasted a little bit like Chinese fried seafood noodles but I believe that a lot of thought was put into the dish. Pearl and Xaviere cleaned up their plates because it tasted so good.

Also because they are carb monsters.

Ribeye ($36)

So they got the 'Grill' in their name done right.

Grilled Salmon with sweet potato mash and asparagus ($25)

Three items - salmon, sweet potato and asparagus. Three ticks. I love them all. I was afraid that the salmon might be dry because they tend to get overcooked. This one was about the juiciest slab of cooked salmon I ever had. The sweet potato mash was light and all the more delicious when it was soaked up with the salmon oil and juice.

White truffled potato fries ($8) - snacks for the ones who need more carbohydrates in their lives

Earl Grey Creme Brûlée ($10)

All of us wanted to save our stomachs for Udders (next door) except for Pearl who wanted a real dessert. Earl Grey Creme Brûlée had the earl grey taste that I need and more. It came with sweet berries on the top. Everything was sweet about this dessert except the part where Pearl demanded Sheena to try some of it in a very ferocious manner. We don't know where this Ms Hyde came from.

Homemade cookies

The smiley waitress offered us complimentary homemade cookies after our meal. We loved them, cookies, service and all.

We ended Dress Night by going to Sheena's place to watch 90s music videos on YouTube. Is that what old folks do nowadays?