Ubin First Stop Seafood

Ubin first stop seafood resides right behind the nefarious open air carpark at Changi Point. If you're in the vicinity to grab a quick bite or have a nice time, be sure to display your parking coupon or prepare to face the consequences. You can, however, park illegally right next to the carpark with no penalties as far as i'm informed but still, do the right thing nonetheless.

Location: 57 Lorong Bekukong Road Singapore 499173

Contact: 65465905

Price Range: $30-35 per head

The restaurant is built on an elevated platform resembling the old atap houses of the past. The kitchen is surprisingly out in the open facing the open air parking lots. Within, simple flourescent lamps light up the place while plain coffeeshop tables are spread evenly to provide adequate space for movement. Not that movement is much of a problem since my family makes up the bulk of 3 tables taken up that night. Perhaps it was the economic crisis but seriously, this was the second restaurant that felt as though we booked it entirely to ourselves.

Chili Mussels ($10)

The mussels here were really quite big and fresh. No sand or whatsoever in them, just sweet chili sauce and plump soft mussels for consumption.

You Tiao with Fish Paste ($8)

Apart from it being less oily then others i've tasted, its pretty much the same it all other ways.

Sweet and Sour Pork ($12)

They did a good job by really putting this to the fire and their batter came out really crispy and thin. Even after several minutes soaking in the tomato sauce, the pork remained crispy and fragrant.

Hu Nan Chicken/Dry curry chicken ($12)

Every meal needs a low point and this was it. Taste wise, it was interesting. The chicken was crispy and tender much like its sweet and sour pork albeit with a weird curry-like taste to it. So why exactly was it the low point? Remember the mention of the kitchen being in the open? Well, a "UFO" appeared in the dish with our chicken. Its quite cooked but nonetheless, you get the idea. Food cleanliness became suspect pretty much immeadiately after.

Ngor Hiang ($8)

Another low point, the ngor hiang seriously needs improvement, the whitish looking part looks like dust but it isn't. Its more an indication of lack of time to thaw. Tastewise, there's nothing worth mentioning as well.

Sambal Kang Kong ($6)

Probably one of the better items that night, the sambal kang kong was spicy, sweet and fragrant with the usage of lard in its cooking process.

HK Style Red Snapper ($42)

Another Look

This fish took the limelight being the item of the day. The flesh remains springy and taut despite being fried and the HK soy sauce it arrived in further complements its sweetness. However, it is quite a humble size despite is $42 price tag.

Kung Pow Prawns ($20)

The prawns were hit and miss. Its a hit in the quality of the prawn itself, being big and oh so crunchy. Its a miss in the fact that its done Kung Pow style which made it spicy and sweet. With prawns as good as this, just steam them and enjoy the natural taste it has, no additional sauce needed.

Scallops with brocoli/asparagus($20)

Ok, i know this isn't brocolli so its probably asparagus but i'm not too sure if its the right word. In regards to taste, the scallops alone were undeniably good with its springy and sweet natural taste.

Bamboo Clams ($48)

This is my first taste of bamboo clams and i have to say....it tastes weird. Its like a mix between mussels and snails in that its a little slimy tasting with some....pungent smelling part in its 2 ends. The mid section is more tolerable and very sweet but i can't get over how much it resembles a certain part of the human anatomy. Needless to say, the price it costs for one didn't help. This is the first, and last time i'll have the exotic item. Thank you very much.

Fried Mee Sua ($12)

Another item that took me by surprise, this mee sua is extremely well done. Simple as it may be, its very fragrant and light such that we managed to finish it even after everything else that preceded it. In fact, we ordered another poriton for take away.

Complimentary Dessert

The dessert is simple almond with longan but it gets the job done.

Bill

The bill gave me quite a shock at its price of $235.14. Apparently, the culprits were the fish, prawns, scallops and the bamboo clams.

Ambience: 3/10
Service: 6/10
Food: 6.5/10
Value for money: 6/10
Overall score: 6/10 (not an average)

Last word:
Actually, i found quite a few items here really worth ordering, like the mee sua, fish and the sweet and sour pork. However, its difficult to enjoy when you're constantly picking through the food to see if "UFO's" have been added to your meal. Also, i found the pricing for the clams ridiculous. Maybe i don't know how to appreciate it but $12 a piece? Ouch. A return is most definitely not in the cards for this one.

No Signboard Seafood (Esplanade)

Another belated post but no fear, this is still very much relevant. No Signboard Seafood is one of those hawker fairy tales with a humble beginning that slowly built their empire from nothing. Beginning as an honest-to-goodness Zhi Ca stall serving good tasting Chili Crab and using white pepper as the unique selling point of their crabs to a big name restaurant that still attracts hundreds of patrons daily. This is a coffee shop fairy indigenous to Singapore and a much sought after dream of many.

Location: 8 Raffles Avenue #01-14/16 The Esplanade
Contact: 63369959

Website: http://nosignboardseafood.com/

No Signboard Appetiser Platter

Overall, the platter was rather decent but nothing too flashy. Honestly, i've pretty much forgotten a majority of the items i've tried here. So the conclusion is that it was average.

Shark's fin Soup With Crabmeat

The shark's fin came across as rather starchy and sticky but had generous chunks of crab meat within. It also came across as being too salty for some, nothing vinegar and pepper could not salvage though.

Chicken with Pork Floss

I actually took to this quite well. It was served hot and crispy with sprinklings of pork floss on top. The floss added sweetness and fragrance to the juicy chicken meat. Not too bad IMHO.

Steamed Garoupa HK style

The fish was overcooked. Short and simple. The meat was obviously too tough due to over steaming. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with this form of cooking.

Broccoli with mushrooms

The mushrooms and broccoli were both really nice and soft.......I think thats about all i can say about this dish. Next!

Yam Ring With Spicy Fillings

This one is rather tough to judge, simply because some liked the spicy fillings which consisted of squid, prawns, fish and lots of balachan chili. While others felt it was too weird for their liking. I belong to the latter, i like my yam ring traditional and with the usual items. Especially cashew nuts, which there was none here.

White Pepper Crab

Another Look

Now this is more like it. The reason why No Signboard made its mark, good old fashioned white pepper crab with big juicy Sri Lankan Crabs. True to form, i thoroughly enjoyed this dish because its equal parts spicy, equal parts sweet and 100% fragrant. If there's a reason to go to No Signboard, its this dish. (Note: I've heard that the original Geylang branch is even better at this dish. So maybe you can try there.)

Cereal Prawn

This was decent. The cereal was sweet and fragrant but the prawns were hit or miss. Some were fresh and some simply weren't. Take your own chances.

Fried rice

Quite fragrant but nothing else worth mentioning on this one.

Longan and Almond

I'm guessing canned dessert but please correct me if i'm wrong on this. Nothing too special about this dish either.

Overall Score: 4/10 for everything else (7/10 for crab only)

Last word:
Service in the restaurant was alright but there was this impression that they didn't quite like our group there. Food was below average for most and honestly, i can name quite a few Zhi Ca areas with better food then here. I didn't see the bill for this meal but i'm betting on it hitting at least $1000 because it was a set meal plus some ala carte orders for a group of above 10 people. For the unflattering score, its because we expected more from such a famous establishment and it simply wasn't met apart from the crab.
Special thanks to Steward who gave us such a big feast and was so generous and kind to us throughout years. Sure, the review isn't good for the restaurant but we still had a good time. Cheers and i'm sure there's a better year for all this 2009!

Chef's United

This is Singapore after all so what would food be without the normal coffee shop zhi ca (literally cook and fry)? Of course, as with everything else in the world, there are good and bad offerings for this as well. Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to one of these little cook spots found in the East. (I went twice and thats why you'll see both visits here)

Location: Pasir Ris, Elias Mall far left

Price Range: $12- 20 per head

Its a coffee shop, so forget about ambiance, forget about anything close to atas. This is ground zero, what the masses have and so the very truth of what Singaporeans are used to having on weekend eat outs (with exceptions when bonus and such niceties occur of course)

Fried Fritters with Squid Paste ($8)

One of my favorite dishes to order is sadly, not one of the better dishes to have. Unless meticulous care is taken in preparing the paste and further such action is taken for the fritters, what you get is a tasteless fried dough stick with nothing much to go for it. This rendition is pretty standard but has its merits in being served hot and being cut into nice little bite sized pieces. The squid paste isn't anything to shout about but was saved by the mayonnaise it came with. Pretty standard stuff but nothing good for health here.

Thai Style Chicken Cutlet ($8)

Simple dish but this time, this is executed very well indeed. The radish and sliced cucumbers used are fresh and cold which gave the thai sauce a different feel indeed. The sauce itself is sweet and sour with a dash of spice which gave it good balance. The chicken itself is fried well which means it retained the juices and wasn't overly dry. It was also served hot and contrasted with the cold sauce so well, i simply have to recommend it. Good stuff.

Stir Fried Broccoli ($8)

Simple stir fried broccoli with a little soy sauce. Who would have imagined something so simple could taste this good? Fresh, a little salty and very appetizing. The broccoli is soft while retaining its crunchiness and even had a little sweetness in it. Simple, but good all the same.

Yi Pin Guo or Seafood Pot ($18)

The most expensive of the lot that day, this dish contained 4- 5 prawns, a generous helping of fish maw and the aforementioned tasty broccoli. It was a little to salty for my tastes but the combination did taste pleasant when complimented with rice. I wouldn't exactly term it as value for money in this case though.

Bill

The total bill came up to $44 for 4 people. $2 went to 4 bowls of rice and thus the average per person is $11 for a filling and generally fulfilling meal.

The following is the second visit.

Crab Bee Hoon ($32)

This time when we returned, we were determined to try the signature dishes that they recommended and this is what you see above. Billed as the main signature dish for the restaurant, i was expecting alot from it and i will say it up front, i was a little disappointed in the dish. The serving was generous with lots of bee hoon or vermicelli piled beneath the 800 gram crab. In its defense, the crab meat is firm and sweet but i still felt it over priced. The vermicelli was soaked in crab juices and sauce which gave it a uniquely raw taste which might not please everyone. Overall, i still like my crabs with lots of chilli, pepper or butter. This doesn't quite fit the bill as a favorite for me.

Signature Beancurd ($8)

The bean curd had a pretty thick skin and didn't break easily but i didn't like it. I prefer bean curd soft and yet firm. This was also of the egg variety which adds to the taste but doesn't quite bring it anywhere. And the last gripe i had was how similar these bean curds are to one another. I mean, i've tried HTL versions and other versions from Chinese restaurants and strangely, they all have the same kind of ingredients, pork, spring onions and the like which really doesn't distinguish themselves. This version really put me off though, because it was way below average.

Sambal Fan Shu Ye (Sweet Potato Leaf) ($8)

Average and a little too spicy for me, i'm unfortunately not able to say the same good things for this as the broccoli i had the previous time.

Steamed Fish HK Style($30)

Why do i call it steamed fish? Because i can't remember what kind of fish this is. Sorry. Anyhow, this fish is steamed Hong Kong style according to the waitress and is one of my favorite ways to prepare said fish. Fragrant, fresh and sweet. I can't think of anything bad to say about it except maybe it was too small and too expensive. Good nonetheless.

Total bill for second visit hit all time high of $88. Which really is a bit too much even for 5 people as the quality has taken a sharp nose dive this time around.

Score for 1st visit: 7.5/10
Score for 2nd visit: 6/10

Overall Score: 6.75/10

Last Word:
The food offered here is of a certain quality but it really depends on which day you came and what you order. For me, i have to say the signature dishes are not worth the money while the simpler offerings appeal to me more. Maybe i just prefer simple food but thats what i feel. No crabs or bean curd for me from this stall.

Le Xin Live Seafood Caterer

On this particular day, the family was too lazy to step out of the house so we decided to try out a food caterer that shoved its pamphlet right under our doorstep. I never had a good impression of caterers but since i'm not paying, i can't say anything till much later.

Location: Various/ Sengkang/ Sembawang/ Punggol

Contact: 63129096

Website: www.lexin.com.sg

Price Range: $20 per head

The Pamphlet

Yam Ring ($15)

In a word, tasteless. Despite its rather nice outlook and the generous servings of prawn, chicken pieces and mushrooms, this yam ring did not have what it takes to make a good impression. The yam ring itself was soggy, the meat tasteless and hard and the prawns are a far cry from the word 'fresh'.

Fried Battered Prawns ($12)

Having a bad start with the yam ring, i didn't hold high hopes as i chowed down my first serving. Yet again, they have outdone themselves by serving a badly made dish. The prawns were powdery and the batter too thick for its own good. The word "terrible" doesn't quite pin the feeling down.

Coffee Pork Ribs ($8)

This dish was fouled up with it being overwhelming in its taste of coffee so much so that its bitter. In its defense, at least the meat was tender but still, something i would not order from them ever again.

Vegetables with fish ($5)

Yellowish vegetables, flour like fish and a sauce that tastes just like soy sauce. Need i say more?

Fish Soup ($10)

I'm beginning to find myself at a loss at how to describe the food we ordered. Alike with all the other offerings from this particular caterer. The soup's redeeming grace is that it was at least warm when i had it. Apart from that, it did not contain much taste and is simply a let down like the rest.

The bill came up to exactly $50 for this meal of 5 items.

Overall Score: 3.5/10

Last Word:
In all honesty and in their defense, the food is still warm when it arrived which is quite an accomplishment for the kind of food they offer and i do applaud their brave attempt at stepping out. However, they definitely need a better cook and a better way to get their items to customers. I'm still not ordering from them ever again though. This is just not good enough to consider for a second chance.

Seafood Crab King (Hai Xian Pang Xie Wang)

I was celebrating a recent recuperation of funds when i decided to bring my gf for a simple dinner at Pasir Ris. I used to live at the place and this Chinese Zhi Ca stall has been there since i was a young boy. Thats at least 14 years of history and they are still going strong. I remember having many meals there with my family when i was younger and so, to relive that feeling a little, we visited it for an ad hoc dinner.

Location: Pasir Ris Drive 4 Blk 440 #01-13

Contact: 65820397

No shots of the location since its a simple coffee shop setting.

Name card and contact

A point of interest is that right behind the eating place is a carpark you can drive into and the contact is for you to order first, then drive down later to collect your order for take aways. No more standing in queue and they even bring the orders right down to your car for you. Talk about great service!

Zao Pai Dou Fu (Signature Dish Beancurd) $8

Like i said, a simple dinner. This is their signature dish beancurd which is really good. The beancurd has egg mixed into it giving it a smooth and springy texture which literally melts in your mouth. The sauce is quite salty and is scattered with fried minced pork, shrimps and mushrooms which really add to the taste of the dish overall. This goes well with rice and best taken together with a large group of people.

Jin Sha Xie (Golden Sand Crab) $32 per Kg

I came back for this dish as i was accidentally introduced to it during Andrew's birthday recently and neglected to bring my camera along for the trip. The sauce is where the taste really is and we tasted cheese, chilli, butter and mayonnaise used in the mixture. The crab was obviously fresh and went really well with the sauce. Oats were sprinkled atop for added fragrance and taste. I quote what Andrew said when we had this dish previously: "This is fit for a restaurant." My gf also said it was a good dish but this isn't the first time she's had it. The sauce goes well with rice and of course, deep fried buns which are also available. As usual, bring lots of friends and order this in bulk, i'm sure it'll be a great get together dish.

Bill: The total bill for dinner came up to simply $36. Quite reasonable for a crab meal.

Score:

Food: 8/10
Good, fresh food and restaurant worthy dishes.
Value for Money: 7.5/10
Reasonably priced for its quality.
Portion Size: 8/10
I've been here many times and always go away full. Portion sizes always fulfill.

Overall: 7.83/10

Last word:
I can see myself coming back to this place many times since its easily accessible (to me at least) and has good food at reasonable prices. The lady and general service here is almost always good and makes paying for their food that much easier. Do try this.

Lee Hup Lee Seafood

Now for the main meal treat before Alvin left for Australia. Its really nothing much, but its nostalgic because it happens to be the first place his mother brought us to when they arrived in Singapore. And honest to goodness, the crab here is pretty big.

Address: Blk 3 #01-50/63 Changi Village Road Singapore 500003

Contact: 96329088/91084624

Price Range: $19 per head

This is pretty much a throw back to times before fine dining and food is simply food with a distinct lack for service choices nor ambiance. One thing i really don't get is, what's with the word "beer garden"?

The Signboard

Coconut Juice ($4)

I have to say, this has got to be the WORST tasting coconut ever. It was sour, watery, lack ANY coconut taste whatsoever and costs $2 a piece. I was first impressed with the size until i drank it. And the meat inside was terrible as well. We bought this from a seperate store and brought over but that doesn't change a thing, this was bad, really really bad.

Orh Jian (Oyster Omelette $8)

Another item we packed from a nearby location. This oyster omelette came across as a little too watery for me. I prefer mine crispy and fragrant. The oyster's were faultless though, they came across as reasonably clean to me and tasty too. The problem was that some parts were cold, probably because the stall man didn't defrost it well enough before cooking so we got him to fry it again. After that, it was really nice with the chilli sauce. An average dish at best but still palatable.

Gong Gong ($12)

Pulling it out

Dipping in sauce

I honestly don't know the English name for this dish but its called Gong Gong which actually means dumb. Its supposed to be some kind of snail i suppose but not knowing what it is might be a blessing i suppose. Its quite a hassle to eat this because you have to firstly spear the tail like portion so that you can finally pull it out before it can be eaten. Al commented that the lady didn't cook it properly and so resulted in quite a few which we could not get out without a struggle. The dish itself isn't really too difficult to do i suppose, apart from frying the buggers with some light marinating sauce, everything else was god given. The freshness and taste is difficult to describe but is pleasant especially with the chilli sauce but i seriously doubt its worth $12. Try it and judge for yourself.

Our Victim for the day


Chilli Crab ($37.26 for 1.035kg)


The Huge Claw


The True Stars of the Day. Buns ($7 for 21)


Al and look at the firm crab claw meat

Actually, this place is known for HUGE crabs but we were unlucky that day. They ran out of Sri Lankan crabs and so we had to settle for its smaller Indonesian cousin which didn't disappoint in the least IMHO. Though smaller, the meat was still firm, fresh and sweet and thats just what good seafood is about. The shell was also a little thinner then its cousin making it much easier to crack and get at the meat. We opted for it to be cooked chilli crab style and the sauce came not as the spicy hot variety but rather more towards being sweet and sour with hints of chilli and eggs. The sauce, i discovered recently, is what makes a great crab better and the sole fact that we ate 21 buns with the sauce is testament that both the fried buns and the sauce complement each other really really well.
(On a side note, i discovered another location which serves great crab but not chilli crab style. They call it Jin Sha Xie or Golden Sand Crab literally and it was awesome. Will do a blog on it one day.)

Chicken Wings ($8.40)

We actually ordered fried dough sticks (you tiao) but they unfortunately have run out of such luxuries so we had to settle for Barbecued Chicken wings instead. This was decent but oily. The meat was a tad dry but otherwise thoroughly cooked. Not too special.

The total bill came up to $64.70 for the main meal. If you add drinks and additional items, this would total about $76.70. Not too expensive for 4 people really.

Score:

Food : 7.5/10 (Based on crab and buns)
Value for Money: 6.5/10
Portion Size: 7/ 10
Service : 6/10

Overall: 6.75/10

Last Word:

Well, great company and freedom of speech and actions made this an extremely casual and enjoyable affair. Food was at least reasonably priced and of an acceptable standard. They pride themselves as crab specialists and though i wouldn't go that far, i'd say they made enough effort to provide good crabs. Try it if you come around to this part of Singapore.