How many crabs can a crab shack shuck if a crab shack could shuck crabs?

The BMers, all 13 of us (not everyone could make it), trooped over to Eng Seng Restaurant for Pepper crabs. There are plenty of things to blog about this particular excursion, so I'll keep the report snappy.

Ok, how many crabs do you think 13 people can eat? 8 girls + 5 boys. I was thinking... Seven, so that's what I ordered when I got Jole to call them the day before. And then, today when I told the BMers what I'd ordered, this was what they said:

Liru: "...."

me: "what? we going to eat crabs right? I ordered seven leh! Too many ah?"

Liru: "..."

me: "don't tell me too little"

Liru: "yeah, I eat two crabs on my own."

me: *Stunned face*

So, in the end, we re-ordered another 5 crabs, bringing the total up to... 12 crabs! A DOZEN! WTH!! And then, when we reached the place at like, seven, the queue was already snaking outside of the 50-plus seater coffee shop. Amazing man!

Anyhow, here are the much-vaunted crabs + mee goreng


Awesome stuff man. The pepper crab that is. Oh oh, remember the soup nazi from Seinfield? Man, he died and came back in the form of this damn anal auntie manning the queue! Wah lan! Damn rude lor!

She will point one stubby finger at you once, then at the seat your are supposed to take, and shout "GO!" or "STOP!" or "SIT!", in various stages. I can't stand these arrogant hawkers. Much as I loved the pepper crabs, I won't be browbeaten into taking her swishing finger one more time.

Anyhow, more pics!

The greenlanders doing our best crab impersonation

All's well that ends well

Encounters of the foodie kind

Yes, it's been some time since the last foodie post, so here are four in a row, including the treat of the week!

First up, mango-grapefruit dessert from a copcycat shop opposite Ah Chew Desserts. Thankfully, this creation is entirely unique, with both flavours contrasting beautifully.

Mango with Grapefruit $3.50

It's not particularly cheap, but is an excellent thirst quencher. With the sweetness of the mango and the tangy-bitter aftertaste of grapefruit, it's a wonder nobody thought of this before.

Copycat dessert stall opposite Ah Chew Desserts
Along Liang Seah St

Taste: 3.5/5
Value: 2/5
Ambience: 2/5

Next up, treat of the week!!! Erm, well, I confess, I haven't strictly been following the once-a-week thing, but hey, what's a foodie to do?

You know how you always go to holland v and see all these ang mohs eating al fresco, and you look at the menu and you just balk? Well, on the back of being paid to write about food at Yum.sg, I figured, what the heck, I haven't been pampering her for awhile. hehe.

So.

El Patio, the Mexican restaurant, it was to be, as it's neighbour, Cha Cha Cha, was packed. As soon as we put our rumps in the chairs, the friendly lady proprietor plonked two menus and a bowl of nachos/salsa on our table.

FREE FLOW NACHOS AND SALSA!

Ok, the lighting was horrendous, so I didn't take many pics. I ordered the chicken and beef fajitas (21.50) and sangria (9.50), while the missus had the chicken fajitas (20.50) and a strawberry margarita (12.00).

The strawberry margarita

I didn't take any pics of the fajitas, because my fingers were too dirty! Basically, they serve theirs in a hotplate, slathered with a brownish sauce, capsicums and caramelised onions. I suppose ang mohs will ooh and aah at the sizzling plates but hey, we are weaned on tie ban tou fu and sambal stingray ok!

Together with the hotplate, we were served warm soft tacos to wrap the meat in. I guess every culture has its own version of the popiah. We smeared sour cream and guacamole, the perfunctionary shredded lettuce and diced tomatos, and the sizzling chunks of meat onto the three tacos before devouring them.

The first taco you bite into, you really can't get enough of the stuff, but by the third, it's lost its gimmick-value.

Overall, the whole experience was good, the food was above average, but doesn't justify its price. The drinks were pretty darn good, though, so I'd recommend ordering the cheaper dishes, like the quesadillas or the burritos, with a drink, if you ever decide you have about 30 bucks you wanna blow on Mexican munchies.

El Patio - the Mexican grill
Holland V, opposite wala walas

Taste: 3.5/5
Value: 2/5
Ambience: 3/5

And now, for the dessert shot of the day: Greenhouse @ The Ritz

Shotglass of chocolate mousse, cheesecake, eclair

I was wondering if I should post this pic of Scissors Cut Curry Rice up. The best curry rice I've ever, ever, ever, had, is...not this. It's actually found at Beo Crescent in Alexandra. But, this is a pretty good version of the hainanese dish.

With a wide array of sides, you can easily tell the curry rice connesiours from the tourists and people-who-happen-to-eat-there-because-the-queue-is-short. Obviously, the bak pa (pork chop), deep fried egg and stewed vege is the combination made in curry-rice heaven.

Who on earth would order say....a chicken wing here? preposterous.

And please, when you've ordered your food, and the guy asks "Xiao di, yao lim kahli zi mah?" (Boy, do you want curry sauce?), say yes. It's curry rice, for goodness sakes. Him having to ask the question, I suppose, means some idiots actually don't want curry. On curry rice. Morons.

Oh, btw, you can also opt to add black gravy, I highly recommend it. After all, curry rice is not supposed to be glam. It's supposed to look like slop. But to the trained eye, even slop also got standard one ok.

Scissors cut curry rice $3.50

Scissors cut curry rice
Food Republic, Wisma Atria

Taste: 3.5/5
Value: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5

XO Crab Bee Hoon, Shen Ji Seafood Garden, HV

Disclaimer: I took this off joonelovesfood.blogspot.com cos'
I forgot to bring my camera out yesterday, but it sure looked like this. heh.

I've heard about this place for the longest time, but never had the chance/gian-ness to try it for myself. Always thought it was XO fish bee hoon, so was momentarily stunned when all I saw was crab, crab and more crab. It's all good.

The signature dish ($22) is a tad little for two, you have to order at least another side dish to feel satisfied; we had the sweet and sour pork ($6).

Now, when the dish arrives, and you get past the wow-they-stuffed-a-whole-crab-in-there phase, the first thing that you are likely to think of is how to eat the bloody thing. They didn't provide any cracker, nor had they dented the crab in any way - which made it look perfect - but very hard to eat.

When we eventually got to the crab, hmm. Remember, I had heard lots of hype about this place, how the towkay was brash and rude but still had customers queuing round the block, testimonials from friends and murmurings from the foodie community. So, I was naturally pumped to find out exactly what made this XO-seafood concoction so irresistable.

As it turned out, the soup, which I had expected to be full of crabby goodness and wok-hei, was rather... blah. I mean, it wasn't bad, but, come on... evaporated milk, butter and some crab stock? You've gotta be kidding me. Let's just say I wasn't all that impressed. The XO taste married well with the creamy/buttery feel of the soup, and enhanced it overall, but sadly, wasn't enough to save this broth.

The crab, on the other hand, was really good. Steamed and fresh, each bite of claw and leg sent shudders down my spine. The only downside was the fact that the crab was kinda soggy (no complaints there), this meant that it's impossible to eat without getting crab juice all over your hands. So, if that's a concern, stay away.

The sweet and sour pork was one of the better ones I've had in awhile. The sauce wasn't too sweet nor too tomato-ey, just nice. And the pork pieces had been fried well and were crisp to the bite. Well worth the $6.

Verdict: The XO crab bee hoon is good to try once in your lifetime, but is certainly not something that would make me a regular there. On the other hand, the tze char looked generally good, and I may come back just to eat that in the future.

Shen Ji Seafood Garden
Holland Village

Taste: 2.5/5
Value: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5