Crab in da Bag @ Big Splash

If you are a seafood fan, have you heard or been to 'Crab in da Bag' at Big Splash?
It's a Southern Louisiana style seafood restaurant but with a local twist that has just opened at East Coast Park. 

The concept here is quite interesting. You eat from the table! The food is served in plastic bags!
From that you could have guessed that you will be using your hands/fingers to eat!

Ordering is simple too.
Choose your seafood, choose add-ons, choose your seasoning, choose your spice level and that's it.



The star dish of most tables here is the Caboodle Boil. More of that later in the post.
It's so memorable that I have to put that photo right on top!

This place opened its door in early September and it has been very popular. You are advised to make reservations especially if you are coming on weekends.

The owners love the atmosphere of seafood restaurants in California where diners eat off the table in big groups. They also rip and tear plastic bundles and so they want to bring this experience to Singapore. The tables are lined with white waxed paper, so the food doesn't seep through.



The seafood that you ordered will be cooked and then placed in food safe plastic bags then mixed with the special sauces. The sauces might be familiar with locals as it's of Asian flavours.

The serving staff will bring the 'bag' to your table and help you open it.



This was a bag of prawns in Caboodle Mix ($20). A signature sauce made with a combination of local and cajun spices, lots of garlic and butter! It's a very addictive sauce. I love the amount of garlic that they put inside. 



More prawns! Prawns lovers would not run out of the different kind of flavours you can have your prawns cooked.

The main sauces that you can choose with your seafood here are:
- Ultimate Curry: it's a kind of Northern Malaysian Curry. (Think sambal stingray and not curry chicken)
- Caboodle Mix: combination of local and Cajun spices, garlic and butter.
- Mum's Special: Sauteed onion rings and garlic in savoury, sweet and sour brown sauce.



The bag of clams ($13) in Ultimate Curry was delicious, order some rice to mop up the sauces. Since there's no cutlery, I used the clam shells to scoop up my rice. LOL



The sides of Crinkled Cauliflower ($8) was also very delicious. It's not the usual white caulis that we are familiar with, it's darkish. Try it, you might get addicted to it too! The crispy baby squids are also quite tasty.


Now to show you the Caboodle Boil ($299).

It's good for 6 guys/gals. It has 6 Mini Lobsters, 2 Sri Lankan Crabs, 500gm of King Crab Legs, 500gm Yabbies, 500gm Prawns, 500gm Clams, Sausages, Corn and Potatoes boiled in a blend of herbs and local spices.

I managed to take a short video of it. You can see how big the pot is. Yes, everyone gets excited when it's served on the table.



The seafood are already very delicious on its own. Try it on its own or dip it in some dipping sauces that is provided. (The dipping sauces are: Exotic Soy Dip, Green Bird Dip, Zesty Mayo Dip).



Another view of the spread! Take your time to eat!
Probably a meal that no one will be fiddling with their mobile phones and every will have saucy fingers!



The mini lobsters... 
Squeeze more lemons on it if you want. I did on my seafood.



I think it's trying to tell me, eat me, don't let me die in vain!



It's interesting to find sausages in the mix. I love sausages so am quite happy to find it inside thought it might be weird. It's gonna be messy, so they give all diners a big plastic bib, like how my fellow dining companion is wearing above.



Some super old style desserts that I was told many familiars prepared. Not in my family. We have our different kinds of homestyle desserts.

A very interesting concept, something new in Singapore and suitable for families or big groups. Add this to your big group gathering places. Going in bigger groups enables you to order more things too and also more people to split the bill. LOL

A very special thanks to Amanda who invited us over for dinner here.


Crab in da Bag
902 East Coast Parkway
Big Splash Block D
#01-25
Singapore 449874

Tel: 6440 0083 (Call to make reservations and/or advanced bookings for The Caboodle Boil)

Hours:
Tues – Fri 4PM – 12AM (Last order: 11.30PM)
PHs, Sat, Sun 12PM – 12AM (Last order: 11.30PM)

Black Pepper Crabs @ Eng Seng Restaurant

Two weeks ago, we met up with a friend who recently moved to Joo Chiat from KL. When we visit KL, he used to take us around to 'makan' there. Since he's based here now, it's our turn to bring him around.

Staying near to Eng Seng, he passes the shop daily on his way to work and back. As a workaholic who leaves early for work and comes back late at night, he probably did not realise the crowd during the opening hours.

It's difficult to dine alone there, so we met up with him on a weekend with other common friends to have some delicious black pepper crabs!

If you read about this place, you got to 'book' your crabs (can't book tables by the way). The dear wife was a bit 'kiasu' and called them up 3 days in advance to book crabs. She was told off! If you are coming on Saturday, please only call after 3 pm on Saturday! We booked our crabs after 3 pm as told.

Oh well, our plans that day changed and we were going around eating that day. Around 4:30pm, everyone felt hungry and decided we should just have an early dinner instead. Lo and behold, when you are there early, there were no crowds! The big glass tank is full of crabs, you can choose your own crabs too!

(Hint, go early! Around 5 to 5.30 pm, you don't need to bother call to book anything!)


Fried You Tiao with Sotong Meat. ($8)

If you are having dinner there, you would realise that 90% of the people here have the same dishes! During dinner, we look around and saw same dishes on almost all tables!

For those who love some fried food, the fried dough fritter was nice. Crispy and crunchy with some soft cuttlefish meat stuffed in it.  Some of us thought the mayo was a bit too much on top. They should have served the mayo on the sides instead of dribbling all over it.



Hong Kong Kai Lan ($10)

The veggies were nicely stir fried, cooked and yet still crunchy. We found it a tad too salty though.




Mee Goreng ($7)

Oh, the Mee Goreng is another dish that almost every table orders.. It's delicious. Not too wet, nor too dry, it will probably suits most people's taste buds. Spicy but not too hot, it smells so good when it was served to our table. Prawns were bouncy and there was quite a few of it too.

(Looking at the prices now while blogging, it's more worth it to eat the Mee Goreng than the vegetables which is very little in quantity and not as satisfying as the spicy carbo noodles. LOL)



Black Pepper Crabs ($90)

We had 5 of us, and we ordered 3 crabs to share. If you are a super crab lover, you probably can have 1 each. The crabs that day was medium in size. It was enough for us as it was already the 5th meal for the day!

Ahh... the crabs here are as tasty as we last tried it. Peppery, sweetish, sticky! Many people rank the black pepper crabs here as the best on this island. The sauce was so addictive. It's nice with the You Tiao too by the way!




One of our friend was such a neat eater! She flipped over the big crab shell and slowly filled it with the other smaller bits as she ate. If you eat your crabs slow and eat every bit of it, there's very little leftover shells! When it's all done, she covered it up with another shell. So cute, that I have to take a photo of it!

The food is served rather quickly after ordering which is good. Would love to go back for more black pepper crabs and mee goreng.  The person on the phone might not be very courteous, but the chubby lady who goes around the table taking order is a very nice lady!

There's GST payable here, you will notice it in the bill. Our whole meal was $116.50 with the taxes included.  Eng Seng is the name of the coffeeshop. The stall selling the crabs etc is called First Grade Seafood Palace. What a nice name eh!


First Grade Seafood Palace
Eng Seng Restaurant
247-249 Joo Chiat Place
(Near to Malacca Hotel)
Singapore 427935

Tel: 6440 5560

Hours: around 4.30 to around 8.00 pm (earlier when the crabs are sold out)

The Ultimate Crab and Durian Buffet @ The Promontory, Sentosa Boardwalk

[These crabs and durians were deliciously provided by 'Sentosa - Asia's Favourite Playground' for tasting]

Sentosa has changed so much over the past year or so. There are now so many new attractions and Momo and I have been hopping into the island more than we have ever been say the last 10 years!

At the beginning of this year, the Sentosa Boardwalk was open, and it has been my preferred (and also cheapest) way to get in to Sentosa. I have always rushed in without admiring the view on the boardwalk. This time however, I got to admire the view while having a meal at the boardwalk!




By the way, you can walk on the boardwalk all the way from the VivoCity end till the Sentosa end for free. It is only when you want to enter Sentosa side that you pay only $1 to get in.




If you have yet to hear about it, Sentosa has prepared the Ultimate Crab and Durian Buffet for Crabs and Durian lovers. Crabs cooked in many interesting and delicious ways, durians in desserts or just on its own, opened right in front of you live!

It's only $38++ for adults and $21++ for children 5 - 11 years old.

It's quite a steal isn't it? If you have crabs elsewhere, the crab dish alone is already more or sometimes double what you will pay here for an adult here!

Momo and I recently got to try out the buffet before it's open to the public from 9 - 26 June 2011.
Here's a preview of what you will be eating if you decide to have a meal there. It will all be on buffet tables and you self service.

Appetisers

We had baby octopus, prawn and mango with avocado mousse, salmon sashimi and poached tiger prawns. They are the usual crowd pleasers. The mango with avocado mousse is a little unique.




Another favourite appetiser for many. Deep fried soft shell crabs!





The portions served to us was crispy on the outside, not too oily and it's moist inside. We were told the dressing to go with the soft shell crab is special as it has pineapple inside which gives it a little twang!

Soup

Coral Crab Bisque with Sour Cream.

When I first tasted it, it reminds me of thick version of prawn noodle soup which was yummy! To make it creamier, stir in the sour cream. See the magic when your soup changes colour ;-)

Main Courses

The main courses are what everyone's here for! Crabs! Lots of it!

This was the wok-fried chili Sri Lankan crabs. It's not the usual chili crab that's full of sauce and taste sweetish. This version is spicy and fiery! Shiokness!



What's the best carbo to go with the chili protein? Fried Mantou!



We noticed that the few ladies on our table had an unique way of eating their mantous. They spread it open and pour the gravy over it. How do you eat your mantou? Pinch and dip in sauce or spread it wide and pour sauce over it?



Are you a crab roe lover?
Momo is and she was so happy and went straight for the shell! She adores crab roe!




I am more of a pincers person.
Of all the different crab dishes, this was my favourite!




If you like Salted Egg Yolk Crabs, they have it too!
It was a bit too heavy for my liking, but for salted egg yolk fans, it's your kind of crabs.




Is your favourite crabs Black Pepper Sri Lankan crabs? They serve it too and they are equally awesome! Some places put in chili padi to spice black pepper crabs up, but I did not spot any cili padi here, instead we were told they use black pepper imported all the way from Hawaii.  They were  tongue numbingly good! After the chili crabs, these pepper crabs are my other favourite.

On their website, they also state they have Nonya Curry Crabs, Masala Mud Crabs, Ginger Scallion Flower Crabs. I am sure they will be equally good!




If you are a meat eater, there's also Beef Striploin.
From their website, it is stated they also serve Beef Rendang, Roast Beef Rump etc.




For those who just have to have rice to feel satisfied, there's the Crabmeat and seafood fried rice to satisfy the rice craving.




We also tried their crabmeat chawanmushi with mushroom.



Nice!

On the Sentosa website, you can see they also have fresh oysters, slippery lobsters, shrimp paste chicken, roast beef rump, baked salmon and more.

Desserts

The desserts selection is for Durian lovers!
What you see above, the Durian Cheesecake, Durian Pengat and Durian Mousse.

Some of you know that I don't eat durian unless there's an occasion or reason to try it. Well, I ate them. It was nice! The Durian Pengat (in the short glass) was unique. It was durian with gula melaka over it. The durian I only took a bit and passed the rest to someone on the table who was craving durians!



For the purist, freshly peeled durian right in front of you when you want it is the way to go. Yup, we were told it will be open live in front of you if you come for the buffet.

We were told over 2000 bookings have been made and on certain days they particularly popular. If you are game for it, it's best to make a reservation.


The Ultimate Crab and Durian Buffet
Date: 9 - 26 Jun 2011
Time: 6pm - 11pm
Venue: The Promontory, Sentosa Boardwalk
Prices: $38++ per adult; $21++ per child (5 – 11 years old) (price excludes drinks)

Reservations: +65 6279 1767 (11 am to 9 pm)
For more information, visit: http://www.sentosadining.com.sg/promo.php

Prima Taste Kitchen @ Centrepoint

Momo and I were with my uncle and aunty who wanted to get a new mattress. Aunt saw a promotion for Tempur Mattress. The queen size tempur is going for only $1700!! (If you know the usual price of it, you would know it's a bargain!) But the catch is it does not come with the usual 2 tempur pillows.

Anyway, since we were at Centrepoint, we thought we will have lunch at Prima Taste Kitchen. We have not been here for ages!


Momo had the Prawn Noodles. It looks good ya!





I had the Bak Kut Teh. It's super super peppery!
But I like it peppery. If you eat the pork ribs with the chilli padi black sauce, that's a double whammy! Ooo... nice ;-)





Aunt had the Satay Bee Hoon. It's too far away and the table as you know is not that big, so we did not bother to move things around. But you can take a blur peep of it in the following photo.

Aunt wanted to eat the steam chicken, so we got some. I am a chicken fella, so I like it!
(But the Dover chicken rice is nicer i tell ya!)





Forgot what uncle ate, because I did not take any photos!
We also had the soft shell crab to share. It's nice and crispy.





Guess what the soft shell crab sauce is? It's chilli crab sauce!
(Hmmm from the chilli crab paste that they sell? ;-p)




Just realised that they are all around the world now!


Prima Taste Kitchen
176 Orchard Road
#01-63/64 The Centrepoint
Singapore 238843

Tel: 6887 3786
Hours: 10.00 am - 10.00 pm daily

Hokkaido Hairy Crab @ Sushi Tei

Hairy Crabs! But... No, I did not get to eat it. No, I am not allergic to crabs either. It's just because it is someone else's lunch! haha..

This was lunch that Momo and another friend Dino had at Sushi Tei last week or so. I saw these photos in my email this morning and said, wow! they are beautiful! Momo said I can use them, so here they are for you to enjoy too.


Ike Kegani Sugatamori (Steam Live Hairy Crab)
This is the promotion that Sushi Tei is having. It costs $54 for whole crab / $28 for half a crab.

I was told it was a very painful lunch. They are just too too too prickly!









So, what kind of crabs do you like?
Chilli Crabs? Black Pepper Crabs? White Pepper Crabs? Butter Crabs? or maybe Imitation Crab Sticks? :-p

p/s ChillyCraps, this post dedicated to you. haha..

Crabs @ Mellben Seafood : Toa Payoh

Last night, a group of friends went to Toa Payoh to have dinner. The sms that came a few days ago was "anyone for crabs?". Thanks to the organisers, we all got there and ate crabs.

(pssst the reason I am so 'gian' on going was that I heard that people says Mellben is good, aha! that means can take photos! haha...)

Mellben Seafood, Block 211 Lor 8 Toa Payoh.

We actually called up to book earlier, but was told it's fully booked, but if you try walking in, you might get a seat.



So, some people went there earlier, they got a seat. And very quickly too. We sms them in the car, quick order, so when we reach, we can start eating! LOL... So many people...



While waiting for food, walk around and take photos lor.
These are all the crabs in the glass container.



This sign is hilarious, just outside the "crab tank".



Then after a while, a whole new consignment of crabs came.
No, we did not order the whole crate of crabs for ourselves, the lady is just checking the weight so that she can sign off the invoice from the supplier.



Vain pot crab, posing at the camera!



After chatting.... and waiting.... the food arrived.
This is steamed crabs.






This is the Shimmering Sand Crab. Their "zhao pai" dish.






The leftover.... What a workout!
Did not post pictures of other things we ate lah....



So so lah. Pssst, a few of us were expecting hot and spicy chilli and pepper crabs. haha..
But our organisers, prefer lighter tastings one. :-p