Nestled in Marina Bays Sands Shopping Mall, the restaurant feels like huge aquatic tank, and stands out with it's full length glass exteriors, blue lighting and fish-shaped glass chandeliers. The plush silver and black furnishings exude luxe and elegance. Marketing themselves as a "modern and hip Chinese seafood, dim sum, grill and champagne bar concept restaurant", we liked that serve Hong Kong styled dishes, since my family's accustomed to the canto-way of food preparation.
At every visit, I wouldn't dream of turning away their starters of deep fried fish skins and caramelized walnuts with sesame seeds as I normally would do for other Chinese restaurants serving cheap peanuts and ar-char combi. These starters are wiped out even before the dinner orders are taken.
This time, after the run-in with the aromatic Aberdeen Chili Crabs at the next table at the last visit, we were determined to order the signature dish. The other dishes of the evening included regular favourites such as Roast Pork, Soft Shell Crabs and Salted Egg Crab.
We figured the Roast Pork here appeals to us because it is a tad saltier than regular versions, has a good combination of fat within lean meat and topped with a crusty skin that 'crackles' as you bite into it.
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| Roast Pork |
The crispy Soft Shell Crabs are Granddad's personal favourite; the crustaceans are stir-fried and tossed over high flames together with dried Szechun chili peppers.
The Aberdeen Chili Crabs were a disappointment for me, the crab meat was too dry for my liking and the dish was more spicy than I had imagined. It was just as well, since I was keeping space for the STAR dish of the evening - the Salted Egg Crab.
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| Aberdeen Chilli Crabs |
When the dish was served, I was giddy with joy - the beautiful golden yellow mushy salted egg coated the crabs beautifully and it was pipping hot. The mild saltiness from the salted egg complemented the sweet, succulent crab meat and each bite throws me to a momentary state of euphoria!! It feels good taking sips of fragrant Bo-Lei tea (a mix of Pu'er and Chrysanthemum tea leaves) to ground myself back to reality in between those moments. For the record, I scrapped the shell clean of the super tasty crab roe and licked off every bit of the salted egg off the shell afterwards.
I am awarding this dish 5 gold stars and a double thumbs up!!! Yes, I do think it is a better version from Melben's.
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| Salted Egg Crabs |
By the way, I must recommend the Golden Lava Custard Buns, they are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G, on par with those from Taste Paradise (Ion) and Bosses 黑 (Vivocity) and in my opinion. We did not order them this time as we wanted to try other desserts. I've read good stuff on their dim sum dishes and will save it for the next visit.
Prices here are above average, but it IS Marina Bay Sands so it shouldn't be any surprise. The service staff were polite and very attentive generally the few times I've been there, however, they were neither warm nor welcoming. None of the staff ever smile, except after you've paid and on the way out. Pity, it is this lack of smiley staff that stands in its way of becoming a great dining experience.
Marina Bay Sands is currently running a promotion with UOB cards with discounts and a promise to 'Win a Culinary Trip of a Lifetime', check it out details, terms & conditions here :
http://www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Restaurants/Asia-Dining-Destination/
漁 Yú Cuisine
10 Bayfront Avenue
#B1-07/08/09 & #L1-82 Marina Bay Sands
Call 65 66887318 for reservations.
