Video Edition: JuicynDelicious

(SCROLL DOWN to see the additional posting added 9 Feb)

As mentioned in this entry, a few weeks ago in Singapore, Juicyndelicious sent me a last minute invite me to join them for some chili crab.  The vanity in me is wholly embarrassed by my disheveled appearance and how I wasn't prepared to talk about crabs.  Ah well.  The video's out and here's the link anyway to take a look at some delicious chili crabs!  Chili crab, black pepper crab, and beehoon crab to be exact!

9 Feb: Scroll down this post for a bit more details (now that I've had time to digest the crab and think about it).

And on Saturday night, I had to stop by Australian Dairy Company one more time before I left Hong Kong for Singapore again.

mmm...

And then my first meal upon arriving in Singapore today.  I do this a lot when I'm famished or the food's great, but I forgot to take a photo before I started gorging.  I love hokkien mee and wonton mein (dry style)!  Thanks to Colin for bringing us here!

Edit:
Tuesday 9 February 2010

Last night, Mr. Mah and I went back to Mellben Seafood's other location at Toa Payoh.  I was seriously craving chili crab and cereal prawns.  I didn't mention this in the video: while I thought their beehoon crab and black pepper crab was fantastic, I actually prefer No Signboard's chili crab gravy, cereal prawns and mantaos over Mellben's.  I was still having my chili crab and cereal prawn craving as Mellben's didn't quite hit the spot for me the first time around.  But as Adrian reminded me, maybe they were having an off night.  I decided to visit again last night.

Mellben Seafood Round 2!

Between the two of us, we had a small crab and cereal prawn.

 

They may have had a No Guarantee sign, but one thing is for sure at Mellben: their crabs are plentiful in meat and sweet in flavor.

Look at the size of those crabs... and this was at the end of the night!  Both visits to Mellben at both locations have proven their crab worthiness.  The crabs were always fresh and never overcooked.  The crab always came out in perfect whole chunks instead of dry flaky bits that stuck to the shell.  I would have taken a picture of all the beautiful pieces of crab meat, but our hands were to the wrists in chili gravy.

 

The cereal prawn this time around was much better, though the actual flakes still didn't hit the spot for me.  It didn't have that nom-tastic sweet condensed milk aftertaste that No Signboard's has.  The prawns themselves were meaty and tasty though.

The mantaos were a bit stale and not fried enough!  But to be fair, we the last customers to arrive at 9:30pm on a Monday night.

Aaand the chili crab.  As mentioned in the video, the meat was still succulent and plentiful.  And as also mentioned in the video, the sauce was a bit more tangy and the chili flavor is very apparent.  I am still relatively novice to the intricacies of chili crab, but I think what I was looking for has something to do with No Signboard's tomato sauce.  I have to visit No Signboard again to triple check that I do indeed find their chili crab gravy more thick, rich and savory than Mellben's. 

 

With that said, it couldn't have been all that bad.  Look at the damage we had done between the two of us.  Shellfish graveyard. 

If you visit Mellben Seafood, definitely order the Black Pepper Crab and Beehoon Crab!  

And while I'm on the topic, some people have asked me if I've been to another well-known chili crab joint, Jumbo Seafood.  Long review short: Jumbo sucks.  I don't get the appeal.

 

Mellben Seafood (Ang Mo Kio) [location of Juicyndelicious video shooting]

Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3

#01-1222

Tel: +65 6285-6762

Mellben Seafood (Toa Payoh)

Blk 211 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh

#01-11/15

Tel: +65 6353-3120

No Signboard Seafood (Esplanade) [not depicted in this post]
8 Raffles Avenue
#01-14/16 Esplanade Mall
Tel: +65 6336-9959