Mellben Seafood @ Ang Mo Kio

It was a crabby night. After a few weeks of planning and waiting, we finally made our way to Mellben Seafood over at Ang Mo Kio. I have heard so much about it since a few years ago but just never seemed to have the chance to dine there.

It was a long wait but we were prepared. We arrived at around 6pm and the line was already streaming out of the restaurant. The place has been upgraded and is no longer a stall in a coffee shop. It is its own restaurant (probably occupying a former coffee shop) in the neighborhood, with wooden accents and water features.

We were in line for about 30mins and the wait for the food was another hour. While waiting in the queue, the staff would take down the order. It was also recommended to order everything first as the wait for extra food would be another hour or more.

The signature butter cream crabs. We ordered two of that (female crabs for the roe ~ though the staff told us there was no guarantee there would be roe in them) and they came swimming in the viscous butter cream sauce.

The butter cream was so thick and creamy and sticky and sweet that it was a joy to soak up the crab meat in it. The laksa leaves added an oomph to the sauce. The sliced chilies did not make the crabs spicy at all. We also ordered fried mini mantous (buns) which were simply divine with the sauce.

We were lucky with the crabs as there were plenty of roe in the shell. This was my first time eating the crab roe that I was absolutely clueless about which part of the "meat" on the shell could be eaten.

The answer was everything! Somehow I had the impression that one was supposed to remove everything from the shell when cooking the crabs that I thought those were not meant to be eaten. Lots of roe for those who love it.

We also ordered the other signature dish ~ crab bee hoon soup. This was my second time having a crab bee hoon soup and this was terrific. The soup was slightly creamy with a strong crabby taste. The flesh of the crab was very sweet and tender. The crab was bigger in this dish as we ordered the medium size (feed 3-4 persons) but we discovered it was more than enough for 5 girls.

The staff liked to make you think it would not be enough food. Maybe they did not want patrons to wait the additional one hour if they decide to order more food halfway through their meals so that the turnover for the tables would be faster.

The remnant of our crabby meal. What we had:

2 x butter cream female crabs

1 x crab bee hoon soup (medium)

15 x mini mantous

3 x coconuts

1 x ginger tea

1 x tea

1 x mineral water

1 x water chestnut drink

2 x plates of peanuts (you need them while waiting for food)

Total bill: around $162.

No. of eaters: 5

Results: sublime ecstasy of foodie heaven

I think it is better to order what they are known for rather than other dishes. I have heard the chili crabs are not fantastic when compared to the other seafood restaurants. Other dishes we initially wanted to try were mongolian ribs and seaweed tofu. So glad we did not order those as we were absolutely stuffed with the crabs.

With the long wait, it would be good to go with people you like or could have a conversation with. Otherwise it could make for an terribly long meal :p

Location:

Mellben Seafood

Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 #01-1222

Hours: 4.30pm to 11.30pm

Tel 6285 6762