We (a group of six) wanted to visit Melben Seafood at Ang Mo Kio for dinner on a Saturday. Knowing that Uncle Leong Seafood has moved out and anticipating a long queue, we decided to set off early. We reached Melben at 545pm, yet there was a long queue and it will be at least a 2 hour wait! We decided to try go else where to satisfy our craving for crabs as we did not want to wait for 2 hours.
We decided to visit
Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood a
Zi Char restaurant located at Casuarina Road along Upper Thomson Road.
Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood has been around for close to two decades, specialises in serving local cuisine. As it was our first visit, we had no idea on what to order. Well, the best way is to walk around look at the dishes on the surround tables and also asking the staff for recommendation.
Look at how big the crabs are!
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| Menu (a) |
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| Menu (b) |
Snap shot of part of the menu which includes Chef Recommendations, Crabs, Hot Plates, Claypot, Chicken and Vegetables.
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| Towel |
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| Appetiser and chilli |
The chilli at the right has the right amount of spiciness. Although I like the chilli, I seldom dip my food into it as I prefer to savour the food in its original taste.
Now for the food! Presented in the same order it was served!
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| Prawn Paste Chicken Wings $12 |
Twelve pieces of Prawn Paste Chicken Wings also known as Har Cheong Gai. Two for each of us. This was the first dish that arrived and it arrived pipping hot! Seasoned and coated with prawn paste, the chicken wings deep fried. The batter outside was crispy and inside, the meat was tender and moist!
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| Hot Plate Beancurd $10 |
The
Hot Plate Beancurd totally different from the others I have tried before, was highly delectable. It came with prawns, beancurd and egg, topped with a slightly spicy sauce.
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| Stirred Fried Spinach $10 |
We ordered the Stirred Fried Spinach. The leaves and stems were well cooked. Leaves were not too soft and stems were not too hard. In addition, in terms of taste, it was not over salty. Taste just like a home-cook dish.
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| Birthday Noodles (Mee Sua ) $12 |
Birthday Noodles (Mee Sua), was a plate of Mee Sua fried with prawns, squids, eggs, bean sprouts, fish slices and quail eggs
(interesting). Another unique dish that reminds me of
Sembawang White Bee Hoon.
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| Man Tou / Buns $3.60 |
The fried Man Tou / Buns are big! Bigger than elsewhere. In fact, I felt that they were too big. Despite the size, it was good! Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Moreover, it was not oily. Sadly, the Chilli Crab gravy was not up to par (more on the gravy in the text below).
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| Chilli Crab |
The Chilli Crab is something that Singaporeans are familiar with. The chilli crab gravy was way below par. It was too sweet, too starchy and not spicy. Too much Ketchup was added and the egg used was too little. Luckily, the crab was huge, fresh and succulent! It was an easy task pulling out the chunks of crab meat from the shells! This is a big plus.
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| Black Pepper Crab |
The Black Pepper Crab was huge too. Crab wise, it was similar as above! Black pepper sauce wise, it fared much better. Peppery and not overly salty, it was finger linking good! Had a delectable time savouring the black pepper sauce on the shells.
The Chilli Crab and Black Pepper Crab cost $85.50
We ordered the La La Clams. However, the staff missed out that order. The staff was quite nice, apologising and telling us they will cooked it for us immediately. As we were already full, we decided to cancel the order.
I have seen many reviews stating the bad service this place has. Well, I beg to differ. The service here was good. The only glitch was that one of our order was missed out, they apologised and offer to cook it immediately. Understandable as the place was packed! Moreover, the food was good and it was certainly value for money. The total bill amount to $148.41 inclusive of the rice, drinks and towels. For 6 person...this is cheap! I am certain that I will come back here again. This time I will want to try the Butter Crab and also La La Clams !
Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood 万隆华和海鲜菜馆 (Casuarina Road)
122 Casuarina Road
Tel: 6452 2824
Opening Hours: Daily 5pm to 130am
Location
Huge crabs in tanks. This is essential as almost every table has crab dish on it!
