Dancing Crab Restaurant Review

Dancing Crab Restaurant (The Grand Stand, formerly known as Turf Club)

Dancing Crab is a Cajun seafood American restaurant, owned by the Tung Lok group. It's a restaurant where you should not be afraid of getting your hands dirty. (it will get really messy so avoid having business dinners or first dates here). The seating area is huge but if you eat dinner around 6, it's best to have a reservation (just in case). Most people would order one of the 3 seafood combos, and I went with the $80 combo one. Altogether with a party of 4, we ordered:

1) Combo 1 

2) Basket of Spicy Cajun Fries

3) 3 x Lemonade (3 different types) 

4) Calamari Rings

5) Cornbread

Calamari Rings & 3 different types of lemonade

Calamari Rings ($9)

A nice starter that came with about 7-8 rings. Freshly fried and quality was there, good to eat if you don't like the messiness of crab. 

Rating: 8/10

Lemonade ($4 each)

Basically lemonade, with different varying levels of sugar and the differences in ingredients (and hence subtle taste differences).

The drink is a decent size, I wouldn't recommend the pink thyme one as it's bit too bitter. (could be the lower sugar content)

Rating: 7.5/10 (normal water is complimentary and self-served)

Spicy Cajun Fries

Spicy Cajun Fries ($7)

Mmm, if you love Popeyes' fries (the fresh ones), this is a must-have starter. Dancing Crab's fries lacks the oomph of Popeyes' as it is less oily than the Popeyes' ones but not to worry, the spicy seasoning makes up for this. I suggest getting this if you eating moderately (in terms of portions) to fill your stomach.

Rating: 9/10

CornBread

 Cornbread ($5)
Another starter that complements your seafood. Save some to dip into the sauce of your combo. Depending on how many people are eating and whether you like sweet food, I wouldn't call this a must-have. (although I don't really like sweet stuff in general). This starter is to help you feel full at the end of the meal.

Combo 1

Rating: 7/10 (average score for me since I don't have a sweet tooth)

Combo 1 ($80)

Ah, the dish you are probably most interested in. This combo consists of a crab, 250g mussels, 300g prawns, sausages, corn, diced potato in the bowl. It was enough for 2 males and 2 females, but thanks to the help of the fries and cornbread.

You can pick 3 types of sauces: Dancing Crab's Signature sauce (mild, spicy, extra spicy, but altogether similar to chilli crab), Herb Butter, and one other type.

I went for the Mild Dancing Crab signature sauce which tastes like a less heavy version of the local Chilli Crab. This was a good thing as the sauce did not overpower the fresh crab meat but complements the dry nature of the meat. Though the sauce was mild, it was still relatively spicy so watch out if you have the tendency of getting sore throats. (cajun sauces typically have spices that are not too kind to throats) The sausages were lacklustre but the prawns and mussels were fresh and almost as good as the crab. Only downside was that several of the mussels were closed completely.

Rating: 8.5/10 (not filling by itself, but that's expected of seafood)

Note: Other than the starter which come mainly  in baskets or a bowl (the combo), no plates are provided so you are eating on a plastic-bag covered table.  So if you are going for a more formal occasion, don't choose Dancing Crab for it.

The food was good but the friendly Dancing Crab service (American fun-loving nature) made the overall experience enjoyable. If you're looking for a fun meal with Western crab, this is the place for you.