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.

Menya Musashi, Table at Pips, Poison Ivy Review

Menya Musashi (WestGate Branch)

I decided to try this Japanese ramen restaurant after reading about in SAFRA's magazine.

I ordered the White Cha Shu ramen (above) for $12.90. The ramen came 2 pieces of Cha Shu, an egg and a mixture of vegetables. The soup was flavourful but slightly too salty (and I'm relatively used to saltier food). Noodles were okay, but more to the firm side. Overall, just another average ramen shop given its not exactly value-for-price and taste.

Rating: 7/10

Table at Pips (Lorong Kilat)

Table at Pips is a quaint Western restaurant tucked behind in a small street just behind Toh Yi Rd, where it's surrounded by a couple of Korean restaurants (WooriNara and Kim's). I went on a normal Sunday morning with a party of 3 others right at opening hour (11am).

I didn't think a reservation was necessary as I was quite certain we would be the first customers for the day and hence face no seating capacity issues. The waiter initially wanted us to sit at a table right next to the door as we had no reservation despite the fact that there were no other patrons around. It seems like many restaurants in Singapore value people who make reservations too highly as they automatically give better seats to such people. Restaurants should just stick to the stand that if a potential customer makes a reservation, they are guaranteed to have a table but not get a definite area in the restaurant. Even if the patron wants to ensure a better table, a certain portion of the better tables should be allocated for walk-in customers (instead of letting people with reservations get all the best seats. Restaurants should realise that walk-in-customers (like me) are birds in hand, unlike the people who make reservations but may not even turn up. It's like treating walk-in-customers as second-rate citizens and early birds not getting their worm.

Anyway, another gripe I had was that the restaurant was clearly undermanned. There was only one waiter for the 1st hour (before another came), making the service slow. Other than this and the initial seating, the experience was quite pleasant. My party ordered:

1) Grilled Sirloin Steak  ($18.90)
2) Duck Leg Confit  ($14.90)
3) Fish and Chips ($7.90) (not pictured)
4) M&B Chicken Rollard ($9.90)

Sirloin steak

The steak was reasonable for its price but the sides were very little. Meat was tender and flavour was there, although nothing outstanding.

Rating: 7.5/10

Duck Leg Confit

Next up was the duck leg confit. It doesn't do the French dish much justice and just felt like another duck dish. Portion was on the small side.

Rating: 7/10

M&B Chicken Rollard

Possibly one of the lousier chicken dishes I've tasted. Worse still was the extremely small portion (pretty much was 3 cubes of chicken sausage) Not worth the price at all. Taste is awkward. 

Rating: 4.5/10

Fish and Chips (not pictured): Surprisingly big portions for the price of $7.90 (almost opposite of the chicken rollard's portion). Fries were good but fish was mediocre. (the batter was fine, just the quality of the fish was lacking.

Rating: 8/10 (Low price make it good value)

Overall: Table at Pips is a nice small Western place with decent food and prices (save for the chicken rollard). You'll probably go patronise this restaurant to have a quieter and casual meetup with friends and family. 

Overall rating: 7/10

Poison Ivy Restaurant (at Bollywood Veggies)

Located at Bollywood Veggies, a vegetable farm in Lim Chu Kang, Poison Ivy is a unique restaurant that promotes healthier living through it's organic ingredients. The place is quite remote, and you certainly will need a car to get there. Even if you take a taxi there, good luck finding your own way back. Anyway, Bollywood Veggies is a great place to escape the hectic city-living as it has a relatively large vegetation "theme park" filled with good humour and fun. The charm of Poison Ivy is that it's a refreshing experience to take a morning walk around the farm before eating at the restaurant. Although I went for the food first before taking that walk, I understand the appeal.

Warrior's Platter!

Anyway, I ordered the Warrior's Platter ($40) along with a plate of organic spinach at $8 (choice of 2 other organic vegetables). The organic spinach was lightly seasoned and quite refreshing. Portion was small but given that it's organic and $8, fair enough. I ordered the fig tea and aloe vera. I don't remember the price but a good complement with the platter





The main highlight was the Warrior's Platter which basically comprised of about 7 small dishes. (The mix varies slightly each day). The menu says it's meant for 4 people but if you have 4 grown-men eating it, you may want to order more. Anyway, I didn't note down the exact dishes but there was an assortment of curries (about 2), fried vegetables (similar to tempura), chicken wings, and some sliced steamed fish (cooked with mushrooms and what not). It had a nice mixture of spicy, fried, and non-spicy food. The platter was enough for my party of 4 (2 male and 2 female adults).

Rating: 8/10 

The food was unique but what really made Poison Ivy stand out was the atmosphere of the place. Everything is light-hearted, the staff are friendly (and cordially referred to as Warriors). Everything felt fresh even the method of warding off insects was interesting: the Warriors had sprinkled chopped up pandan leaves on the floor to ward off insects. Basically, eating at Poison Ivy also means visiting the Bollywood Veggies vegetable farm (which is feels like a holiday attraction). It's a nice place for a family outing or a getaway from hectic lives.

Overall experience: 8.5/10

Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant (Paragon) Review

So my first food "review" is the Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant at Paragon. It's ranked as the 49th best Chinese Restaurant food in Asia (In top 50s). I had a booking for 6 pm but have to leave the place by 7:30. We made a booking in advance for the Peking Duck, which is obviously the highlight of the restaurant. The restaurant itself is quite impressive and we managed to get a "private" room with a movable partition. We didn't request for this so it was a pleasant surprise.

I didn't take the picture of the room but the lighting was quite dim as can be seen by pic of the wall painting. The seats were really spacious and comfortable, very easy to lean back and fall asleep.

Anyway, as with all Chinese restaurants, Super Duck has this really bad habit of offering the "pickles" in this case some peanuts. Of course since I'm on a crusade against this practice (it's already 10+7%), I asked the waitress to take it away. The waitress served the tea ignored me the 1st time I asked so I had to remind her when she returned. Quite bad service from that particular waitress and she didn't cancel off the "pickles" in the receipt.







Now for the food bit, we ordered:
1. Peking Duck (Whole)
2. Peking Duck Second Dish (noodles)
2. Conpoy & Winter Melon Soup (Pax x3)
3. SiChuan Soup (1 Pax)
4. Claypot tofu with diced chicken & salted fish
5. Fried squid with salted egg
6. Mango Pudding (1 Pax)
7. Red Bean Cream (1 Pax)
8. Mango sago with pomelo (2 Pax)

Peking Duck
The chef came out to show off his cutting skills the duck so service-wise it's is quite good. The Peking Duck is more Beijing style with some meat attached to the skin. Personally I prefer just the duck skin but this duck wasn't as fat so it's quite good. Taste wise- it doesn't have the strong duck taste which I found good, but that's a personal preference. The meat is tender and the duck is overall quite good. The dish came with the standard spring onions and cucumbers and of course the pancakes. The chef didn't put the duck into the pancakes, which is pretty normal but they could have served it for more points.The pancakes were too thick and hence a bit hard to chew. So overall, only the duck was good.

Price: $68 + $10 (for the 2nd dish) 
On the higher-end but given the type of restaurant, it's expected.

Peking Duck 2nd Dish (Noodles)
We got the remaining duck meat to be cooked with the noodles, it was the last dish to be served. Overall: noodles wasn't soggy and maintained some springiness, taste-wise was decent and good to fill the stomach.Conpoy & Winter Melon Soup
Quite a small serving, but overall still good for an individual. Extremely sweet (as in soup sweet, not sugary sweet) and tasty. Would be a sure-buy if it was cheaper.

Price: $10 per pax
On the high end but still worth a try.

Sichuan Soup (aka Hot & Spicy Soup)
Not too spicy and not overpowering. Pretty good.

Price: $8

Claypot tofu with diced chicken & salted fish
Good serving size, easily serves 4 pax. Tofu and chicken is tender, overall good.

Price: $16
Well-worth the money.

Fried Squid with Salted Egg Yolk
If you like salted egg crab, this is the dish for you. Very strong salted egg yolk taste, a bit too much IMO. Texture wise is decent albeit too chewy and hard to tear without looking barbaric. Quite small serving with about 8 pieces.

Price: $18
On the high-end but good if you like salted egg crab.

Mango Pudding
Not overly soft pudding, has texture to it, mango taste is subtle. Overall quite good.

Price: $5
High for desserts if you compare it to other restaurants.

Red bean cream
Served warm, typical red bean taste with smooth texture. Subtle but good to round up a meal.

Price: $4

Mango with sago and pomelo
More liquid than the pudding but still quite thick. Has very strong mango taste, so slightly more overpowering than the pudding. The pudding is more unique as this dish is something like mango in liquid form.

Price: $5 (per pax)





Note: Miscellaneous Stuff
 As mentioned earlier, the restaurant serves the "pickles" at $3. Don't just let them eat up your money unless you are dying for the peanuts. Just reject it and get this free money idea out of Chinese restaurant's mind. They already charge for service and GST. They also provide a moist towel at the beginning to mop your hands. It's free of charge but remember to use it or they'll clear it without asking.
Tea was $2 per pax, reasonable and they frequently refill your cup.

Overall, came up to $208 after service charge and GST. On the high-end, but if you exclude the desserts still okay. Peking Duck is expensive but given the reputation of the restaurant and the ambience, it's still acceptable.

It should be noted that the restaurant has open areas and "private" rooms with partitions. If you want to make a reservation, it's better to request for the rooms rather than leaving it to chance. Service is generally good as they keep topping up your tea. Overall, slightly overpriced and does it justify the Super Peking Duck name? Not really, probably just a Duck with an established family name.

Score: 8/10
(Marked down due to the high price and subpar pancakes that came with the duck. Overly chewy squids. Not too filling but enough to fill your stomach, mainly because of the noodles)

Beginnings

I've been thinking about setting up a blog to record all my interesting meals and finally got down to it. I'll probably wait for some pics before the next entry.