I’m back for a short visit, and have been trying to fulfil as much of my local cravings as possible. Yes, food is always a highlight in Singapore. One on my list is a locally prepared crab. There’re lots of big-named seafood restaurants in Singapore but Mellben is one I’d heard so much about but had yet to try. (Yes, pretty slow). So yesterday evening, my best friends and I headed for the original outlet in Ang Mo Kio.

There are a lot of reviews out there – some negative, some positive. I’m happy to say my first experience there was pretty positive. We made a reservation about two days in advance, so I can’t really comment on the walk-in service. We did saw a long snaking queue forming as we sat down at 7.30pm on a Tuesday. The smaller dishes like chicken and sambal kangkong arrived within 20 minutes or so, and everything else came soon after – cereal prawns, crab bee hoon (their speciality) and creamy butter crab.

We also made a side order of the “Playboy Chicken” just because it had a very curious name, and it turned out to be really good as well. Just the right balance between spicy and sweet.

Anyway, I’ve never seen such huge crab claws before. The crab shell also contains a major lot of crab roe. Obviously with such huge meaty crabs, it wasn’t a budget eat. The total price we paid for all the dishes was about S$210, which turned out to be about S$52.50 per person in a group of 4. That’s definitely quite a price to pay and not a dinner you’d have every week. But I do feel for the amazing dishes they prepare, the gargantuan size of crabs, the price was quite on par with what I expected in Singapore.

They have several other styles of preparing crabs in the menu such as Fried Crab Bee Hoon, Curry Paste Crab, Claypot Curry Crab, Salted Egg Crab, and of course, the Singaporean all-favourite Chilli Crab. Crab cravings, satisfied.

(Ang Mo Kio) 232 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3
Singapore 560233
T: +65 6285 6762

(Toa Payoh) 211 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh
T: +65 6353 3120

(East Coast) Closed
1110 East Coast Parkway, #01-07
T: +65 6742 1969

(Upper Serangoon)
9 Opal Crescent, Singapore 328404
T: +65 6742 1969