Ming Kee Live Seafood: On the Crab Bee Hoon Trail
With the ieat-in-laws, Amagada, Chwee Kueh and the Chingtribe
I think Crab Bee Hoon is currently my favourite crab dish and I am on a pilgrimage to find the ultimate Crab Bee Hoon in Singapore. There are generally 2 types of Crab Bee Hoon -- a soup and a dry version. I prefer the dry version. As I have mentioned in my last blog, the widely accepted Gold Standard for dry Crab Bee Hoon is the one at Sin Huat. But because of the exorbitant prices, I have resisted going there to kena chop (swindled) Ultimately, the question is: "Is Resistence Futile?" Can I find a Crab Bee Hoon that I am so satisfied with that I can forget about ever going to Sin Huat?
Many readers have written in to recommend this Crab Bee Hoon from Ming Kee. This Cze Char turned restaurant used to be in Marine Parade, but got so popular that they shifted to their current space at Macpherson. Now its air conditioned but there is still no +++ added to the bill.
The Crab Bee Hoon was very good, but unfortunately I still haven't found my Holy Grail. They use thin bee hoon here which absorbs the flavour very well. It was very tasty but still lacked that ooomph I was looking for. The crabs are excellent. The pincers are large and the meat is full, so no complaints there. $38 per kg. 4.25/5
Overall the food quality here is excellent and the prices are quite reasonable. The dish that is really good is the steamed clams with garlic. The sauce is your typical Cantonese steam fish sauce but they do it extremely well. Combined with the tender and sweet flesh from the clam, this dish is quite addictive. $20 for a large plate. 4.5/5
Another sigature dish was the Guiness Pork Ribs which was thickly chopped Pork Ribs with a sweet, piquant sauce. The meat was tender, fresh and flavoursome. 4/5 The venison with ginger and shallots was excellent and is one dish I will order again when I am there. They used a very good quality venison that is so tender that it melts in your mouth. 4.5/5. Their other signature dish is the fried Mee Sua which I found so so only, though other members of the family quite liked it. I think for me, mee sua is a dish where I will need to grow a little older to appreicate. 3.5/5
No Teochew Ah Hia can resist Orh Nee especially when they tell you that it comes with pumpkin and gingko nuts. The Orh Nee here is thick and gooey, unlike the semi watery versions that most restaurants serve. The only let down was the use of coconut which really spoilt the taste. They should have just left it out. 4/5
Conclusion
Overall a very satisfying experience. The standard of the food is great across the board. Too bad I have not found my ultimate Crab Bee Hoon, but I certainly did find a very good live Seafood Restaurant that I can return to again.
8.5/10 (T3.5+V2+S2+E1)
Ming Kee Live Seafood
556 Macpherson Road (Jn Macpherson Lane)
67474075
Ivan Tan 9755 2664
12pm - 2pm Lunch
5pm - 11pm Dinner
Open Daily
Recommended by 2 anonymous readers and khim
9 comments:
Brought my whole family to Ming Kee for dinner just last nite. And I just have to say that the food was no where any good. Though there was no +++, they charge 30 cent for water which they did not mention when we order. $1 for a bowl of rice. more than 50 cents for a towel.
I was even overcharge as the total just didn't add up correctly. Now I am really piss off
By the way, their dishes are not cheap.
I was charged about $60 for a plate of meatless crab beehoon. When told, and showed the PIC, they deducted $7 as a "gesture of goodwill". Simply hates this kind of gesture, as though the "meatless" crab is alright and we are trying to fleece them of discounts. Total bill comes up to abt $160, with crab and drunken prawns, and the signature mussels, fried fish skin, vegetables for 4 pax... It really was not worth the price for the food for one crab beehoon, where we see no meat. Luckily I was in a happy mood that day and did not make a scene...hahahaha
Another thing i left out is, only the basket of Fried Fish Skin is worth commenting. The Empty-shelled crab that was weighed to be more than 1 kg, puzzled me and my parents. Pincers are like empty, and the meat is as small as a baby's finger. Next time if you guys wanna go visit them, better choose your own crab and see them weigh it. Note: The crab was half-cooked. !!!!!
Recommended:
SEAFOOD PARADISE
91 Defu Lane 10
The great food aside at this recommendation~
Forgiven but not forgotten:
My dining experience @ SEAFOOD PARADISE was marred with a lapse in service standards when our two crabs were wrongfully cooked in one single style (chilli) when we actually wanted two styles (the other being specialty butter I think)
Having a high tolerance threshold, we were willing to overlook the matter and - out of desperation - we ordered an additional crab to be cooked in the desired style which we din have earlier.
But alas, my family was told that there were no more crabs available! We were incensed and immediately knew that simply - the restaurant was just not willing to open up their new batch of crabs.
Ironic. Since they almost immediately did a U-turn and said there are more crabs after all. Bad move.
I'm sure you wouldnt enjoy your crab as much after going thru the same.
But thankfully, the golden butter crab was a redeemer. And we neutralized the sour experience by even offering the waitress in question - a tip at the end of our meal, just to let her feel better.
And also to drive home the point that all memories of the good food will be stained by one single incident of poor service. I daresay luckily, it was my family. Others wouldn't be so kind and forgiving.
Lesson?
Good service complements the dining experience, but bad service can destroy it completely.
Ming Kee was indeed a disappointment for me and my family. The food was cold, the service was bad and the air condition was really stuffy. The 'best' dish which was the bee hoon crab which I will give a rating of 6.5/10. Rest of the dishes, was way below my expectations. Service was really lousy, food came slow and waitresses were like pouncing on us, hoping that we finish our food as soon as possible. Kept coming to our table to force us to finish the food. Felt terrible after the meal.....
what about long beach seafood?? i love the food there..
Actually i never went long beach eat before, wonder will IEat post a review on Long Beach Seafood ?
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