Mellben Seafood 龙海鲜螃蟹王

For years, this has been my favourite crab beehoon stall in Singapore, but because it is usually pricey, we only go for special occasions i.e. CNY dinners. http://static1.sg.orstatic.com/UserPhoto/photopending/0/EZ/002YHH743C482DC0011CC1c.jpg

For future references, their lou hay is one of the better ones I've had, even though it is less expensive than some of the others I had. The vegetable bits are fresher, and they are generous with their salmon slices. It was a good appetizer before the mains. http://static1.sg.orstatic.com/UserPhoto/photopending/0/EZ/002YHI183A7A7FD7BF30D0c.jpg
The first dish up was the giant bamboo clams, each amounting to $10. But it is sooooo worth it, because the clams have been stir-fried with garlic and chili padi, which brought out the flavour of the clams. I am not a huge seafood fan, so I would only try bits of it, but it did not have the usual clammy taste which I so hated. For someone who doesn't really like seafood, I would say this is a definite must-try! http://static1.sg.orstatic.com/UserPhoto/photopending/0/EZ/002YHJ2C647E5862B624C9c.jpg
This was my second favourite apart from the crab beehoon. Pork ribs coated in salted egg yolk made the perfect combination. They fried it so perfectly, I was craving for more even after the second rib. Absolutely delicious! http://static4.sg.orstatic.com/UserPhoto/photopending/0/EZ/002YHKC1E43A4EDC43E6F9c.jpg

And the star of the dinner table. I usually go for the noodles, with the soup which is filled with all that rich creamy goodness. Of course, anything so yummy often comes at a price. Its so sinful because of the cholesterol which you can literally taste in the soup. Having been boiled with the crabs and the eggs and everything else, the soup has been perfected to pure goodness sliding down your throat.

Of course, having tried a sliver of the crab meat, it tasted better than the others because of its freshness? The family said this is one of the best crabs they've had, but I guess it also depends, because a week later we went back for take-outs of the crab beehoon but the crab aint that fantastic anymore.

A good place for dinners for special occasions. But reservations is a MUST. Otherwise, be prepared to queue for at least 45 minutes on weekends.

2013-02-09

SGD 65(Dinner)

My friend recommend this crab place which is opposite Mayflower Secondary School.
We decided to give it a try. We reached at around 7plus and there was a queue even on a weekday night. It was fully packed and we waited for around 20 minutes before we got seats. However while waiting, we could order our food first. Looking through the different type of crab dishes of different cooking style, we wanted to try as many as possible. We wanted to order 2 types of crabs but we were told by the staffs that there are only BIG crabs left which cost more than $80 each. There are no more smaller crabs
We could only order 1 crab in order to be within our budget. So we ordered the chilli crab with mantou!
As we went into the shop, there were lots of crab shell framed and hang on the walls. Alot of celebrities had visited the shop before and many signed on the crab shell and was framed up. It was an interesting sight and it includes oversea celebrities.Chilli Crab! It was abit too spicy for all of us. Luckily, we ordered drinks!Mantou to dip into the chilli crab sauce. A big plate of fried rice to be shared among the 6 of us.Stir fried Nai bai, ordered green vegetables to be healthy

As it was a big crab, there were alot of crab meat and the meal make us quite full!
SATISFIED

SGD 30(Dinner)

Friends gathering at Melban Seafood located at Ang Mo Kio.
If you stay near there, then great for you guys. I think it's a little far for me who stays in the west and it's not located near the MRT station

We reached there at about 5+pm. No crowds yet.
So we ordered their specialty Crab Bee Hoon !
Thumbs up ! The soup is really good and the crab is big and fresh.Sambal Kang Kong. Must eat in singapore zi char.
It was alright.
I wish the sambal would taste betterCereal prawns. I love the cereal ! smell and taste real good.Chilli crabs which you must order ! the sauce they made really niceand the hot fried buns to dip in the chilli crab sauce! SO GOOD!

At about 6+pm, we see the crowds coming in and long Q forming up so go there early (:

2011-01-13

Food

Stir Fried Vegetables with garlic is a compliment to other seafood. We have to stay healthy, so there must be at least one vege on the table! Big Pincer! The crab was fresh (We ordered only one big crab) and cooked in a buttery salted egg yolk coating which was very unique. First we have to lick all egg yolk around the pincer.I cant believe I got the whole pincer to myself! It's quite big! Who wants to have my lion share?HahaThe color of the prawn makes me wonder if they are drunken in the "Hua Diao Jiu". Steamed fresh prawns dipped into the "Hua Diao Jiu". Super delicious. I had all the soup base as gravy on my white rice. Goes well with it!Service
Their service may not be good, not that attentive and not that responsive during busy hours. Workers can see rush in and out and run mad around in the shop.

Ambience
Very crowded especially during weekend dinner times. I have to queue around 4.30pm to get to the first few tables. There are alot of photographs printed out from the CCTV to highlight to customers that those are the faces who have "BA WANG CHANG" - eat and left without paying. Amazing and a way to emphasize to customers.

Price
Abit steep price but quite worthwhile to pamper oneself once in a bluemoon

Recommendation / Tips
Be there early or avoid peak hours.
No reservations is accepted during weekends.

SGD 50(Dinner)

I dined here with a group of friends. The waiting time was crazily long. We ordered some of their signature dishes including some of the crab dishes. Amongst all, my favourite dish is the black pepper crab. The black pepper was just right and not over whelming. Though the crabs were not too big in size but it was quite meaty and tasted fresh. The pepper sauce goes well with rice too. This is a dish worth coming back.

Craving for delicious chilli crab ? Black pepper crab ? This is a great place to have crab and tze char in a heartland place. Please also do note that you might have to wait for quite some time to get seated during peak periods like Fridays or weekend. went over there to have dinner with a group of eight other friends and waited for about 30mins to get seated . Ordered a plate of cereal prawn, 1 chilli crab, 1 black pepper crab , claypot vegetables which includes mushroom and also a plate of ma po tou fu (tou fu stirred fried with chilli and minced meat)
The crabs were easy to eat as they were chopped neatly and so it didn't require much effort to eat.
The crabs were fresh and the seasoning were perfect such that it did not masked the freshness of the crabs
The cereal prawn we're quite messy but it was delicious as the cereal was crispy and the prawns were fresh.
The ma po tou fu was great and if you are a spicy lover, it is highly recommended for you to try it
We only ordered 1plate per dish and had a bowl of rice and it was very filling despite us not having lunch before eating dinner
It can be quite pricey if you were to eat alone , come with a big group and the price will be worth it

I had long heard ravings about Melben, but simply dun had the opportunity to try it. There was once we pass by there, and were "turned away" by the long queue. This time round, we made sure that we reached there before the queue started! Early dinner at 530pm! Hohoho...

The crab cost about $45 each, which was probably good for sharing for 2 only, based on 1 pincer per person. You have to "calculate" based on that ratio because the meatiest part of the crab is the pincer. Other than that, not much meat too. There were 6 of us, so we ordered 3 crabs in total. That was $135 for crabs alone, expensive? But I will say, well spent.

2012-06-12

looking for some place to chill out and as well as eating seafood so my friends suggest to go to mellben seafood.

they serve lot of seafood dishes , and also outdoor dinning where u can see nice scenery and enjoy fresh air

so we ordered Mellben's ture Beancurd etc

the claypot laksa bee hoon comes with thick noodles which are springy , the gravy of laksa is not oily and fragnant , the crabs are juicy and fresh but the serving is just enough for 2 pax

the beancurd is soft inside and crunchy outside and melt in your mouth .

2012-02-09

SGD 18(Dinner)

My dad brought the family to mellben for dinner. We ordered quite a number of dishes. We ordered their chilli crab, creamy butter crab, cereal prawn and stir fry kai lan. The crabs were really good, very fresh and the meat is really sweet. The chilli crab gravy is really good, not too spicy but very sweet at the same time. The creamy butter crab is very tasty, the butter they added to the dish is very fragrant. The cereal prawn is very crispy and buttery. The prawns are very fresh and the meat is sweet and succulent. the cereal is very crispy and goes well with the rice. We ordered the stir fry kai lan as well, it was very tasty and crunchy. it was really good and the portion is just right.

It is always long q. Even you have made reservation, you need to wait for a while before get seated. However, I think it is worth for waiting. The crab beehoon is the best that I have in my life so far.

It is in soup based with beehoon and crab of course. It is using thick beehoon. The soup is really fantastic. It is very thick. Even it looks milky; the milk taste is not strong like other fish noodles. With the wine added inside, it smells nice.

Crab meat has absorbed enough the soup. It is fresh and tasty. The beehoon is not soggy also.

SGD 30(Dinner)

Its been quite a while since I had dinner at Melben, with the last being about a year ago. So I was itching to find out if the crabs were still as good as I remembered them to be. With the opening of a new branch in Toa Payoh, I had hoped that the crowd at Ang Mo Kio would be thinner, but how wrong I proved to be. When we (my family and I) got there at about 7pm, a mad queue had already formed in front of the make shift counter to take their orders and get their tables. Luckily, the wait took all but 20 minutes and we got a nice seat at the fringe of the coffeeshop. Now on to the food.

From the name, Crispy Skin Tofu, I had imagined it to be mouthwatering, but it didn't quite make the mark. First of all, the texture of the tofu was too rough and the skin had too much flour coating, resulting in a rather thick and coagulated layer when cold. Taste wise was still quite acceptable.

The Vegetable with 3 types of Mushroom came recommended by our server and on hindsight, we probably shouldn't have agreed. Overall, it tasted very ordinary. Nothing stood out, not the 3 types of mushrooms, not the vegetables, not the gravy. Nothing. Which makes me wonder the basis for the recommendation.

Sometimes you wonder how real is the piece of venison meat that lies in front of you. After all, venison meat is rather rare in Singapore and certainly doesn't come cheap. That thought raced through my mind when I first chewed on the meat. Very crunchy and chewy (lots of tenderiser added), soaked in a pepper tinted thick and salty gravy. Not too shabby, but doubts of authenticity surfaces because it really tastes like pork.

Now this was what everyone was there for - Melben's famous claypot beehoon with crab. The crab weighed about 1.3kg ($30/kg) and was a huge monster (we only ordered medium). Without a doubt, it was very fresh and the flesh was sweet and firm. The soup, with lots of coconut milk, tasted very similar to Laksa's soup, minus the curry. Thick beehoon was used in place of the normal thin ones, which absorbed the essence of the soup and complemented the whole dish very well. This dish was so big that the 4 of us almost couldn't finish it.

In the past, they used to form queue right in front of the restaurant. Thus, when I reach there about 6 something I was so elated to see no queue form right in front. But to my horror, the queue was already form at the side this time round.We really waited for 1 whole hour for the food to come! That's the price to pay when you want good food!Thankfully we had the Sour Plum drink to keep us cool while waiting...If I am not wrong the Crab Bee Hoon is $45, add additional Bee Hoon is $3, add soup and Bee Hoon is $5. The soup base is just beyond words to describe which is why so many people still take the time to wait. The Crab Bee Hoon serving can serve up to 3 bowl and the additional Bee Hoon is the same serving of 3 bowls too. I will advise if you are adding Bee Hoon, might as well top up the soup as the Bee Hoon is a bit tasteless when order without the soup.Salted Egg Prawns $20

Not worth ordering as there isn't much taste when you remove the shells.

If you want to avoid queuing, ring them up for take away BUT self-collection!

2011-12-20

We tried another crab flavour this time - Butter (sauce) Crab ... It was a pleasant surprise! Initially, I was worried that it might have an overwhelmed butter taste. It came out as a dish with mild sweet fragrance which was very receptive by us and it went extremely well with the huge Sri Lanka crabs.

And now we have plans to try other crab flavours at Melben instead of the usual chilli crab and crab bee hoon, now only lacking of a good date ;p

SGD 30(Dinner)

I miss their crabs
they have the best crabs,but price abit expensive for me
This is my third visit ,Their queue is very long one,must avoid peak hours
i super love their butter crab , the fragrance of the butter goes into the shell & into the meat & super fresh,i will order their "man tou" to go with the butter
overall i rate 9/10

SGD 40(Dinner)

the whole family was craving for some tasty crabs so we hopped into the car and headed to mellben for some delicious seafood. luckily our craving came early at the was not much of a queue there. we ordered quite a number of dishes, but the best was the black pepper crab. it was juicy and the sauce is very tasty. not spicy at all!