Mellben Seafood needs no further introduction in the local scene. Renowned for their claypot crab bee hoon, many food lovers have braved rain and storm to queue up in its heartlands outlet, all just for their crabs. The first Mellben Seafood has been around at Ang Mo Kio for several years now, and it’s until last year where they open this one at Toa Payoh, and i recently also heard that they have a third branch at Pasir Ris.
Media reports, celebrity endorsements, enough said!
Prawn paste chicken ($10)
The prawn paste chicken or “har cheong kai” is always a dish on our list to order when my family had zi-char. Personally i’ll prefer sweet sour pork to this anytime, but my brother is a fan of chicken. The chicken came pipping hot and the fermented puréed shrimp taste was very evident in the crispy skin. But at $10, the price is slightly higher, as most zi-char stalls offer this dish at $8.
Fried sambal Kangkong ($10)
We also seem to have the habit of ordering sambal kangkong. Mellben’s rendition was truly hot and spicy. Again at $10 for a vegetable dish, it was priced higher than the usual $6-8 repertoire.
Chili Crab ($41.80)
While patrons to Mellben always order their signature claypot crab bee hoon, we decided to buck the trend and had the chili crab ($38 per kg) instead. Our decision was vindicated, the chili crab proved itself no less than the more popular claypot crab bee hoon counterpart. The thick chili gravy was spicy and slightly sweet, and i particularly enjoyed the eggy taste.
My family’s always has a soft spot for crabs, not me though, i’m too lazy to eat crab. But when i do eat crab, i always take the big pincher, because they are by far the easiest to eat and with the most meat. One bite settles everything, all the fleshy meat into my stomach!
i’m a sucker for those fried mantou that always come together with the chili crab. Some people will like to drench the whole bun into the chili gravy, but for me i always like to poke a hole in the middle of the bun. After which i’ll put some thick spicy eggy gravy into the middle and let it flow inside. And after the first wonderful bite, i’ll then dipped the remaining bun to get the maximum soak of chili gravy. Heavenly!
Total Bill was $71.50 for 4 people. This is actually quite reasonable for 4 people, but if you examine closely, the price range of the food at Mellben is substaintially higher than the normal zi-char store. This is partly due to the popularity of Mellben, and they are able to commend a slight premium over the rest. The chili crab was excellent, and we will be looking to try the rest of the crab-mates next time.
One thing to note about Mellben though, the two branch at Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh are both not within walking distance from the MRT station, which means to say you will need to take a feeder bus in from the interchange which can be quite a chore. Nevertheless, they are selling out the crabs every night, this tells you something about them!
Mellben Seafood
Block 211 Lor 8 Toa Payoh #01-11
Tel: 6353 3120
The best among the 3 would be the brother’s original coffeeshop at blk 232. But currently it’s undergoing renovation.
Should try that when u have the chance =D
Darkness — August 28th, 2008 at 2:27 amI had the claypot crab bee hoon and butter crabs. I totally love them! And friends told me standard had dropped, and I was like OMG, you mean it was even better?!
However, I find the sambal kangkong too spicy, and too wilted. The rest of the dishes are ok only.
didally — August 29th, 2008 at 11:15 amdarkness: yeah i know the so call “original” one is at AMK, the toa payoh one is his brother, the pasir ris one is his sister.
didally: lol! same sentiments, we find it good but it was better last time. haha! yeah sambal kangkong a tad too spicy for me, the others are okay but still priced above average.
ladyironchef — August 29th, 2008 at 12:31 pmim not veri sure whether there’s ani at pasir ris but the toa payoh one is actually the sister’s. the amk blk 232(original) is the elder brother and amk blk 233 is the younger brother. the younger bro is my dad’s fren =D
ya, tat’s wat i heard to. alot say it use to be better. but it’s still not bad now
Darkness — September 1st, 2008 at 4:21 amwah! melben seafood has so many branches now! and they have so many siblings! haha!
although i live opposite 232, i only tried it a few times cuz the queue is so super long sometimes!
and to me, i felt the elder brother (blk 232) crabs and younger brother crabs (blk 233) got no difference. though i agree that their standard drops.
try their claypot crab bee hoon and butter crab next time. its their most popular dishes! u will drool…LOL
Jaime-la-nourriture — September 1st, 2008 at 12:01 pmyep.. just checked.. there’s one at pasir ris, it’s the younger brother’s… u can visit the newly renovated 232 branch.. i went there today for their opening.. veri veri nice i must say…
Darkness — September 3rd, 2008 at 1:30 amdarkness: oh really ah? then i mixed it up liao, because i heard from others that the sister one is at pasir ris. lol! confusing man. hmm, used to be better, but i still find it quite good, although prices are rather on the high side for zi char.
haha, how you check one? the amk is open already? must have a large crowd for opening day? haha
Jaime: lol! yeah good business then keep on expanding ma. thats so irony, you live opp but never try, the rest live so far away travel all the way there just to try. Singaporeans. haha
ladyironchef — September 3rd, 2008 at 7:12 pmcan i know where is the location of the 3rd outlet at pasir ris? thanks
pray — September 8th, 2008 at 12:06 amhello pray: If i’m not wrong, its Pasir ris drive 4 blk 440 #01-13 tel: 65820397
ladyironchef — September 9th, 2008 at 8:12 pmwow .. the food looks really good. but i think melben is more famous for their crab beehoon. i tried their chillie crabs quite a while back and i still prefer red house’s version.
jo — September 11th, 2008 at 8:16 pmjo: yep they are. but we fancy chilli crab more that day so yeah
ladyironchef — September 12th, 2008 at 11:40 pm