Cheap, Good & Near

It was said in Singapore, good seafood is never cheap, and cheap seafood is never good. However, I reckon that my family had struck a jackpot in locating one place which offers affordable seafood. What’s more, it’s just a 15 minutes car-ride from my place. Even though it was a weekday and it rained in the evening, it didn’t deter many tables away from the coffee shop. The first dish that arrived that night was the Bee Hoon Goreng. The reason for choosing Bee Hoon as opposed to the more famous cousin, Mee is - it is less filling.

Although slightly more wet as compared to that of the Malay or Indian style, the flavour of the tomato ketchup was captured nicely in the cooking and a squeeze of the lime simply enhances the taste of the food even more. The Fried Dou Miao with Garlic was fresh and cooked just nicely, although it was nothing to rave about.

Though the Seafood Hor Fun was pretty brilliant. The Flat Rice Noodles was thick and fried evenly, with a touch of ‘Wok Hei’, or burnt taste in it. Not forgetting that the ingredients were plentiful. Gravy also wasn’t too starchy as well.

The only disappointment that night was the Fried La La (Clams) in Spicy Sauce.

The chef would always cooked the clams in boiling water before pouring the spicy sauce over the clams thus eliminates waiting time, but more often than not, as the water is not drained from the clams, the ‘water-taste’ is ever-present in the dish. Also, the gravy is not captured in the clams as it was poured over rather than frying it together. Thankfully, the last 3 dish of the night saved the day. The Steamed ‘Live’ Soon Hock was fresh and the meat was tender.

Just slightly under a kilogram, the meat wasn’t too tough and the Hong-Kong Style gravy was great to go with - both the fish and the rice. The Steamed ‘Live’ Frog Leg with Chicken Essence was up next, and again, it didn’t disappoint.

Meat was tender and juicy and the chicken essence blends well with the dish. Being a frog leg lover, my only complaint was that there wasn’t enough of that to go around. The finale was the Steamed ‘Live’ Flower Crabs. Personally, I prefer them than the meatier Sri Lanka ones.

Flower Crabs are so much sweeter and it’s also much easier to eat, and most of the time, you wouldn’t need a nut-cracker to enjoy the meat. Oh, and by the way, its December now, and it’s Crabbing Season in Perth. Oh…how I miss crabbing in Mandurah River, and enjoy the spoils of the Flower Crabs at the end of the day.

Rating

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5
Price: 4.5/5
Total: 15.5/20
New Seafood Resturant
Corner of Hong San Terrace & Choa Chu Kang Ave 1