East Coast Seafood Restaurant
×Chili Crab
Chili Crab / 辣椒螃蟹
Why you must eat itA live mud crab chopped through the shell and braised in a sweet-hot, thickened red sauce of tomato, chili and beaten egg. The sauce is sweet and hot, drawing in the crab's savour to a deep richness. You crack the shell by hand and pick out the flesh, eating with dirtied fingers — a boisterous dish. What remains at the end is a great pool of sauce dissolved with crab stock, and mopping it up with fried or steamed buns (mantou) is said to be the dish's greatest pleasure. A few people share one crab, hands stained red. A dish that symbolizes Singapore, to be had round a table at night in a seaside seafood house on the East Coast.
Chili crab is a relatively new dish, said to have been created in 1950s Singapore, now known as one of the nation's signatures. Served at dedicated seafood restaurants, and the East Coast is lined with large sea-facing houses. The crab is at market price, settled by weight at ordering, so it is safest to check the budget in advance. The shop provides the tools for serving and cracking. A cousin dish is the pepper-heavy "pepper crab." This is a sit-down plate, not stall food, and it is sometimes best to book. Confirm hours and closing days on the spot.
- Nearest
- East Coast Rd / seafront
- Hours
- 17:00-23:00 頃
- Price
- S$40–70 per crab, market price