No.3 Crab Delicacy - Sept'09 Makansutra Session

A much overdue post, but here it is - last month's Makansutra forum members dinner at No.3 Crab Delicacy. Lots of boisterous laughter and friendly banter, as usual. It was nice to see Liverpool65 again (omg, it's been 2 years since that bak kut teh lunch!), and to finally meet Cactuskit and his cute little girl (Cactuskid?). Plus forum veteran VitiViniVino, who had a really nice camera setup! You can see their photos here.

Here is the food we had.


1] Drunken Cockles: I skipped this, but most people at the table enjoyed this (including Professor R who was clearly more adventurous than I am)! Looks delicious, but I'm always squeamish about cockles, especially semi-raw ones!


I picked at the appetiser of cold bittergourd slices instead.



2] Cold Crabs: this won rave reviews, but I still think cold crab is an acquired taste. The flesh is a little briny, hard and powdery compared to steaming hot versions. Still, it was a lot of crabmeat and roe for crabs this size.



3] Teochew Style Steamed Kurau Tail: very light-tasting with savoury, tart and gingery hints.



4] Clams in Special Sauce: oh this was my favourite! The sauce is delicious. I must learn how to make this so I don't have to go to restaurants just to eat this.



5] Fried Pigeon: decent marinated and fried til crispy. Pigeons look skinny but surprisingly have enough flesh for one to nibble on. Cactuskid loved this so much, she kept savouring her piece the whole evening.



6] Stewed Cabbage Chicken: slightly herbal chicken wrapped in cabbage and braised. Not the most exciting combination, but probably has some Chinese nourishing principle behind it.



7] Braised Pork with Buns: this one was the letdown of the evening. Gooey, starchy sauce and fatty, nondescript slices of pork that don't seem to have had much braising.



8] Curry Crabs with Buns: this is one of No.3 Crab Delicacy's signature dishes. The curry is like fish head curry, and is certainly tasty on its own. The crab was also tasty on its own. But the two did not complement each other somehow. You could just picture the curry doing better with other seafood or meat. Served with fried mantou buns.



9] Traditional Hokkien Noodles: this filler dish closed off the meal. The gravy was seafood-rich and umami, but the dish was sorely missing one critical ingredient - fried pork lard pieces! The other detractor was the strong alkali taste.

On the whole, this was not one of the best dinners we've had. Still, with all the crab, it was very good value at S$40 per person. I'll post Oct's dinner soon.

NO.3 CRAB DELICACY SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
2265/267 Outram Road
Singapore 169059
Tel: 6327-2148

Share: