New Ubin Seafood

Oh yes, you read it right. This is New Ubin Seafood. But it serves a really good steak! Choice US ribeye steak broiled and served with potato wedges and caramelised onions.

And you'll find this restaurant in the most unlikely of places. It's in the heart of the Sin Ming Road industrial zone, a neon-lit facade nestled among car and machinery workshops. First-timers may have difficulty locating the place, but the effort is well worth it.

What led us to this hidden place? The June 2010 Makansutra forum members dinner. These very often showcase some of the best cze-char gems on this island. Oh yes, I'm quite behind in posting these lovely dinners - I have three more to go but I will blog them all, as they're all good!



This dinner was slightly unusual, it had 13 dishes in 9 courses, meaning some courses had 2-3 mini dishes. This is Mussels de Blanc - fresh local mussels braised in claypot with spring onions and white wine. It was served with the next two dishes...



Salted Egg Squid. My memory is hazy but I think the squid was quite tender and the sandy egg yolk seasoning addictive.



Stir-fried Beansprouts with Home Cured and Smoked Sea Bass. Ah, this I remember well. The restaurant has its own smoker, so they do their own cured/smoked items...to good effect too. We absolutely loved the treated sea bass. It was almost as good as bacon.



Hei Chor - deep-fried prawn rolls with water chestnuts - was part of the third course. Decently done, but not mind-blowing.



Baby Shrimp - wild shrimp caught off Singapore coasts, plain-fried to allow their natural flavours to come through. I can't argue with crispy stuff.



Flower Clams cooked in white wine and garlic. Not too bad.



Oh, as it was Tony's (and a few other people's) birthday, we started off with longevity peach-shaped buns. Nice appetiser with lotus paste filling.



After those baby shrimp, we had the supersized Ang Kah prawns, done in garlic and pepper. Greasy but good. Maybe slightly overfried, but I enjoyed them still.



A duo of two vegetables followed. The perennially popular sambal kang kong, which was very nicely executed with generous sambal...



...and some Chinese spinach with garlic. This vegetable has lots of stems generally too fibrous and bitter for me, so I skipped this.



Smoked Pork Knuckle Mee Sua. Oh yes, another item from their smoker. The mee sua had absorbed all the smoky flavours too.



As if all that food was not enough, we had chili crab coming as well! Classic Chili Crab Ubin Style. The taucheo (fermented bean paste) was very strong in this one, and it was quite salty. Not too spicy.



The best part about chili crab for me is ironically the mantou - those lovely deep-fried buns! Look at the gorgeously crispy crust on these! Sink your teeth into these sweeties, and life's worries will melt away for a moment.



I think by the last course, most of us could barely handle dessert. And it was a heavy one too. Yam Paste with Ginkgo Nuts (with coconut cream on the side, if you so like it). I love orh-nee, so no matter what, I had to have a bite...and I almost wanted a second bowl!



One of the odd things you'll notice about the ceiling (especially if you're horizontal after too much wine), is that it's padded with cardboard egg cartons! This is the air-conditioned dining area (fits about 10 tables) - things must get pretty noisy or rowdy here, to require soundproofing effort! There are also "al fresco" dining tables outside.

So there can be some good food in the deepest of industrial estates. If you ever find yourself in Sin Ming looking for food and prefer something more substantial than the famous bak kut teh or prata nearby, there's always New Ubin Seafood.

P.S. Someone asked about pricing - we paid about S$38 nett per person for this lovely feast.


NEW UBIN SEAFOOD
Block 27 Sin Ming Road #01-174
(Behind Block 26)
Singapore 575680
Tel: +65-6466-9558
Open Daily: 11.30am–2.30pm, 5.30pm–10.30pm


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