I have been meaning to try 8Crabs.com for a while but was too swamped transitioning between jobs (yaaas, bright new shiny job!). But what a lovely celebration feast it turned out to be, once I could settle down and enjoy these fresh, meaty, wild caught Sri Lankan crabs right in the comfort of home.
There are three options - chili, black pepper or salted egg yolk - with prices from S$68-128 (depending on weight). Oh, which one to pick? I decided on chili crab 辣椒螃蟹 (the rest can come another time) and I was not disappointed. Crab is a dish that has to be worth the effort to eat (a friend of mine called it fighting with your food). And the one here was sweet, succulent and packed to the brim in the shell. No ammonia smell.
And then, the gravy and cooking skill have to be good to match the crab, or all that freshness is wasted. I'm happy to say the flavours are bold but well-balanced, unlike some versions which are too sweet, too tomato-ey or too bland. Mmmmmh, goes so well with the fried mantou (S$6 per box, you get more than the stipulated 5), and they are generous enough with the sauce that there's enough of it for a serving of chili crab pasta the next day, if you so wish!
8Crabs is quite interesting in that it has no physical store but delivers islandwide (S$8 flat, waived for orders S$120 or more). There is even an express option (S$18) that delivers your meal to you in 60 minutes. They are actually premium seafood importers specialising in wild catch crabs, sea cucumber, prawns, grouper, and tilapia from Sri Lanka. They have their own processing premises in Sri Lanka, and the crabs are efficiently caught, flown to Singapore, cooked and delivered upon order, all within 12 hours.
I found that they have more than crabs; their menu has some pretty distracting zichar (short order cook) items. I could not help but also tack on a few more dishes.
The Gravy Hor Fun 什锦河粉 (S$12 for medium) is more than decent and better than the ones I get at my kopitiam. I like the mildy charred bits of rice noodle. Portion is generous, chockfull of ingredients, and adequate for four eaters.
The Minced Pork with Chai Po Tofu 菜埔豆腐 (S$15, regular) was delightful. I knew I had to order this when I saw the Ranting Pandas rave about this. So much chai pohhh (preserved radish) atop lusciously deep-fried tender tofu. It's all a little on the sweet side, but moreishly so.
We also could not resist the Butter Battered Calamari 牛油炸苏东 (S$14, regular) as the picture on the menu looked enticing. The product that came had a different batter; it was more like beer batter than snowy butter batter, but it was still tasty. Again, great value for money with this portion.
The only item which seemed average was the Fu Rong Omelette 芙蓉蛋 (S$10, regular). I guess this is still one dish that doesn't travel well.
Mantou is a must-have. No two ways about it! :D
Overall, we were quite pleased with the feast. Food arrived warm and on time. The portions are good and prices are reasonable (zichar these days can be expensive). Of course, the best part - deliciously fresh and meaty Sri Lankan crabs cooked competently. Happy to order again in future.
Many thanks to 8crabs.com for the invitation to review
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