無招牌海鮮餐廳 (Singapore)

This seafood restaurant is called No Signboard because it started as such. It used to be a tiny little place with no name. Later, the business became so good that the owners expanded it to multiple branches throughout Singapore. This restaurant is famous for their White Pepper Crab. We went to the branch in the Esplanade Mall, near the Singapore River. The main dining area of the restaurant was full already, and so we were seated outside of the restaurant. It was hot without the AC, but we had a good view of the river.

The five of us ordered a family dinner set to share. Our dinner starts with a plate of assorted appetizers, which includes fried shrimp, dumplings, and deep fried tofu. The appetizers are honestly not that good. The deep fried tofu is too tough, and the shrimp is slightly overcooked.

The next dish is the crab roe shark fin soup. I prefer shark fin soup that has a light soup base like this one. It is refreshing and you can taste the sweetness of the crab meat. The crab roe also adds a bit of creamy flavor. It is much tastier than soup that is based with mushroom or abalone.

The White Pepper Crab is the spotlight of the night. This crab is much smaller than the one we got at Jumbo Seafood. The crab is coated with white pepper and stir fried with scallions. It tastes very much like the Chinese style “ginger and scallion stir fried crab”. This style really brings out the freshness and sweet flavor of the crab meat. I love the taste and could not stop eating it. However, I wish the crab is bigger and meatier.

Besides the crab, we also ordered the 燕麥片蝦 (Oatmeal Prawns). This shows a brilliant use of ingredients. Oatmeal is not limited to breakfast only and can be used in a dish for dinner. The prawns are very big and heavily deep fried. They are topped with a lot of oatmeal which adds a pretty sweet taste. One minus point is that the prawns are slightly over-fried.

The dinner set comes with complimentary desserts of almond tofu with lychee. It is refreshing and helps to clean our palettes.

Having tried the Black Pepper Crab, White Pepper Crab, and Chili Crab, what is my favorite? It is definitely the Black Pepper Crab, hands down. Although it is very spicy, it is the most flavorful and I love the rich flavor. In second place is the White Pepper Crab, which brings out the fresh and sweet taste of the crab meat. I did not like the spicy and sour taste of the Chili Crab, and won’t order it again.

HOKAT Rating:
88/100

Address:
8 Raffles Avenue #01-14/16, Esplanade Mall, Singapore
65-6336-9959