The first time I had the chilli crab at Jumbo Seafood was more than a decade ago at their Serangoon Gardens Country Club branch. That particular restaurant no longer exists, but the memories of many happy chilli crab-filled meals still linger.
When we found out that the outlet was closing, we felt a bit sad but weren’t particularly concerned as there were many other branches throughout the island.
We asked the captain at the time where the staff were going to be re-deployed, and she shared that most of them would be headed for the Singapore Indoor Stadium. A couple of months later, we paid them a visit and were re-united with the delicious chilli crab.
But something was different in how the crab tasted. It was still very nice, but the flavour wasn’t quite the same as before. We went back to that branch several more times, but like its predecessor, it was also unfortunately shut down.
After considering the remaining surviving locations, we settled on the one located at Riverside Walk. It was a bright and breezy place, with warm and friendly staff that always made us feel welcome every time we visited. Again, the chilli crabs were still tasty, but didn’t manage to replicate the original flavour that we loved.
That particular restaurant, fortunately, didn’t close down. It’s still in operation but is no longer a Jumbo Seafood. Instead, it morphed into Slake, a new concept under the Jumbo group.
I was beginning to accept the fact that the original and well-loved Jumbo chilli crab no longer existed. It was a pity, but nothing lasts forever, and this would just be another thing of the past.
The Old Folks still maintained their Jumbo membership though, and since they get generous birthday vouchers every year, we decided to give their outlet at Ion Orchard a try.
Similar to the other locations that we’ve been to, the interior was airy and well-lit. Unlike the earlier places, the décor was decidedly more upmarket, with pots of pretty orchids and fancy overhead lights.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise, given that it was inside a fancy mall at one end of the Orchard Road shopping district, but it still made an impression as we entered the main dining hall.
The tables were generously spaced out, but it’s almost surely due to the current safe distancing measures. Rental there must be really expensive, and the under-utilisation of the available space will likely be reversed when things get back to normal.
As we were there early and the restaurant was still fairly empty, we were seated in a table just beside the window, with a clear view of the intersection between Scotts Road and Orchard Road.
The floor-to-ceiling clear glass let in abundant natural light from outside. Even though we were sitting in an enclosed space, it almost felt like we were dining al fresco, with the added benefit of air conditioning.
If you’re going during peak hours and prefer window seats, it’s probably safer to request for them in your reservation. While there are quite a few of these seats, I have a feeling they get booked out quite quickly.
But we were there for the crabs and not the ambience, and Jumbo was clearly aware of the priorities of its customers. The first few pages of its menu was filled with enticing photos and descriptions of both their signature chilli and black pepper crabs.
We didn’t need any persuasion really, and promptly ordered two crabs — one chilli and one black pepper. As we were ordering, The Old Folks stressed that the crabs absolutely must not, under no circumstances, be deep-fried before cooking.
It was non-negotiable, and one of their four cardinal rules when it comes to crabs.
The captain who took our order, the lovely Ms Elaine K., quickly went to the kitchen to relay the message and immediately came back to our table to confirm that it had been well received by the chef.
We had also requested 少油少盐 (less oil, less salt) for all the dishes that we ordered, while she also re-confirmed. She shared that it was also something that she would always take note of, and proceeded to have an engaging conversation with The Old Folks.
The chit-chat extended into our long history as Jumbo Seafood customers, starting with the Serangoon Gardens Country Club branch. She was visibly impressed, given how long ago it had been, and made sure that we were well taken care of that day.
She must have also informed the restaurant manager, because Mr Tom X. walked over to chit-chat with The Old Folks and personally gave us his namecard. He warmly told us to call him directly the next time we made a reservation.
Not long after, our appetisers arrived. This technically included the vegetable and carbohydrate dishes we ordered, but whenever we eat at Jumbo, any non-crab item quickly gets relegated to being just an “appetiser”.
Which isn’t very fair, because they were all quite good, especially the Seafood Mee Goreng (fried noodles) that we never fail to order. It’s not as famous as their crabs, of course, and doesn’t get highlighted in their menu. But in our opinion, it deserves special mention.
Generous chunks of squid, scallop and prawns are stir-fried with yellow noodles, egg, bean sprouts and chives in a spicy, sour and slightly sweet sauce. Squeeze out the juice from the accompanying calamansi and mix everything thoroughly for a hearty flavour explosion.
Fair warning, it is quite spicy, which is how I usually like my food, but if you’re not good friends with chilli, you might want to ask them to tone it down a bit. In the past, when we didn’t ask for less oil and salt, you could see a glistening layer visibly coating the noodles. This time, the kitchen clearly took heed of our request and made a healthier version.
When we were more or less done with the appetisers, the real fun began. Starting with the presentation of the equipment necessary for the proper enjoyment of a crab feast.
These included bibs to protect the front of your clothes, disposable gloves in a cute little packet, heavy duty crab shell crackers and long prongs to fish out any hidden meat.
For me, half the fun of having chilli crabs is digging in with my bare hands and licking off any sauce that sticks to my fingers, so I passed on the gloves. But since I tend to eat with gusto and hence make quite a mess, I dutifully tied the bib around my neck.
Then, the main show started. The beautifully saucy chilli crab was presented in a shallow pot, with a side basket of deep-fried mini mantous. Followed by the fragrant black pepper crab in a heavy oval plate.
They looked fantastic, and smelt just as good.
I was careful to keep my expectations in check, because chances were high that the chilli crab wouldn’t have the same original taste from way back when. But I still kept a small flicker of hope alive. Because, you never know.
There’s sort of a ritual that I always follow when eating chilli crab. First off, I grab a small bowl and spoon in a healthy amount of the thick gravy. Then, I take a deep-fried bun, tear it up into bite-sized pieces and dump them into the bowl. Finally, I eat the sauce with the pieces of mantou.
With my first bite, I knew then and there that we had found our long-lost Jumbo Seafood chilli crab.
The sauce had the thick, but not starchy, consistency from the generous amount of eggs beaten into it, giving it just the right amount of goopiness. The balance of spiciness from the chilli and the tangy sweetness from tomato ketchup was perfect, accentuating the underlying seafoodiness from the fresh (and not deep-fried!) Sri Lankan mud crabs.
The flesh from the crabs was sweet, firm and juicy; made even more tasty with the effort in wrangling it out from all the nooks and crannies. They say that success is sweeter when gotten through many struggles, and this is definitely true when having chilli crabs.
We ate silently but enthusiastically, until we had demolished both crustaceans and scraped every last bit of the chilli crab gravy from the pot.
Oh, the black pepper crab was wonderful too, by the way. But I was just so overwhelmed at re-discovering my favourite chilli crab again after more than a decade that it somewhat paled in comparison.
Throughout the meal, Elaine came back frequently to make sure we were enjoying ourselves, and made time and effort to keep The Old Folks entertained with her infectiously friendly banter. In the numerous times that we’ve been to Jumbo, service has always been good. But Elaine really took it to the next level with her warm sincerity.
We were too full for desserts, but we simply had to make space for the complimentary mango pudding, courtesy of Tom the manager. It was a very nice gesture, capping the delightful birthday lunch with a sweet ending.
There’s a reason why we’ve been regular customers of Jumbo Seafood for more than ten years. The delicious meal we had that day, coupled with the fantastic service from all their staff, only served to reinforce that loyalty.
Now that we’ve found what we’ve been looking for all these years, we know exactly where to go whenever our craving for chilli crab strikes again.
