Mellben Signature – Tanjong Pagar

Once in a while, I get cravings for Chilli crab, and while we mostly visited Jumbo in the past, we decided to try out something new. A popular seafood restaurant in Tanjung Pagar, Mellben Signature, is known for its crab dishes

They had gathered a loyal following at their previous location on Prince Edward Road and brought them to the Tanjung Pagar outlet. Famous for their crab bee hoon soup and chilli crab, the restaurant has busy crowds visiting them during meal times

With both indoor and outdoor seating, the restaurant is very spacious and can accommodate up to 100 or more diners at one time. They also have private rooms for booking with a minimum spend. The indoor seats fill up fast, as it is in the air-conditioned area, so it would be good to reserve in advance

For a start, we had 2 fried dishes, crispy lychee balls and deep-fried mid wings, which were both perfectly fried and extremely crispy. The meat was tender and juicy, while the outside was crispy

We ordered our usual spinach with 3 eggs, which came with gravy and was great to eat with rice. The vegetable was soft and leafy and cooked well without the leaves becoming too limp. The salted egg, century egg, and egg were also nicely incorporated into the gravy, which gave the dish the umami flavour

The broccoli with shiitake mushrooms was nicely done, as the broccoli still had a crunch in them without the overly raw taste. The mushrooms were also fat and juicy, adding their umami flavour to the gravy, which complements the blanched broccoli

This was a simple dish perfect for old people, as the soft tofu was soft with prawns cut into cubed form and salted egg yolks forming the light soup, which made it great when mixed with rice. I particularly liked this dish as you could taste the earthy soy flavours with a tinge of the salted egg yolk flavour and sweetness of the prawns, combining into a comforting dish

We had the garlic fried pork ribs, which I failed to take pictures of before they got wiped out by my family. The garlic was fried with the aromatics till crispy and stir-fried with the pre-fried pork ribs to coat them with just enough garlic toppings, adding that aromatic punch. The meat was tender and off the bone, but it can still be tough for old people, as my dad had difficulty with it, but the rest of us gobbled them up pretty fast

Last but not least was the key highlight. We had the chilli crab with fried mantou. The sauce tends to be a rather sweet version, which was also quite spicy compared to the Jumbo version. This version was well suited for local taste buds but could be spicy for some. The crab was mid to large in size and was fresh and meaty. The chilli crab was served pretty fast since most tables had an order of the same dish

Overall, the restaurant food was good, with most dishes done well. Their highlighted dishes, which were the crabs, were good and were priced at market rate. Since it was more like a restaurant than a zi char store, the prices were slightly higher as well, but it is still a fantastic place for family gatherings

Address: 7 Tanjong Pagar Plz, #01-105, Singapore 081007

Opening hours: 11.30 am to 2.15 pm and 5 pm to 10 pm