Mellben Signature Seafood Restaurant @ Block 7, Tanjong Pagar Plaza [Singapore]

Crabs in the past were presented in less complicated forms; steamed, with chilli or black pepper. Things started evolving quickly about 20 years ago when eateries started coming out with crab bee hoon, golden sand etc. Mellben (Ang Mo Kio) was where I had my first crab bee hoon!

It was mind boggling then and I happily introduced it to my family and other friends, but the queue was always so insanely long; I think my last visit was more than five years go. Fast forward to early May this year, where my family and I decided to check out Mellben Signature at Tanjong Pagar Plaza, for mother's day celebration. 

Unlike the original branch in Ang Mo Kio, this is a restaurant, with air-conditioning and operating hours that start from noon. Good for my family as we are not fans of dinners beyond 6.00 -7.00 pm.

There are even private rooms if you don't want to mix with peasants like me. Maybe because the operating hours were not revised on the google (it reflected opening from late afternoon), the restaurant was empty and if I remember correctly, there were just two groups of diners, excluding us, throughout the meal. 

While the setting was overall quite nice, the only one thing I can't stand was the fishy stench of seafood lingering in the restaurant. That's unacceptable for me, given that the pricing wasn't exactly cheap. 

Starting lunch with a pot of tie guan yin!

Mellben's Crab Meat Fried Rice - unexceptional since you would have mistaken this as normal fried rice. The amount of crab meat was limited to shreds of them across the dish and can't be compared to the crab meat fried rice I recently had from 8 Crabs.

Stir Fried Shimeiji Mushroom with Garlic Chives - now that I am looking at the price, I think the shimeiji mushrooms must be of a high quality as this plate cost S$35.00! Can't deny the freshness of the vegetables and that they did taste great. 

Deep Fried Crispy Beancurd - as these were deep fried, I thought they would appeal better for my palate. Unfortunately, I took issue with the mashed up texture within as I was expected silky soft beancurd.

The accompanying sauce was expected to spruce up the flavour but sadly, it wasn't a good taste fit with a sour plum sweetness that's honestly better for roast duck .

Ice Chilled Sweet and Sour Pork - there were so much ice; I wonder if I should also put them in my mouth. Whatever the case, these were honestly good with a light, crispy batter covering the juicy pork meat. The lychee might just be a visual companion at first look but taste wise, it was a nice, fruity complement. 

Creamy Butter Crab - I was contemplating between salted egg or creamy butter and the latter won because I have had too many salted egg stuff recently; like salted egg custard buns! 

As there were eight of us, we opted for a medium sized crab that's between 1.2 to 1.5 kilograms. The crabs were expensive as they were priced S$90.00 a kilogram! Sigh, I am so missing the fresh crabs I had from Love Seafood in Batam. 

Absolutely no complaint about meat; chunky and full of satisfaction! Nevertheless, it's the sauce that matters since we would have gone with steamed if the crab meat was all that matters.

Another letdown - it wasn't as buttery enough on its own and watery with a dilution of the 'creamy' on its name. Strangely though, the watery butter sauce did manage to enhance the crab meat, making it even more delectable.

Fried Buns - I always have high expectations for this and it's amazing that not many restaurants get the taste right. Many a times, the buns just tasted bland and that's a no-no.

Same case for the buns at Mellben; can only thank the watery butter sauce that make it slightly better by giving it a bit of flavour for me to swallow them down my throat. 

Crab Bee Hoon - it had been a long hiatus and the aroma was killing me as I still had to grab some photographs first! My first move after phototaking; take a scoop of the hot broth and have a sip! 

Hm.... it didn't jog back good, old memories of what I used to have; not as delicious as before, and there was a stronger pepper aftertaste. Star was more the thick bee hoon though as it did a wonderful job soaking up the broth and I did enjoy the dish slightly more.

=====

Even though the crabs were pretty good, I wasn't impressed with the cooking style as a whole, be it creamy butter or bee hoon; at least not for the price of $247 (for 2.7 kilograms of crab) that we paid for. The best dish was the sweet and sour pork but even then, the much cheaper version at Por Kee Eating House was better. Would I be back? Not for a long time. 

Address 

7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza, 

#01-105, Singapore 081007

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

Mondays to Fridays - 11.30 am to 10.15 pm

Saturdays - 12.00 pm to 10.15 pm

Sundays and Public Holidays - 5.00 pm to 10.15 pm

(Call 8111-2823 / 6220-5512 to confirm)

Other Branches

As above. 

Pricing

Mellben's Crab Meat Fried Rice - S$10.00

Stir Fried Shimeiji Mushroom with Garlic Chives - S$35.00

Steamed Homemade Beancurd with Crab Roe - 

Deep Fried Crispy Beancurd - S$15.00

Ice Chilled Sweet and Sour Pork - S$36.00

Fried Buns (Set of 5) - S$3.00 

Crabs - S$90 a kilogram

(Subject to GST and Service Charge)

Additional Information

Since we officially can't dine out until after 13 June 2021, you may wish to consider the bentos that are available for takeaway, with prices ranging from S$9.80 to S$23.80 each.