I do get the opportunities for advertorials in this blog but many a times; both parties are unable to compromise on the terms. My terms are easy; I just need control of my content and the other party will have to accept even if the review is bad.
With the above response, most would just stand down their offer, but not 8 Crabs. As a crab lover, I had heard of 8 Crabs and intended to order their crabs for home delivery, when it appeared so many times on my Facebook feed! And it's so coincidental that this came during the period when dine-in is disallowed from 16 May till 13 June 2021.
Well, the offer to subsidize some cost is always welcome, so long my terms are met, and with that in mind, I ordered their Refined Delicacies Feast that is said to feed 3-6 persons! The total number of people that would be fed - my parents, Alex and I since the current regulations only allow two unique visitors per household. My request was for the food to be delivered between 6.00 and 7.00 pm and this bag reached us at about 6.40 pm. For online food deliveries; punctuality and the correct order are of utmost importance. I actually accepted two advertorials before but they didn't materialize as one got my date wrong and the other accidentally passed my food to another customer. Maybe I should write about them in a future post.
The red bag might not seem much but the unraveled contents revealed much more! Thankfully my mom didn't attempt to cook extra dishes to complement this seafood feast.
Refined Delicacies Feast included a Large Chilli Crab, (you can also choose black pepper, salted egg or plain classic steamed), six pieces of Live Hokkaido Royal Scallops with Vermicelli, Deshelled Prawn with Wasabi Mayo (Small; I counted ten) and one Crab Meat (Real) Fried Rice (Medium). I also added one set of Fried Mantou and one serving of Diced Organic Chicken Thigh in Dried Chilli. Diced Organic Chicken Thigh in Dried Chilli - more commonly known as La Zi Ji / 辣子鸡), this menacing looking dish was supposedly a new offering at 8 Crabs and came strongly recommended by the lady liaising with me for this advertorial. Flavour wise, it had that necessary punch of spiciness with an aftermath of light numbing on the tongue. Batter was thick although this should have been fine if I were to eat them immediately after removal from the wok; which wasn't possible since this was delivered to my parents' place. On second thought, maybe I should have thrown them into the air fryer for a crispier bite!
So much chilli and peppercorn! Just wondering if I could reuse them to fry other things; the food would likely have reduced flavour and diluted spiciness, I guess.
Live Hokkaido Royal Scallops with Vermicelli - for home delivered food, this already wowed us with its presentation and I can't imagine how beautiful they would have looked when served in a restaurant, curated on a nice plate.
No complaint about the scallops; I was more in awe with the thickened sauce that seemed to be a simple yet tasty combination of soya sauce and oyster sauce. Oh, I do have a suggestion; possible to add in more vermicelli?! Soaked in the sauce, they were delightful. Deshelled Prawn with Wasabi Mayo - this was one item I had high expectations with. I still remember the first time I had it, at Seafood Paradise Defu Lane more than 10 years ago! Back then, I was so blown away by the taste; it became a must-order whenever I am at the restaurant. This was a letdown; I can forgive the not-as-crispy texture as this was takeaway. However, the wasabi was weak and I think they might as well be called mayonnaise prawns.
Crab Meat Fried Rice - when it comes to seafood fried rice, my experience so far had been less than pleasant as the seafood given would be so little; it just didn't justify the the premium in pricing.
8 Crabs' version was significantly different; there were so much crab meat hidden in the fried rice! It's a great pity then, that the fried rice lacked the essential wok-hei and were also quite bland for our palates. Such a waste of good ingredient; the crab that is.
Large Chilli Crab - 8 Crabs is actually renowned for serving "grade AAA premium Sri Lankan species wild caught crabs" and while I was tempted to get more crabs or a bigger crab (they have XXL crab that weighs 1.4 kilogram), I decided to opt for the Refined Delicacies Feast with just one large crab (about 750 grams) so that I can have more things to review. Crab was of a good size with delicious, plump, solid meat in its claws. I did find the texture of the meat in the body to be a tad less solid, although not to the extent for me to reject. The crabs were said to be air-flown daily so maybe it's just poor luck on my part. In the event of dissatisfaction with the crabs, there's actually a "1 for 1 Replacement Guarantee" by 8 Crabs! Anyway, I super love the taste of the chill crab sauce; elevated use of tantalizing tomato sauce with a spiciness that's way more comfortable for me, and enjoyed with bites of tiny, hot garlic! To be fair, my mom would prefer a spicier version. Again, I should have toasted the Fried Mantou(s) to attain the crisp texture to better enjoy the sauce!
Oh, remember the crab fried rice? It tasted heavenly once you mix the rice with the chilli crab sauce! I was so tempted to store the remaining chilli crab sauce as it could be used as a base to stir fry vegetables! I did that once with the chilli crab sauce from Shifuge and the food was delish!
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Verdict - I enjoyed the meal even though as takeaways, there was significant disadvantage associated with the texture of the food, like in the case of the prawns, the laziji and the mantou. I wish their physical restaurant for dine-in would be up soon as it would help address the texture issue. Crab wise, I think it is reasonable for the pricing and I would actually order their XXL crabs in the near future!
Website to Order
Refined Delicacies Feast - S$119.00
Diced Organic Chicken Thigh in Dried Chilli - S$18.90
Fried Mantou - S$6.00
(Free Delivery for Orders above S$120)
