Not that I’m obsessed with crustacean or anything, but it appears that this Louisiana-style crab boil is rather popular in Singapore and following my last indulgence not that long ago, I was asked to try out The Dancing Crab which serves, yes, spiced crab boiled in a bag and dumped onto the table for no holds barred feasting.
Located at the Grandstand at Turf Club Road, this spacious restaurant was predictably decked out in a nautical theme and surprisingly packed on a weeknight! I spotted couples on a date, families with kids in tow, and groups of friends digging into their seafood.
I had Seafood Combo #1 (S$88.00) featuring Sri Lankan crab as the main star and accompanied by chubby clams, prawns, chunks of sausages, carrot, potato, and corn. The seafood was tossed in a bag with Signature Dancing Crab Sauce at Mild level, which in hindsight was not the best choice as it’s way too peppery and completely obliterated the natural flavors of the seafood, so that’s quite a shame.
There are other sauces to pick from: Spicy Miso Butter, Beurre Blanc, and Zesty Garlic Butter. Which one sounds good to you? Spicy Miso Butter sounds interesting to me and I’d go for that next time.
I also had Moonshine Tiger Prawns (S$8.00/100g) which were excellent and I highly recommend it. Steamed in liquor, these prawns were succulent and sweet while being further enhanced by three different dipping sauces: Wasabi Katsuo Sauce, Sweet Wine Chilli Sauce, and Lemon Pickled Chilli Sauce
I liked all the three sauces, and was told that they were created by Susur Lee just for The Dancing Crab.
Even though I felt somewhat let down by the crab combo, this was totally made up for by the Crab Cakes (S$18.50). These were generously filled with lump crab meat and coated with a crispy panko exterior.
Another side dish I had was the Fried Okra (S$8.00) which my friend who ate with me said was too bland for her liking, but it tasted just fine for me. In fact, I welcomed the blandness as my tastebuds were getting increasingly offended by the peppery seafood combo sauce.
The delicious iced lemonades were also a consolation to my tastebuds. The Lavender Lemonade (S$4.00) and Pink Thyme Lemonade (S$4.00) were both refreshing and made excellent thirst-quenchers.
Now, I’m somewhat stumped by the rising popularity of Lousiana-style crab boil in Singapore because these seafood combos aren’t cheap (anywhere) and yet these restaurants see a steady stream of enthusiastic diners. My friend told me there are six such restaurants in Singapore that have sprung up in the last year alone and no doubt, there are/will be more.
I brought my parents and relatives on two separate occasions to a different restaurant serving similar-style seafood, and the final bill came out to be around S$200-300. That’s like, the budget for a special event meal and not something that I see myself spending for a normal meal. My conclusion is (and this has always been my sentiment): eating out in Singapore can get outrageously expensive. And I’m talking about the food only, don’t get me started on including wine, appetizers, and desserts into the meal. Whenever I protest about this, people look at me dubiously and do not believe that it doesn’t cost as much to eat out in NYC. Trust me, it does not!
I was recently made aware to American Express Platinum Credit Card Dining Privileges, a cardholders-only perk with incredible savings and dining privileges. With these dining privileges, members can get 50% discount on food orders at a handpicked selection of popular restaurants in Singapore. In addition, there’s also 15% savings on beverage at some of the island’s trendiest bars.
The Dancing Crab is one of the restaurants that’s part of this program so our meal which originally totaled to S$170.50 received a S$77.25 discount (beverages not applicable for discount). That’s one honkin’ discount!
So I thought I should share this with everyone on the blog but of course you have to sign up for an American Express Platinum Credit Card first in order to enjoy these perks. Anyone who loves food and eats out often should totally take advantage of this because getting charged a couple limbs for overpriced food (and cocktails) is for fools. Get great discounts, save money, eat even more, repeat.
I wasn’t the only one happy about the discount. As if it’s appointed itself as the restaurant’s mascot, there’s — I kid you not — literally a dancing crab in the seafood tank in front of The Dancing Crab when I was there. All the other crabs in the tank were morosely contemplating their spicy buttery demise, but this one particular crab was doing the Elvis bump and grind by its awesome self. Quite possibly applauding and cheering for the hefty discount we got, all thanks to the American Express Platinum Credit Card Dining Privileges.
See?
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