Before I left for my trip, a friend of mine told me one must-do for a real visitor is a trip out to the east coast of Singapore and indulge in the famous Singaporean Chilli Crab. Thankfully the east coast is not too far from the city, and because it’s generally devoid of the more popular tourist attractions, is more filled with locals riding bikes and rollerblading along the paths on the “beach”-front. A quick survey of the area showed me that plenty of places appear to serve the famous crab but I decided on going to Roland’s Restaurant that came recommended by the Lonely Planet.
This restaurant is supposedly a bit of an institution for this dish but at first glance appeared to me as mostly a big tourist trap with their big neon signs claiming they invented the now famous “Singaporean Chilli Crab” dish. Thankfully the insides of the restaurant look no different from any other Chinese restaurant and I was relieved to see the absence of the tourist groups that I imagined being driven here. Instead, a large number of locals filled a number of the other tables and appeared to be enjoying their lunch.
Leafing through their menu, I admit that a number of their other dishes looked enticing but since I had come for the crab I didn’t want to waste what appetite I had on other fillers, so I simply ordered the Sri-Lankan crab with Chilli Sauce. While the restaurant prepared the crab, attendants automatically give you pickles and fill up your tea, though they will bill you for both items at the end of your meal.
The crab arrived in a decent amount of time along with a finger bowl, a plate seating a crab hammer and crab cracker (though I’m not sure that’s what they’re properly named), and two pieces of fried bread to help soak all the sauce.
I looked incredibly spoilt with a whole crab to myself but I will admit I cared not since I had not indulged for some time and the crab looked extremely tasty smothered in its crimson red sauce. I found the chilli sauce not especially hot but had enough kick that complemented the delicately sweet flesh of the crab. The sauce also appeared to contain a variation of scrambled egg (as if there wasn’t enough protein in the dish!) continuing to heighten the entire dish by giving it a velvety smooth texture.
As with eating shelled crab of any sort, it took me a while to get through the entire crab. I was fortunate enough that the attendants gave me a spoon and fork though I found chopsticks quite useful for pulling out the stringy flesh out of hard to reach places. Surprisingly I found the bread a great accompaniment for soaking up the sauce and eaten with the crab but two pieces was enough when I had a whole crab to myself.
Details: Roland Restaurant
Found On: Block 89, Parade Central #06-750 Singapore 440089
Contactable On: +65 6440 8205
Highlights: Not excessively touristy and at least a quality place that you can really get messy without walking out like you had just eaten crab. Lots of other interesting things on the menu
Improvements: This restaurant does charge for everything (pickles you don’t eat or ask for, the wet towel you use at the end) and admiteddly you can easily eat this national dish at other places for cheaper.
The Kua Rating: 8 out of 10