Sing Fling

My mother hates all the “putukan” happening in New Year and so the whole fam went to Singapore for the holidays. Seeing that it was free, Blair Mitch and Christian signed up for some family love, never mind if it meant that I was going to be official family AE, tour guide and yaya all rolled into one.

My New Year Resolution of “Prudence 2006” was immediately put to the test with all the post-Christmas shopping sales in Orchard Road. It was a good thing that I couldn’t fit most of the clothes in my pregnant state and so the spending was rechanneled to books, accessories, baby stuff and Ikea abubots. Needless to say the plastic saw some workout just the same. Sigh.

The word most often used in Singapore is “queue”. It seems like a national past time as people queued for this and that – queuing for the taxi cabs, to use the john, to get seated in restaurants, there was even the ubiquitous queue in Louis Vuitton! Apparently, you still have to line up to burn some serious cash on those killer handbags.



Our harbor-side hotel room had a fabulous view of the Esplanade/Suntec City 2006 countdown and fireworks but if you ask Blair Mitch, she’d confide that the real fireworks happened over dinner at the Jumbo Restaurant.



Every cabbie and his brother can take you to Jumbo Seafood Restaurant, East Coast with their eyes closed. For no Singapore trip is complete without a serious chow down of the legendary Alaskan Chili Crabs. I kid you not when I say that the king crabs are as big as my face. Submerged in hothothot chili sauce, it is truly the ultimate crab experience.



Everyone is in on the big secret so expect some waiting to be seated and served. I think every table orders the crab so it’s really best to distract the palate first with other worthy orders. I especially liked the Seafood and Vegetable Soup. It’s a clear broth, clean and uncomplicated, the flavor of the seafood, scallops, fish, prawns shining through. We also ordered some Prawns in Salt and Pepper, Broccoli and Mushrooms, Fried Rice with Salted Fish and Chicken and some fiery Singaporean noodle dish (as you can see, this is a family that is not carbo-averse…yeah, bring it on!).



And finally – The Crabs. Sublime. Plump flesh dipped in chili sauce that sets you practically on fire. Thankfully there is fried mantou bread – sweet buns to compliment the spice. The idea is that you dip it in the sauce. Ummmmmmmm. I tinkered and ate the crabs with my fingers (etiquette be damned) and wiped my burning lips with the bread. Divine.



Jumbo Restaurant can be chaotic so if you’re a big group – get someone based in Singapore to make reservations for you. Or you can try calling them yourself at 64423435.

Happy New Year to y’all!

*Jumbo Seafood Restaurant
East Coast Parkway, East Coast Seafood Center, Singapore