126. Seafood Paradise

It's no doubt a profitable business for the Chua brothers who started this Seafood Paradise at the Singapore Flyer after making it big at their Tze Char stall (also known as Seafood Paradise)at Defu Lane. I was having dinner at the Singapore Flyer outlet just an hour ago.

Gracious...I was surprised by the amount of people who were there on a Thursday night. It was almost full house. I didn't make any reservations but luckily there were still available tables. It was 7.15pm. I was then brought to a table outdoor at the farthest corner. The available tables were all filled up fast.

At about 9pm, I made a visit to the restroom and there was a queue outside.

Braised Superior Shark Fin in Mini Claypot @$28/pax

The shark fin was served in a claypot and so it was hot. The soup was starchy and contained quite an amount of fins in it. I didn't have great expectations for the shark fins. I mean for $28, what can you expect? Thankfully, the quality of the fins was not of the most inferior grade. For $28, it was considered quite worthwhile. I find the soup a little too salty.

Honey Pepper Ribs (Small) @$12

The ribs looked like it was hard to bite but I was wrong. The exterior of the honey pepper ribs was crispy. It wasn't too sweet. However, there was more fats than meat in the ribs. The fats sandwiched the narrow strip of lean meat which made me a little queasy. I'm not a big fan of such fatty meat. If they used a leaner meat, it would have been better.

Prawn with Fruit Salad (Medium) @$24

The prawns were deep fried and they were still crispy on the exterior despite the moist coat of mayonnaise. I believed they used glass prawns. The prawns were tangy and succulent. I find that the mayonnaise coating was a little too much. But, it was overall a dish above average quality.

Scallop with XO Sauce Asparagus (Medium) @$30

The scallop with asparagus cooked with XO sauce and hay-bee-hiam was a good dish to go with plain rice. It wasn't too spicy nor salty. And luckily, it wasn't oily too.

Now, the most sought after dish of the night....Jajang...the crabs. SP is having the crab promotion. Each crab at $8/kg. I'm not sure if the lure of the crabs explained for the crowd tonight or SP is always so crowded.

Here's a little joke to share. I saw the crab promotion on newspapers a few days ago but I didn't really read up on the details because I didn't thought of going to SP. So, I didn't cut the coupons. When we were there at SP, the waitress told us that without the coupons, the crabs will be selling at $38/kg instead. Hmmm....disappointing.

My brother asked the waitress to help us get a coupon but she rejected. I pointed out the young man, the younger Chua brother, who was walking around, is the boss. So, my mum, the sudden gung-ho auntie called out to him and asked if he could help us get the coupon so that we could enjoy their crabs at the promotional price. Initially, the younger Chua said he will give us a 10% discount but later on lost out to my mum's persuasion and helped us get a coupon. So, we had the crabs at the promotional price. It shouldn't be hard though since their purpose is to attract people to have their crabs.

I find that the chilli crab was just so-so. It wasn't too spicy. The sauce was hot but not the crab. But the crab was meaty. For $8 each crab, it was a super great deal. They didn't weigh the crabs but I think most were approximately a kg.

Their signature cream sauce crab. The cream sauce had a peppery taste. I think white pepper was added. The cream sauce was delicious. Must-try! It was a good dipping sauce for the fried mantou.

To get a taste of these crabs, we waited for a long time, almost an hour. It should be due to the crab promotion. I think almost every table ordered 2 crabs. The kitchen had plates of steamed ready crabs decked up to cook for the orders tonight.

Fried beancurd szechuan style @$12

I like tofu, those cooked with gravy dripped over or something like this dish. The szechuan style meant spicy. However, it wasn't too spicy. The sauce was slightly salty due to the fermented beans. The beancurd wasn't that of silky smooth but the sauce complemented it. It was a dish to go with plain rice.

Stir Fried Mee Sua @$10

The mee sua was quite good but just a little oily.

The bill totalled up to $209 for 5 pax. It was pretty worthwhile partly because of the crab promotion and also thanks to the boss. The quality of the food was quite good for this pricing. Ambience wise, definitely a plus because it is at a tourist attraction and located near the sea. It was quite windy.

One flaw is the service. I think their service is quite inefficient. We asked for plain rice. We waited for at least 20 minutes and it was until the 3rd time, we were served the rice. Asked for the bill when the long awaited crab was served because we didn't want to wait. Ate finish the crab then was the bill delivered but it was entered wrongly. I gave the waiter my card so that he do not have to make another round after editing the bill. But, after 10 minutes, the waiter reappeared with my card to ask if that was my card. Then, I waited for another 10 -15 minutes, my bill was still not brought to me. So, my mum went to ask for it and finally the waiter came rushing with it. Understaffed. Too long waiting time. Recommended to make reservations.

Seafood Paradise
Singapore Flyer
30 Raffles Avenue
#01-01 Singapore 039803
Tel: 63365101