Jumbo Seafood ION Orchard in Singapore: a nice place for good chili crab

Jumbo Seafood offers a very good Chili Crab, perhaps not the best or most authentic in town, but more than enough to enjoy this local specialty if you can put up with service that is a little too mechanical.

I had originally booked another restaurant, but on second thought, I realized it had been too long since I had eaten chili crab in Singapore, especially since my previous experiences had left me with such fond memories. Even the initial struggle to eat the crab without getting sauce everywhere is quite a feat.

There are lots of restaurants serving chili crab in town, some have made it their specialty, some even claim to have invented it, and Jumbo Seafood is one of the restaurant chains that naturally offers it. Perhaps not the most authentic, but this restaurant had one thing going for it: it was located near my hotel when I arrived late in the afternoon, as I had very little time to spare if my flight was delayed (which it was).

The concept

Jumbo Seafood is a restaurant chain specializing in seafood and is very popular in Singapore. It offers many local specialties, including the famous Chili Crab.

The setting

There are more authentic restaurants than those located in shopping malls, but here it is very common and the setting is even quite upscale. In town, you will find restaurants with much simpler decor that may be more in line with the “home-style” feel one expects from this type of meal.

White tablecloths (which is risky given what is served) and a rather premium setting.

The menu

I’ll spare you the 20 pages of the menu offering a ton of different dishes with seafood cooked in every way imaginable and focus on the Chili Crab.

You choose your type of crab, how you want it prepared, and pay by weight.

I should point out that all the crabs are alive before they end up in the pan.

The dinner and the service

I am welcomed and shown to my seat. All I have to do is press a button when I want to order. It feels like a rather impersonal service, and indeed that is the case.

The customers leave the table next to me, and the state of the tablecloth confirms what awaits me.

On the table, I find paper towels, gloves, and an apron…you’ll soon understand why!

I finally find what I want on a large, messy menu and press the button to place my order. No one comes. I press again. Still no one, and the staff walk past me without even glancing at me.

Finally, a server arrives in a “sorry, I’m running late” mode.

So I’ll have an 800g mud crab with chili sauce (including shell).

The drinks will take a while to arrive (water and beer), but that will help pass the time while the meal is being prepared, especially since I’m dying of thirst.

Here’s my crab at last!

You get the idea: all you have to do is peel the crab out of the sauce with your fingers.

I’ll spare you the details of this battle, which is part of the experience, but it was really delicious and the sauce was perfectly spiced, just the way I like it. It takes a while, and I’ll take a few breaks to enjoy the show provided by the couple at the next table, who, in my opinion, broke up and got back together four times during the meal, with her repeatedly picking up her things but eventually returning after about ten minutes.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal, and here is the final result.

Service

Completely dehumanized and mechanical, you press a button to call a server, your food is brought to you without any form of greeting, and the bill is practically shoved in your face when you’re done.