True to Its Roots, Singapore Seafood Opens at China World Mall

Summer is, for many of us, a time to hit the beach and savor the salty sea breeze and fresh flavors of tropical coconut and lemongrass cocktails with fresh seafood dishes. But, since an equal number of us are (trapped) in Beijing without the ability to head south, we must seek a nearby substitute. Enter Singapore Seafood.

Belonging to Tung Lok Group, which owns one of the top 10 seafood restaurants in Singapore – Tung Lok Seafood – Singapore Seafood has opened a second location at the China World Mall, after opening its first branch in Parkview Green.

Inside the book-thick menu, you'll see plenty of evidence of the mini-chain's expertize in seafood, such as crab and roasted fish, as well as Malaysian and Singaporean hearty dishes, such as Hainanese chicken rice, fried noodles, and desserts. You pick your desired variety of crab from jumbo crab (RMB 666 or 868 each), giant mud crab (RMB 338 or 398 each), or Indian crab (RMB 248), then your preferred flavors, such as their chilli crab, peppercorn crab, white pepper crab with leek, or curry crab.

We tried their signature Singapore chili crab, which was amazingly rich in flavor and topped with ginger and cooked with an acidic tomato sauce that combined fruit juice, nuts, and eggs, allowing for a strong kick from the special spices and chili cut through. They also provide fried mantou to go with the sauce, which we gladly utilized to sop it up without wasting a drop. Abandoning all table manners, we even thought about taking the remaining finger-licking-good gravy back home in a jar!

The bak kut teh, or meat bone soup (RMB 48) was different from the rendition that we had most recently tried at Malacca Legend. In this stew, the pork rib broth with boiled herbs and original spices (including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, danggui, and fennel seeds) was combined with black garlic and boiled for eight hours to bring out sweet flavors and release nutrients from the bones. The submerged pork ribs were quite chewy and the savory herbal soup was spicy and rich. So as not to be overwhelmed by the flavors, the dish is served with rice and deep-fried batter (youtiao).

We also loved the deep-fried prawns with crispy oats (RMB 68), in which the crispy shrimps were covered with a mountain of fried oatmeal flakes. We know that deep-frying can make anything delicious, but oatmeal flakes? Incredulous, we took a bite of the oats, and found it seemed to add another item to our addictive food list. They were savory and crispy, with a creamy aroma from their buttery coating. All the oats were shipped from Singapore to bring out an authentic flavor. Shoving the oats to our mouths, we silently said goodbye to our summer body goals. (Sweater season is just around the corner after all, isn’t it?)

We also recommend the braized mussels in curry sauce (RMB 108). The mussels were cooked to perfection, and seasoned well, covered in a sauce with a little Thai twist. It was spicy, acidic, hot, and nutty, which was so appetizing that you would like to simply add a bowl of rice to it as an everyday lunch for the rest of the summer. If grasping for any criticism, the laksa (RMB 58) did not live up to our high expectations for an update on a dish more commonly eaten at a stall on the street. The Peranakan noodle soup with rice noodles was spiced with curry and coconut milk, with some bean curd puffs, fish sticks, and shrimp.

To round this already more than filling meal off, we managed to cram in yam paste in coconut (RMB 58). The coconut shell was slightly roasted to bring more flavor of coconut, and steamed yams were mixed in with the coconut milk, peppermint, and ginko, bringing out minty and nutty flavors and raising it up to become the star of the table. Unfortunately, I fell into the food editor’s dilemma – we were simply too full to order the Hainanese chicken rice, fried fish skin, mee goreng (Malay fried noodles), or Penang char kway teow (fried rice noodles). I guess we'll have to come back to try more.

Singapore Seafood
Daily 11am-2pm, 5-10pm. NL4010, China World Mall North Building, 1 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (8595 0251)
新加坡海鲜:朝阳区建国门外大街1号国贸商城北区NL4010

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Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Tracy Wang