Chilli crab is one of Singapore's national dishes; with such fame, it's a given that the dish can be easily found in restaurants and coffee-shops all over Singapore (somewhat like Hainanese chicken rice)
However, i have never known of this eatery known as Momma Kong's at Chinatown; opened for business 2013, the highly acclaimed "lonely planet" labelled this relatively new entrant as "the island's best chilli crab"!
Now, now, now; that's a major claim and should be subject to scrutiny by the locals who often count food hunting as their major pastime on this small island that's just a red dot on the global map. Locals like my family, especially my mom, who absolutely adores crabs!
Unlike typical restaurants in Singapore, the decor doesn't feel quite like a standard seafood restaurants. The design is contemporary and includes a bar counter where you can pair your crab with a glass of wine or a bottle of beer; no beer girls.
Photo collage wall of pictures, taken in Momma Kong's, from Instagram! An interesting take for using fans' photos and combining them altogether. I sure hope they have sought permission from the Instagrammers though as some might not like that their pictures were used without approval.
Air-conditioned seating on the ground floor and if that's packed, do proceed to the second floor! If it's full house (which happened on the day of our visit), there are two tables outside where fresh air infused with fumes from the passing cars, surrounds you.
Standard utensils for each customer; don't bother returning the wet tissue as it's not chargeable and you can't get a deduction from your bill (we knew because cheapo us attempted). p.s. i love the inclusion of crab pick fork.
MSG is apparently not added to the food; our long-time friend and colleague, Karen Au, would be extremely pleased to hear that as she doesn't manage well with MSG-laden food. Anyway, here comes the food!
Luncheon Meat Crisps - luncheon meat fries are so passe; the crisps are the way to go for a sinful, crunchy snack! Having said that, i didn't quite like the taste of the luncheon meat and felt it might be better for them to trial a few brands to decide the tastiest one. Personally, i always prefer Maling brand, specifically the one with the picture of a pig.
Grilled Squid -not rubbery but pieces with the burnt edges had a fishier aftertaste and not exactly in a good way. At S$20.00, my expectation was elevated and higher expectation does translate into a bigger disappointment.
Crab Bee Hoon Soup - i like crabs cooked in all styles but the one i craved for when it's raining would be the crab bee hoon soup! The broth was thin yet surprisingly tasty although i thought it could have been more flavourful / saltier. Maybe it's due to the lack of the magical ingredient; MSG.
Fried Mantou - my favourite fried buns from Forture Seafood Steamboat (得运海鲜火锅) had a close competitor even though the ones from Momma Kong's fell a little short of taste. Nevertheless, the purpose of a mantou is to complement the sauce from the crabs and here comes our star for the day.
Chilli Crab - plated beautifully and half soaked in that orange, appetising, chilli sauce, i honestly couldn't wait to dig in to check out the "the island's best chilli crab"!
To be frank, the sauce wasn't that spicy and i thought the ratio of sourness was higher than the spiciness. There's also a taste i couldn't put my finger too; my mum pointed out that it might have come from blue ginger.
Another observation was that the sauce was overly watery and this made it a hassle for me to scoop it up with the fried mantou! I thought most chefs would make the sauce thicker and gooey by adding eggs. Oh well, you can't satisfy everyone but to me, this is sadly not the best chilli crab around.
The good thing, however, is that Momma Kong's doesn't sell crabs by the weight and all the crabs were priced at S$55 each, and each is about 650 grams. The meat within was acceptable but if you are looking for the thick meat kind, signature of Sri Lankan crabs, where you would give a loud "wow after sinking your teeth into the delicious meat, it might be better for you to consider other restaurants.
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Address
34 Mosque Street,
Singapore 059512
Location Map
As above.
Operating Hours
Mondays to Fridays - 5.00 pm to 11.00 pm
Saturdays and Sundays - 11.00 am to 11.00 pm
Website
Menu
As above.
Pricing
Luncheon Meat Crisps - S$10.00
Grilled Squid - S$20.00
Crab Bee Hoon Soup - S$55.00 a crab
Fried Mantou - S$3.50 for a set of 2
Chilli Crab - S$55.00 a crab
(Subject to Service Charge and GST)