Who wants Chili Crab?!?!

One of the signature dishes you have to try when you come to Singapore is the Chili Crab. It consists of a delicious whole crab, smothered in a delicious chili sauce (not too spicy) with egg and generally served with fresh, hot rolls to dip in the sauce. It is awesome. The best way to enjoy this wonderful meal is with a group of friends. Accordingly, Vicky and I went out with a bunch of her co-workers to try some of the local delicacy.


On suggestion from one of the locals, we headed to Changi Village -- an outdoor food market of sorts -- to try some local dishes, including some chili crab. The location was great -- a lively collection of buildings housing numerous eateries and little shops. Our group of nine found the location and gathered for the feast. We started with a few pitchers of beer and scanned the nearby aquariums and cages to see what looked good that night. Like most places around here, your dinner can be seen swimming or hanging out just a few feet from where it will be prepared. We let Vicky's co-worker from Singapore do the ordering for us -- she seemed to know what to do.

In addition to the chili crab we were expecting, we also were treated to a number of other local favorites, including some black pepper crab -- a twist on the chili crab dish. (I think I actually liked this better than the chili crab.) Whole, fried, and crusted giant prawns, and "Singaporean escargot" started things off. The latter were some sort of conch shell with a little creature inside. You could see a small claw-like appendage sticking out of the shell, and used a toothpick to try and slide the meat out from inside the shell. A light dipping sauce accompanied the dish. (If you look close at the picture - the shells at the very bottom have portions of the creature sticking out).

In addition to the above, we ordered some stingray (dish on left in picture) in a really nice sauce and some mixed greens in a garlic sauce. All of the food was delicious -- and messy. As I have discussed before, the lack of napkins can be a bit daunting, especially with chili crab, as you generally eat this with your hands. Needless to say, the sauce, shell, and everything else seem to get everywhere. Luckily, the place at which we were eating had a sink ready for use that was taken advantage of a number of times throughout the meal. Even though the crabs come pre-cracked (for the most part), one still needs to dig in with their fingers, pull loose shell apart, and dig in to the luscious meat. Dipping the soft, warm buns into the delicious sauce can get messy as well!

All-in-all, it was a great night out with fun people, good food, and lots of laughs. If you make it this way, be sure to take some time and enjoy the chili crab! You will not be disappointed.