Chopsticks, Fork and Spoon

A few calls were made, a few messages were sent, and numerous emails later, we were ready for dinner at Long Beach Restaurant in East Coast Park, Singapore.

I was slightly tired on the day of the dinner as we came from a 5 hour bus ride from Kuala Lumpur and I was still sleepy. I dozed off by the sun lounge at SccL's old Condominium block, and was still feeling a bit dazed. Nothing like some of Singapore's famed chilli crab to wake up the senses.

We decided to meet at the restaurant and we decided to go for the banquet.
First up were the drunken prawns. The prawns were absolutely fresh and cooked perfectly, but the serving of two prawns per person had me leaving rather disappointed. The soup had a nice amount of rice wine and was not too strong for my liking. The prawns were finished quickly and everyone was happy with this dish.
The pork spare ribs in sweet peking sauce, with salted eggs was next. This was also very good, the pork nice and crunchy, the sauce with a good amount of sweetness, and the salted eggs a welcome addition.
Deep fried tofu and pork floss came out next and I quickly dug into this. The tofu was nice and moist with a crunchy exterior, the sauce had a great flavour but was a little mild and the floss added some nice texture to this dish. This was another favourite among the group.
Water spinach was the compulsory vegetable offering to arrive at our table. These were topped with large cloves of garlic and small anchovies. The water spinach was a great dish, the anchovies I prefer to be a little more crunchy but as they were being soaked into the soup, it was bound to get soggier the later you waited to get into this dish.
The fish had come out the same time as the water spinach and had a great smoky aroma surrounding as it was put down. The smokiness could also be tasted in this dish and added great flavours to the fish. The fish was very fresh and moist however, the table were divided about this dish, with the disbelievers noting the smokiness ruining the natural flavour of the fish.
Black Pepper Crab. This was one of the other famous dishes apart from the chilli crab. While I liked the flavour of the black pepper sauce, and the abundance of meat from the crab itself, I felt as though it had less going for it than the chilli crab. You will find out next.
The chilli crab in all its glory. The sauce itself is reason in itself to admire this dish. The chilli, rich, sweet, creamy sauce was a delight and so delcious. With the fried buns that accompanied, they were a match made in heaven.
The buns were broken, dipped in the sauce, and then eaten. The crab had large amounts of meat, and were easy to take out. The crab meat was fresh and meaty. I now know why Singapore is famous for the chilli crab, and hence one of the many reasons why I will come back to Singapore.
Earlier in the day we took some photos of Singapore, and this is a photo of the Skyline from the air-con'ed comfort of the taxi. Reminds me a lot of Sydney.
And here is a photo of the area we were staying at. It was located in the eastern part of Singapore, not too far from the shopping mecca that is Orchard Road, where we had spent a mini fortune on shopping and trinkets.