It took me 20 years to pin down my mother’s Singapore Chilli Crab recipe – I spent years watching her in the kitchen, but never knew the actual quantities to anything until this week, when I pinned down the recipe for my weekly Periscope! It was a great time hanging out with my mum and learning a bit more about our national dish, and even getting exact instructions on how to quickly kill a live crab (because that’s the best freshness seal!).
I have a confession: I have been so busy eating, that I’ve actually not had enough time to blog. I know, #FoodBloggerProblems, right?
But finally, FINALLY, I’m sitting down to write the recap of Shangri-La’s Singapore Week at Cafe Mix. Because there’s nothing like putting the words “Singapore” and “all-you-can-eat” together to get me all hot under the collar.
Oh look, proper satay sticks, and not the massive chicken breast monstrosities that we usually get in Sydney!
Each table also got a single Singapore Chilli Crab to share, which, while authentic in its sauce, was a bit of a waste of time on the size. See, with crab, there’s always a effort-to-enjoyment ratio. The meat that you get from all the work picking the crab clean should be worth the time taken to do it. And with this, it was just a bit, well, imbalanced.
And my golden ratio was violated.
The rest of the offerings – chicken rice? YAAASSS – was actually quite authentic and well-done, considering that it can be hard to get the specific ingredients and skill in Sydney. The chicken was silky and tender, and the condiment game was strong with this one.
The dessert spread was the most impressive of the lot, mixing traditional dessert items, like Pulut Hitam, a black glutinous rice and coconut porridge, with more modern takes like the pandan roulette. Oh and the pandan gelato? Smooth as silk and rich like a colonial master. Best pandan gelato I’ve had, well, ever.
It was a great way to ease some of the homesickness I’ve had for Singapore food, without the hassle of you know, actually leaving the country. And the best part of the Shangri-la wasn’t even that they flew the chefs in, oh no, it was the service. The waiters were omnipresent and invisible all at once, and missing cutlery and drinks mysteriously appear before we even think to ask for them.
Well done, Shangri-la, well done. *slow claps*