Jumbo is said to be one of Singapore's best restaurants for chilli crab. Come along as we visit Jumbo at Dempsey to try both the chilli crab and the black pepper crab as well as some other dishes and see if it is worth the hype.
It's a sunny Saturday when Mr NQN and I arrive at Jumbo with my sister Blythe, my mother and Del their helper. Jumbo is a chain of restaurants known for their Singapore chilli crab and their black pepper crab. A lot of people say that this is the best chilli crab in Singapore or at least in the top ones.
We are dining at the Jumbo Dempsey location, an upmarket area with a colonial style buildings where many expats reside and where houses cost a staggering S$50-$80M. There are other Jumbo locations in ION Orchard, Riverside and River Walk, East Coast and Jewel but we chose Dempsey Hill because it was easy to get to and my mother could easily navigate the short walk from the car to the table.
Blythe also warned me to watch out for Chinese New Year surcharges. As chilli crab is almost always a market price item, there is the potential for being overcharged. In 2023, another restaurant in Clarke Quay called Seafood Paradise was involved in a scandal about pricing when they charged 4 Japanese visitors over S$1,300 for chilli crab. The misunderstanding came about when the customer was told that the Alaskan chilli crab was $30 instead of saying that it was $30 per 100g. Some argue that they should have known that a whole Alaskan crab wouldn't be $30 while others argue that the restaurant should have specified that the price was per 100g.
Service at Jumbo is pretty good and they also bring out a cloth cover for our handbags that sit on a spare chair. On the table there is a bucket for the shells, pickers, crushers as well as a wet towelette and two pairs of disposable gloves.
Drinks are ordered - a mix between fresh juices and coconut. There is a 50% off special for Alaskan crab but the smallest is 1.8kg/4lbs and it was too small to cook half in the chilli sauce and the other in the black pepper sauce. Also we all love mud crab so we end up with 2x 800g/1.7lb crabs, one with chilli sauce and the other with black pepper sauce. We also order other things apart from crab and the signature dishes are marked so, some are available in small, medium and large sizes.
The food follows shortly thereafter. The first item to arrive are the prawn chins. These are basically the head of the prawn with all of that intensely flavoured tomalley inside. The prawn chins are coated in salted egg yolk and then deep fried with makrut lime leaves and spices. They're a really tasty snack to start with and well worth trying. They also sell these in bags to take away.
I wanted to bring Del along as a thank you for looking after my dad but it turns out that she doesn't like crab (which we didn't realise until that morning as she eats other seafood!). But not to worry there are other things on the menu. Like these mocha pork ribs. They are marinated, deep fried and then coated in a glossy soy and mocha based sauce that is more chocolate than coffee. It's what I thought mole tasted like before I ever tried mole. These are delicious although tricky to eat as the meat is on the bone. I give up using chopsticks and end up eating them with my hands.
We were warned that the crab takes about 30 minutes but we only wait for 15-20 minutes for ours to arrive. One thing is that they don't bring the crab out to show you like they do in Australia, they just cook it. The first crab to arrive is the black pepper crab. The sauce is a bit different to what I thought it was which is like this black pepper sauce but it's no less delicious. The black pepper sauce is a bit hotter than we expected but it's not the same heat as chilli, more a warmth spreading across your palate. The crab is full of meat and sits on a bed of iceberg lettuce. Blythe and Mr NQN like this crab better than the chilli crab.
If you want a saucy crab, go for the Singapore chilli crab that appears larger because of the sauce. This is markedly sweeter than the black pepper crab and is very good (although all of us agree that my mother's Singapore sauce is better but that may be because we are biased and grew up on it!). This is paired with deep fried mantou buns to soak up that delectable sauce. Both crabs have huge meaty claws and are full of meat.
Another item we ordered for Del to try was the Golden Phoenix chicken which is actually a really interesting dish that isn't actually chicken. Instead it is chicken skin and seafood paste and served with a honey-like syrup.
We may have over-ordered food but even after this we still have time and room to try some dessert. The most popular is the mango sago with tiny pearls of pomelo to give each spoonful a tart counterpoint.
They also recommend the sweet yam paste which is a warm dessert. It is a creamy, lusciously thick sweet yam paste with gingko nuts and a layer of pumpkin through it. While it is quite hot (and I lean more towards cold desserts in hot, humid weather), I really enjoy the texture of the creamy yam and its light sweetness.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever visited Singapore and eaten the chilli crab there? Do you have a favourite place for it?
This meal was independently paid for.
JUMBO Seafood - Dempsey Hill
11 Dempsey Rd, #01-16, Singapore 249673
Phone: +65 6479 3435
jumboseafood.com.sg
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