Long Beach, IMM - April 18, 2008

Last night, I had a seafood feast, sponsored by my dad, thanks to my mum's cravings for crabs...Alaskan crab to be precise. The manager was kind enough to inform that this was not the season for Alaskan crabs (we'll only get 60% of the usually amount of flesh) so we were recommended the Canadian crabs which are cheaper than Alaskan ($138 per kg!) but more expensive than the usual Sri Lankan crabs ($40 per kg).

Ok, so the first dish on our menu...a 1.2 kg Canadian Crab which costed $72. We had it stir-fried in White Pepper Sauce. Its pincers were pathetically small (hardly can't see in the picture right?)..think it's a distant relative of the Alaskan crabs where the focus is on their long 'muscular' walking legs. Overall, the sauce was nice..not too spicy nor overwhelming. The meat was quite sweet & Q. I felt texture was also better than the usual Sri Lanka crab I had. Ok, I will give a 7/10 for this dish...not bad but nothing too fantastic too.

Well, how can one crab be enough to feed the 6 of us? Minutes after the Canadian crab, 2 Sri Lanka crabs were served...
The Famous LB Black Pepper Crab
The 'Nai Huang' (Cream) Crab

Somehow the famous black pepper crab did not live up to my expectation (compared to the one I had last year in the same LB branch). My sister commented that the black pepper sauce tastes like black sesame paste. Indeed the sesame tint seemed to have overwhelmed the black pepper aroma. I was also disappointed to find the amount of flesh in the deceiving huge pincher. The meat was a bit stiff too. Maybe it is really not the crab season yet. Same goes for the Cream crab. Instead of the usual Chilli crab, we decided to try something different. The portion of meat was equally disatisfying. The cream sauce had a dash of Curry flavor, tasted like the Portuguese Niang Tou Fu that Crystal Jade serve. Overall, it gave a so-so feeling. It will be a 6/10 for both crabs. Suddenly I missed the Chilli Crab (full of roe!) at No Sign Board haa...

Alright, enough of crabs, here comes the Steamed Live Scottish Bamboo Clam with Minced Garlic This was the first time I lay my hands (or fork) on the Bamboo Clam. To my surprise, I quite enjoyed this hot piping dish! The clam was succulent, coupled with the frangrant minced garlic soaked in a light soy sauce (must be special sauce)...heavenly match! I actually finished the mince garlic to its last bit! (fyi, I hate garlic...except for garlic breads) Each bamboo clam costed $8, a promotional rate already (original $12 per pc)..a little pricy. It will be wonderful if they can charge at half the promotional rate haha. Overall, I will give it a 8/10.

Now, let have something healthy & light...a steamed fish! No ordinary fish..Marble Goby...$70 for a kg! Albeit it was pretty pricy, I have to admit it was good! The fish meat was light and tender; steamed to the right degree in Hong Kong style. Thumbs up for its freshness & sweetness, absolutely no trace of fishy smell! 9/10.

Last but not least, the Golden Stripe Lobster! We had 3 live locally breeded lobsters for $118, prepared in the popular LB style. The dish was not too bad, except I felt the lobsters were bit over-fried that the meat become a little bit stiff. The shells were so crispy that you can eat up the whole thing. One thing to comment apart from the lobsters, the crisps (made from egg yolk, I think) garnished on top were sinfully nice! On the whole, I will rate it 7.5/10

Overall, it was a sumptuous dinner. We had some greens too (baby kailan stirred fried with garlic) & washed down the food with Oolong tea; leaving no room for desserts. I will rate the dining experience there above mediocre. The service was quite prompt, plates were changed now and then. They did not charge us on the towels, peanuts & tea & with 15% discount, the bill totaled to ~$433. Dad, thanks for your generosity! hee...

PS. Here is the LB website if you are interested to have meal there too.
www.longbeachseafood.com.sg