Small Potatoes Make The Steak Look Bigger: Uncle Leong Seafood, Punggol East

what's the horror behind the taxidermied quad claw crustaceans Uncle Leong didn't say?

Let's begin this with Mellben.

I was introduced to Mellben some years ago. Back then, the first taste of the broth from the crab bee hoon was mind blowing. I had never had anything that tasted like that. In fact, the milky and crabby broth left such a deep impression that it gave quite a bit of leeway to the subsequent decline of standards.

The last visit to Mellben that I made was probably about half a year back. While the crab broth was still good, it was nothing like the earlier years. Fast forward to today, I managed to try the ones at Uncle Leong (6 Tebing Lane, #01-03, Punggol East, tel : +65 6441 1848) for the first time. Never had the chance to visit them when they were back in AMK. These two are related though I am not exactly sure how. While I felt that the crab bee hoon was a passable okay, it wasn't up to the standards of what was served in Mellben today. Remember what I said about about plenty of leeway. A pale shadow here of the old Mellben but arguably, a decent soup still.

What's well known about them is that they have their suppliers that provide them with really large crabs and they're generally fresh and meaty which is the way most people like them. The ones that come with the bee hoon are generally better in my view as they they don't get overcooked as often - which results in flesh that gets stuck onto the shells.

Those golden sand crabs which are a signature at Uncle Leong aren't as impressive as I would like. The creamy buttery sauce spiked with peppercorns and fried curry leaves somehow lacked body.

Maybe it's time for a re-visit to Mellben just to compare broths.