Singapore - Ming Kee Live Seafood

Having been introduced to "Crab Bee Hoon" not too long ago, with my first venture into the heartland of Toa Payoh to sample the signature dish of Mellben (see previous post) last month, I was now eager to build on that foundation to try more crab bee hoon variations and find a victor among the warriors... this quest has now brought me to No. 556 MacPherson Road - who would have thought...

And the standings are now Ming Kee: 1; Mellben: 0. Ming Kee wins with the crab offering which was sweet, juicy and meaty. And very very fresh too - the meat literally fell off the shell without effort. Instead of a soup base, the bee hoon was stir fried in the crab's juices and roe. Alas, while the crab was huge and plenty for 3, there was barely enough beehoon to go round and of course, Grandma gets an extra helping just by virtue of her status.



Aside from the Crab bee hoon, the other dishes were more than competent. The steamed parrot fish was just nice although I had to kick up a fuss before the wait staff agreed to remove the burner it was served on. My instincts were right since any moment longer and the fish would have been overcooked till kingdom came.. but fortunately, we saved it from being so and it was cooked just right and the simple soya sauce was fragrant enough mixed with a little oil and lots of julienned spring onions. My only other complaint was that the fish was served shortly after the crab arrived and since we took a long time to devour the crab, the fish was cold by the time we got to it, especially since we were right in the firing line of the air-conditioning vent.




The other winner was the homemade tofu served simply with broccoli and mushrooms so that the focus was on the smooth and fragrant egginess of the tofu. Very good.




Dessert was "Or-ni" or translated - yam mud. Yes, it tastes better than it sounds, and topped with steamed gingko nuts and pumpkin wedges, was very creamy. Our table's complaint: the lacing of coconut cream did nothing except to detract from the fragrance of the yam and made it richer than it needed to be.

The experience at Ming Kee was awesome and our only regret is not having enough people to order more dishes. But with that in mind, my strategy for the next visit is simple, as you will see. I can only hope it is not too far away.


556 MacPherson Road
6747 4075