Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Can you eat 2kg of chilli crab within 30 minutes?

SINGAPORE – Eating chilli crab is no joke. Most diners would prefer to do this at their leisure, but Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood Restaurant, famed for its chilli crab, is challenging chill crab-lovers to attempt to finish 2kg of the dish, along with six mantous, within 30 minutes.

Challengers need to finish 2kg of chilli crabs, with six mantous to get it for free. Their photos and names will be placed on a wall of fame. Photo: Sonia Yeo

Challengers need to finish 2kg of chilli crabs, with six mantous to get it for free. Their photos and names will be placed on a wall of fame. Photo: Sonia Yeo

SINGAPORE – Eating chilli crab is no joke. There’s the cracking of the shells to contend with; and the scooping out of the succulent, sweet meat can test even the most fervent fans sometimes.

Most diners would prefer to do this at their leisure, but Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood Restaurant, famed for its chilli crab, is challenging chill crab-lovers to attempt to finish 2kg of the dish, along with six mantous (buns), within 30 minutes.

Do so, and the dish — worth S$120++ — will get the meal for free. Fail, and you will have to pay S$88+, and return home, stained clothes and all, in shame.

“Chilli crab used to be known as Singapore’s national dish,” said second-generation restauranteur and restaurant consultant, Dextre Jabez Teh. “These days, people talk more about Hainanese chicken rice than chilli crab when they mention local food,” he said.

The 27-year-old is the son of the zi char retaurant’s owner, Teh Chor Joo, and is in charge of the marketing campaign and finances of the eatery.

Through the challenge, his goal is to bring chilli crab back to the forefront of local cuisine once again.

The Casuarina Road eatery opened in 1987 and its owners have offered chilli crab since the restaurant’s start.

Dextre, who began helping out at the restaurant at the age of 13, was startled to hear of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s Hawker Heroes challenge in 2013. Back then, Ramsay was in a cook-off against local hawkers. They whipped up classic Singapore dishes such as laksa. His dishes were placed alongside those made by local hawkers. Dextre said he was shocked that out of three dishes in the challenge, Ramsay won for just one — chilli crab.

In 2016, the young chap also discovered that although the Michelin Guide recognises street food stalls around Singapore, it does not feature any stalls or eateries that specialise in chilli crab.

Ban Leong’s chilli crab challenge is Dextre’s attempt to create hype around the dish — even if owner Chor Joo said it “costs us to feed the challengers”, since if participants lose, they still get the dish at a deep discount.

“We actually make a loss,” said Dextre, adding that it is a small sacrifice, if chilli crab can see a return to glory.

By the way, the challenge is only complete when one can see the bottom of the plate — meaning, they have to slurp up a good amount of sauce in order to finish.

When TODAY stopped by the restaurant on Monday (April 24), competitive eaters from the Food League (below) were trying to see how quickly they could complete the challenge.

Business consultant Bobby Yeoh, 35; IT expert Alvin Chenxi Weitian, who is in his late 20s; account manager Shawn Lee, 36; and Serbian-born business development director Nikola Rudic, 30, were game to give the challenge a go.

But Ban Leong upped the game for these guys, bringing the weight of the crabs to 2.1kg, since they are masters at eating. The four began eating furiously. Chilli crab sauce went everywhere and shells went flying through the air.

Yeoh managed to finish in 16 minutes and 40 seconds, while Rudic, unfortunately, did not make the cut.

Yeoh’s strategy was to divide the crabs into portions — he chomped down on the claws first, before moving on to the rest of the body. When he was done, he threw his hands up into the air, to applause and cheers from those at the restaurant that day.

Ultimately, said Dextre, this challenge is meant to be a bit of fun.

“Anybody who is looking for a good time and loves chilli crab is welcome to enter,” he said.

 

Those wanting to take part in the Chilli Crab Challenge must first register online and pay a S$10 deposit. Participants who successfully complete the challenge will be refunded. If they fail to do so, they pay S$88 for the dish. Register with Ban Leong Wah Hoe Seafood Restaurant (122 Casuarina Rd) at www.ChilliCrabChallenge.com. The challenge is on from May 1 to June 1.

 

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.