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Crab In Da Bag | 3.5/5

SINGAPORE — The concept is brilliant: Serve seafood in plastic bags on paper-lined tables and do away with cutlery. So it was only a matter of time before someone cottoned on to the popular seafood boil idea.

SINGAPORE — The concept is brilliant: Serve seafood in plastic bags on paper-lined tables and do away with cutlery. So it was only a matter of time before someone cottoned on to the popular seafood boil idea.

Crab In Da Bag, which opened earlier last month, enjoys a fantastic location just a stone’s throw away from the beach. The restaurant is aptly decked out in a blue-and-white nautical theme, and serves seafood swathed in sauces that range from classic Louisiana butter and garlic, to curry with a kick or Thai-inspired green chilli dip.

The experience is rowdy. Sometimes, the music gets a little loud (the night we visited, it was upbeat ’70s renditions of jazz standards) and, every now and again, a bell tolls, someone shouts “Ahoy!” and a server zips out from the kitchen carrying a large metal bucket filled with lobsters, Sri Lankan crabs, king crab legs, corn, potatoes, chicken sausages, clams, bay bugs and prawns. The pot’s contents are flung onto the table as diners whip out their mobile phones to capture the action for Instagram posterity.

Called the Caboodle Boil (S$299), it amply feeds four to six sufficiently and comes with three dips: Exotic Soy, Green Bird and Zesty Mayo. I liked the Green Bird best for its deep savoury taste that comes from fish sauce, just-spicy-enough green chilli padi, and the right balance of sugar to brighten its flavours.

A seafood boil is often judged by the freshness of its seafood and the tastiness of its sauces. To that end, Crab In Da Bag does not disappoint. The Ultimate Curry sauce — a thick Malaysian-style curry without coconut milk — goes fabulously well with a bag of clams (S$13) and a mound of steamed white rice (S$1) to soak up all that robust, spicy goodness.

Mum’s Special Sauce, made with lots of onions and garlic, is a tad too mild but works well enough with a bag of prawns (S$20) or king crab legs (S$35). There’s also the option of garlic butter which is always reliably tasty.

Surprisingly, it is the sides that really impress. The sweet potato fries (S$7) are crisp and creamy, and remain crisp for a rather long time. The Crinkled Cauliflower (S$8), seasoned and baked, is simple but very satisfying and all too easy to eat.

Desserts, however, are middling at best. The Jelly-licious (S$5) is nothing more than a mix of old-school jelly — the kind our mothers used to make in the ’70s and ’80s — while the Fruity Boat (slices of honeydew filled with mint jelly, S$5) tastes way too much like toothpaste.

The best thing about Crab In Da Bag is its location along East Coast beach. Because if all you want is a quiet, messy meal under the stars, you can order a bag of seafood and a few sides and take them outside for an unbeatable picnic. ANNETTE TAN

3.5/5

Crab In Da Bag

Where:

902 East Coast Parkway

Playground@Big Splash, Block D #01-25

Telephone: 6440 0083

Opening hours:

Tuesday to Friday, 4pm to midnight

Saturday and Sunday, noon to midnight

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