Singapore Day One: No Signboard, Geylang

Geylang is known as the red light district of Singapore. When I mentioned that I'd been told about the delicious crab and seafood dinners here, my local friend seemed a bit reluctant to take me there. As we walked out of the closest MRT station and onto a small side street, I noticed that all the small eateries were popluated by loud Singaporean men drinking towering beers - no wonder SWT said she was uncomfortable!

Luckily, the walk was short and after jay-walking across the busiest multi-lane road I've seen in a while, we reached No Signboard - lit by neon lights and decorated with red lanterns in celebration of the upcoming Chinese New Year. I was surprised that we were given a seat so swiftly though admittedly, we had three people and it was relatively early. Our seats were also on the side away from the main area where I could see large round tables reserved. We would later realize that being set apart, we avoided the smoke and the loud cheers of the larger groups - being able to hear each other talk but still feeling the atmosphere of the night.

Having only three people on our table, with two of them being only girls, I was bracing myself for the disappointment of not being able to try a variety of dishes. Luckily, the waitress was extremely helpful - perhaps seeing the look of sadness on my face - suggesting that we could get all our dishes in the smallest sizes possible especially the two crabs we were ordering.

Chilli Crab 40SGD/kg

Complimentary Mantou

The first to arrive was the Chilli Crab which was served on an extremely large plate filled almost to the brim with the aromatic chilli sauce. With it, arrived the fried buns or mantou which could be dipped into the sauce in place of the rice. The flesh of the crab was really tender and juicy - for me the process was a bite of crab meat, dunk the bun in the sauce and pure heaven as a result!

Black Peppered Crab 40SGD/kg

The Black Peppered Crab was an entirely different story. The black pepper sauce was much stronger and the flesh tougher. By the end of it, my mouth was literally burning! It's the type of food that makes you so happy because it's dishing out the most amazing flavours for your taste buds but simultaenously putting you through the fiery spices. Putting up with a flaming mouth in the name of great taste? I was up for it!

Bullfrog with Dried Red Chilli 16SGD for two

When the plate of Bullfrog with Dried Red Chilli was delivered to our table, all I could see was a mound of black garnished with loads of dried chilli. When you finally scrummage around and pick out the frog itself, the texture is almost like a tougher version of a fish - slighty chewy and beautifully flavoured. Definitely not the first time I've tried it, but definitely the first time I kept picking it out from the dish it was so yummy!

Deep Fried Baby Squid 10SGD

The Deep Fried Baby Squid came on long rather large plate and didn't look particulary appetizing. But since stepping foot onto Singapore soil, I've realized that some of the most delicious dishes have the ghastly appearances. This was certainly no exception. I'm really a fan of anything deep fried but this particular dish had a sweetness to it on top of the crunchy texture and wired perfectly to offset the spiciness in my mouth from the crab.

Fried Egg with Oyster 10SGD

This was a last minute find on the menu when I recalled that SK had recommended I try it. Relative to the rest of the meal, this was slightly less exciting but I do love my oysters and eggs so in combination, this little pancake-like treat of Fried Egg with Oyster was a great way to finish off the meal. It sure helped cool down my flaming mouth!

War on Crabs - The Finale

It was cheap - the cheapest seafood dinner I've ever had actually - and it was amazing. Fragrant, flavoursome seafood. Probably my most expensive meal I had all trip in Singapore but still so cheap it was amazing. This is definitely somethign everyone has to try when heading to Singapore. If you've read this whole review and you're curious as to why it's called No Signboard and why the photo about says The name u named, then just check out this link here. The history of the place is quite interesting. You'll notice that in the first photo it says Matter Road because that's where the first shop opened, in a hawker centre on that road. The branch we visited is actually on Geylang Road.

I'm back in Australia but I'm still salivating about this meal - go check it out!


No Signboard
414 Geylang Road
Geylang, Singapore 389392
PH: +65 6842 3415

Singapore Day One: Goodwood Park Hotel

Durian. What are you thinking about with that word in mind?

A lot of people probably don't know what it is. For those of you who do (and if you're reading this then you probably do) there is quite a clear divide between those who love it and those who hate it. I know that WX is a lover of durian whereas I'm a bit less obsessed with it. However, I would still jump at the chance of trying any sort of durian dessert. Before I left, I had been directed to Goodwood Park Hotel by a good friend of mine, SL, who claims that this place offers the best durian puffs in Singapore. I've never tried them before and was extremely excited at the prospect of trying it even after my huge meal at Maxwell.

We were a bit confused initially about where exactly durian puffs would be sold at a hotel like this one which, from the main entrance, was modern and upper class - nicely air conditioned with a couple of high-range restaurants. After asking reception however, we were told that a little cake shop near the hotel's tailor would be the source of our stomach's happiness for that afternoon!

Now, I don't want to be mean...but when we asked about the puffs we were told that they had none - durians weren't in season yet and the hotel waited until they were perfect before selling the puffs in March! So unfortunately for us (and possible for your hungry eyes), we didn't try any durian dessert that afternoon.

Instead, we satisfied ourselves with two cakes - a Royal Chocolate Crunchy Hazelnut Cake and a Blueberry Cheesecake from the cake shop.

Although I missed out on the puffs, I daresay that on a completely different level of satisfaction, this chocolate selection really hit the spot for me! The crunch hazelnut texture was beautiful and the chocolate base just melted in my mouth.

The cheesecake for me, was nothing particularly special. Delicious nonetheless but if we had ordered this cake alone, it wouldn't have been able to fill the void that was the durian puff! Even though we did miss out, it was also a nice excuse just to sit and relax inside a completely different environment from the hawker centre. This happened to be the only occasion I allowed myself to not dine at authentic stores on the streets so I really did make the most of the cool airconditioning that afternoon!

Goodwood Park Hotel

22 Scots Road

Singapore Day One: Maxwell Hawker Centre

Hello! WX, JL and I have all returned from our respective holiday destinations in Asia with copious amounts of photos - mostly of our edible conquests. Bare with us as we're all returning to the reality of work and tertiary education so it may take us a while to get you guys (or your stomachs) up to date on our travels. I'll kickstart with my first stay in the hot and humid Singapore...

Before I left, I'd been watching a few episodes of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and this particular hawker store in Maxwell Hawker Centre was meant to have the best Hainanese Chicken Rice. Sure enough, when we arrived, we saw that Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice was the shop with the longest queue in the centre leading all the way around the corner! I've been told that this is just a general rule of thumb at hawker centres - to take your stomach where the queue is the longest! It took us a while, but we finally managed to get to the front of the queue and make our order of a plate of the classic Hainanese Chicken Rice (and spot Mr Bourdain's mark)!

His short message was indeed quite an accurate description of what lay before my eyes. The rice was beautifully flavoured - so much so that I felt like I could really eat a couple of bowls by itself! The question is...why mistreat yourself and take away the other aspect of the dish? Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Hainanese Chicken but this was fresh, tender and nestled neatly on top of the rice - how could I resist? Eating a mouthful of rice and a bite of chicken - savouring every single bit of it was fair compensation for the extreme humidity that left me sweating at our table.

Drawn to Maxwell Hawker Centre in search of Bourdain's recommendation, I really didn't look into other places around the area but I did want to try something that SK had suggested I try: carrot cake. With no particular shop in mind, I stopped at the nearest one which specialised in carrot cake called Auntie.

Carrot cake comes in two varieties - black and white - and is made up largely of Chinese radish which is literally translated as 'carrot'. This dish probably isn't for the health conscious and not a meal to be eaten regularly either. Watching 'Auntie' cook right in front of me with a huge porcelain bowl of oil which she proceeded to drench her mixture inmade me reconsider my previous plan of placing a double order to share with my friends.

Personally, the black carrot cake was my favourite of the two. It was full of flavour (perhaps a little bit too much) having been stir fried not only in oil, but also quite a generous dash of dark soy sauce.

The white carrot cake on the other hand, was a bit too bland and oozing with oil. I could taste the prominent flavour of the vegetable oil.

Balancing out the two two extremes, I found myself eating the white carrot cake and using the black carrot cake as a chaser with a bit of Hainanese Chicken Rice!

With meals ranging from $1 to $4 there was no excuse for us not to get drinks and what better choice but Soybean Milk and Coconut Juice! Icy cold and just as cheap as everything else - the perfect way to quench your first in the Singaporean heat!

On a totally irrelevant note, walking away from Maxwell Hawker Centre, I noticed a street called Sago Street! I was extremely disappointed to find that there was absolutely no trace of the delicious sago to be found on the street and was told that the reason for the naming stemmed from the historical existence of sago factories! Shame!

Maxwell Hawker Centre
Cnr South Bridge Road and Maxwell Road