World's best Crab Bee Hoon? Sin Huat

Sin Huat has some notoriety in the dining scene in Singapore. A stern owner, who is grumpy waiter, chef and cashier all at once. But the food is to die for...especially the signature crab bee hoon.

I have taken many luminaries from the watchmaking world to this litte, dirty eating house by the red light area in Geylang. From Grandmaster Philippe Dufour to my good friend (then CEO of GO) Dr. Frank Muller, they had their taste of the genius of Danny. This time round, I had the opportunity to take the Watchonistas...Alex Friedman and Marco Gabella from Lausanne there for a taste, when they visited.

Both Alex and Marco are exceptional foodies. When I was in Switzerland, they brought me to some wonderful culinary adventures, and for this I wanted to return the favour.

We sat down at 8pm...having warned both that the service will suck and be very slow, and we will have to deal with a nazi-like owner/chef, we had a surprisingly pleasant evening. Danny came trotting by soon after we sat down, and even smiled at us. He recommended, I am using the term lightly as Danny had a sense of authority in his tone that almost told us to order what we had. First off, the vegetable dish...baby kailan

Even this had the mark of the chef. The vegetables were fresh, crunchy, and control of fire in stir frying this was exceptional. Superb.

We had scallops in black bean sauce.

Sorry about the picture. The live scallops were steamed with garlic and ginger, and totally covered with the black bean sauce. Delectable dish, but frankly I found the steamed garlic scallops at Meng Kee to be better.

Next dish is a semi-signature of Sin Huat...the gong gong...or sea snails in special chilli sauce

A marvellous dish. Of course, the gong gong were fresh...they were live! But the secret is to get them cooked just right...to little cooking, and they are raw...too much, they turn rubbery. But get them just right like this, they are succulent, with a springiness that is indescribable. Dip in the hot, spicy sauce, and temporary nirvana is achieved.

We also sampled the frogs with essence of chicken

Alex and Marco were used to eating frog legs...afterall Lausanne is in French speaking Switzerland and both are Italian origin with a long family history of culinary excellence. But Danny chose to serve the entire frog, sans internal organs. They gamely tried. And were surprised at how delicious it was. The meat was sweet, succulent. Very good.

Then, within 2 hours from ordering...typically one needs 3 hours or more for a dinner in Sin Huat...he is sometimes slow between courses...the piece de resistance was served:

The bee hoon infused with crustacean flavours is the actual star. The two huge, meaty crabs merely play a supporting, albeit important role. Each strand of the bee hoon is coated with a glistening, sauce...promoting it from a mere noodle to a magnificent tasting specimen. The explosion of flavours, tastes were exceptional. This is what makes this the reference standard for crab bee hoon. The crabs were enormous, and the meat was succulent, fresh and chunky. Excellent plus dish...and why one endures the attitude and the unsavoury environment to dine here. Danny retains his crown as chef of the best Crab Bee Hoon in town, and perhaps the region or the world....

Sin Huat Eating House
659/661 Geylang Road
6744 9755