Crab Beehoon

Here's a list of different types of crab beehoon available in Singapore:

XO Crab Beehoon
Long Beach
Where: 25 Dempsey Road, Tel: 63232222
Open: 11 am-3 pm; 5.30 pm-1.30 am daily
Price: $30 for a claypot with a 550 gm yellow roe crab
What: The deep yellow hue of the soup is as appetising as it looks. Unlike most soup versions which use thick beehoon, this dish is cooked with thin vermicelli, making it seem more refined.

37 Heng Kee House of Steamed Fish
Where: 671 Geylang Road, Tel: 67474840
Open: 5 pm-1 am daily
Price: $40 per kg, no additional charge for noodles
What: The soup might be slightly translucent but it does not contain evaporated milk. The colour comes from the ham, old hen and pig's stomach that are used to make the stock.

Steamed Crab Beehoon:
Lam's Prawn Noodle
Where: 137 Rangoon Road, Tel: 63963289
Open: 9.30 am-9.30 pm daily
Price: $10 for a 250-300 gm Sri Lankan crab, no extra charge for noodles.
What: The lightest in flavour of the lot. The crab is naturally sweet and there's no mistaking the fried, shredded ginger slices used in the marinade for the noodles.

Black Pepper Braised Crab Beehoon:
Mellben Seafood
Where: Blk 211 Toa Payoh, Lorong 8, #01-11-15, Tel: 63533120; Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, #01-1222, Tel: 62856762; Blk 440 Pasir Ris Drive 4, #01-13, Tel: 65820297; Uncle Leong's Blk 233 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, #01-1194, Tel: 65543453
Open: 4.30-10.30 pm daily
Price: $35 and $38 per kg for Sri Lankan crab depending on the outlet. No additonal charge for noodles.
What: This saucy, black pepper version packs a savoury punch with its spice. The crab meat, however, retains its delicate freshness.

Don Your Personal Pie Club
Where: 20 Cross Street, #01-34/36, Tel: 63274344
Open: 8 am-9 pm daily
Price: $16 for a 400-500 gm Sri Lankan crab. No extra charge for noodles.
What: Served in a claypot, the fine vermicelli which has absorbed the black pepper gravy, packs a wallop.

Crab Beehoon Soup:
Tian Jin Hai
Where: Marina Country Club, 600 Punggol Seventeenth Avenue, Tel: 63857831
Open: 11 am-11 pm daily
Price: $40 per kg for Sri Lankan crab. No extra charge for noodles
What: The noodles are plump from the flavourful broth and there are solid chunks of crab in the dish.

Melben Seafood
Where: refer above
Price: refer above
What: Fans of this soup version love how the stock is luscious and aromatic without compromising the crab's natural sweetness.

No. 3 Crab Delicacy Seafood Restaurant
Where: 265/267 Outram Road, Tel: 63272148
Open: 11.30 am-2.30 pm; 5-11.30 pm daily
Price: $35 per kg for crabs from Vietnam and Sri Lanka. No additonal charge for noodles
What: The stock, made with 13 ingredients, including Hua Diao wine and fish gravy, is tryly soup for the soul.

Braised Crab Bee Hoon:

New Ubin Seafood Restaurant
Where: Blk 27 Sin Ming Road, Tel: 64669558
Open: 11.30 am-2.30 pm; 5.30 pm-10.30 pm daily
Price: $38 per kg for Sri Lanka crab if its total weight is less than 1.5 kg, otherwise, $45 per kg. Noodles cost $2-$8
What: The 18 ingredients used in the stock lend it a robust quality and the Chinese herbs flavour the noodles with a comforting note.

Sin Huat Seafood Restaurant
Where: 659-661 Geylang Road
Open: 6.30 pm- 1 am daily
Price: $40 per kg for Sri Lanka crab. No charge for noodles.
What: The springy noodles are coated in a savoury sauce that is so tasty that it threatens to steal the limelight from the crab.

Ya Kwang Dai Pai Dong
Where: 709 Geylang Road, Tel: 67476631
Open: 11 am-11 pm daily
Price: $28 per plate with a 800-900 gm Sri Lanka crab
What: The taste of the crab is so delightfully pronounced, you almost feel the sea waves wash in the back of your throat. The noodles are also cooked al dente.

courtesy of The Sunday Times, 27 April 2008