Issue 15

Despite the exuberant PR machinery that insists the Singapore Flyer is a roaring success, Singaporeans remain unconvinced that the schlep to Marina Bay will be worth their while. Still, that hasn’t stopped enterprising restaurateurs from opening ambitiously sized eateries.

Seafood Paradise is a large circular space lined with warm timber panels, illuminated by lighting that’s a little too bright. An entire army of young servers mills around: too many for the number of diners on the three occasions that we ate there, but like in Field of Dreams, the owners – brothers Eldwin and Edlan Chua – have built it, and they expect the customers to come.

And so they should, if for no other reason than that they’ll be fed well on a solidly executed zhi char meal at reasonable prices. Similarly, despite the upmarket setting, you shouldn’t expect a high level of service. The waiter plonked down the tureen of ambrosial pork soup and walked away to resume gossiping with his compadres in the corner, while no attempt was made to cut up the steamed fish into individual portions, or serve the fried rice. Excuse us, but for this, we’re paying 10 per cent service charge?

The somewhat indifferent wait-staff aside, the kitchen tries to keep things lively. Soft-shelled crabs were dredged in pork floss and then fried. These were tasty enough, though the mounded plate that arrived reminded me, unnervingly, of a pile of shrivelled tarantulas. Elsewhere, longans added a sweet touch to steamed garlicky broccoli. And in addition to the usual chilli and pepper crabs, one version was doused in a burgundycoloured curry that made me think, not in a good way, of beef rendang. Another came with a thick, white sauce of butter and evaporated milk, sprinkled with fried coconut bits; the combination was unexpected but oddly moreish.

But I suspect that it’s the ‘simpler’ dishes – like tea-smoked duck, nasal-searing wasabi prawns and the superb fried, mahogany-hued mantou – that will keep diners coming back. The sea bass was perfectly steamed Teochew-style, lightly tart and gingery. At another dinner, the slight crunch of the battered sweet-andsour pork made a nice complement to the wok-charred seafood fried rice. And a plate of lobster chunks drenched in a thick coating of salted egg yolk, then deep-fried, was quite sensational – a cholesterol nightmare, but indecently delicious nevertheless. DW

Further information on Seafood Paradise.