You could have sworn you’ve walked right into Singapore. The stately colonial-style mansion across from Shinagawa Station looks like it’s been lifted straight from the city state and transported to Tokyo as is. Even the spacious interior is a faithful re-creation of the dining rooms prevalent in colonial-style restaurants across Southeast Asia – black lacquered furniture, dark wood panelling against white walls and tanks full of live mud crabs.
So yes, the world-famous Singapore chilli crab is a highlight here, and the restaurant does the dish justice. In fact, the elaborate menu, which features a host of Singaporean and Southeast Asian dishes such as chicken satay, curry noodles, Hainanese chicken rice and stewed hor fun (flat rice noodles), is well executed. Taste-wise, it could easily satisfy any homesick expats in Tokyo.
The lunch menu is a good deal, with one-dish meals including seafood fried rice and roasted pork noodles costing anywhere from ¥980 to less than ¥2,000. But if you’re keen to try the crustaceans, get the chilli crab with fried rice set for just ¥2,850. It’s a steal compared to the dinnertime crab dishes that could set you back at least ¥5,970. But then again, at dinner, you’ll have more crab options from black pepper crab to steamed crab with egg whites, alongside other seafood dishes such as garlic prawns and Nyonya assam (tamarind) soup.