Unanimously the firm favourite black pepper crab joint of my entire family's. We've been loyal customers for years (if my memory serves me right) when Still Road was then a narrow 2-lane road, before Bus 76 ever came to being. Am not revealing my age here, but I was still a kid then. Memories do blur at some point. :)

It's amazing how the quality of this dish has never changed - whether for better or worse. The potently molten-hot black pepper sauce with that slight buttery base has been the anchor of this dish since Day One. As most reviewers would have already mentioned, the shells are cracked at the right places (a skill that is gradually being perfected in other crab eateries by now, but 15 years ago, this guy was da cracker man!). Easy shell removal makes for quicker devouring of sweet, succulent flesh, right down to the leg sections. Have you been frustrated by empty skinny flesh-less legs after all that shell-crunching with your teeth? Well, this guy's crabs won't disappoint, so by all means bother with it. I also like how the flesh falls off the 'bone'.

We used to eat in, and in those days, they weren't so famous, so dinner could start at a decent time of 6.30 or 7pm (unlike having to eat at and unearthly hour of 5pm now). Eversince the crowds began pouring in, we've learned to call before doing a pick-up takeaway. The only downside is that we wouldn't get to preview the crabs they pick out from the tank. But the folks at Eng Seng know us, so we've never been let down before.

They're earned our loyalty rightfully because on occasion, we've strayed from them and have ventured to other talked-about crab places, including Melben and No Sign Board. In my opinion, Mellben rocks with their western butter crab (and some say crab beehoon, though I beg to differ on that) and NSB's forte is truly in their chilli crab. But if you're seeking black pepper crab in all its glory, the (well-paid) chef here has got it down pat.