Eng Seng Restaurant

After reading the reviews on various site about this humble place with not-so-humble offerings, I decided to be really kiasu and made the boyfriend accompany me to this coffeeshop at 5pm.

No queue at all! Excellent. We don’t like to subject ourselves to fixed schedules so didn’t bother with any reservations, but yes, like the previous reviewer said, they do accept reservations, and it’s probably smarter to do that too, or the queue gets really horrendous by 6pm.

The good: I need to start by saying that I’m not a huge pepper crab fan. But credit where it’s due, Eng Seng has done a more than decent job with their food. The pepper crabs were aromatic, peppery (duh), and strangely has a buttery flavour to them. The crabs themselves were soft and tender, and the shells cracked in all the right places that made extracting the meat a breeze. Difficult technique, I was told.

Now the bad: minimum order was 2 crabs per table, and that was a minor issue because both of us were not big fans. The crabs made me very thirsty too – not sure whether it was MSG or just too much seasoning in general. After spending nearly $50, we were not full, so that’s another half a thumb down.

The verdict: do try it at least once if you love pepper crabs, but order rice or other dishes. I heard they are decent.

If you want to experience full-on the heady flavours of black pepper crab, Eng Seng is the place to go. With its dark, aromatic and spicy sauce, it's Singapore's version of 'finger licking good'. Yes, the queue starts at 4.30pm, and yes, waiting time for a table is long, despite the incredibly fast kitchen turnout. But Eng Seng has another trump card up its sleeve - the humble looking coffeeshop accepts reservations - just call 6440 5560, and specify how many crabs you want to be reserved and what time your table will be ready. And just like that, you don't have to go through all that trouble of queuing up for hours!

As mentioned before, the black pepper crab is definitely a revelation. The sauce is thick and slightly sweet, its black viscosity really brings out the beautiful whiteness of the crab flesh. While the crabs at Eng Seng aren't exactly huge (as compared to the Sri Lankan variety sold at other seafood restaurants), you can be assured that they are definitely fresh and full of meaty goodness - no shrunken crab claws or 'hollow' shells here! Seriously. If you haven't had Eng Seng Black Pepper Crab, you ain't had black pepper crab before.

That aside, the you tiao is delicious (what deep fried food item isn't, right). Crunchy and not too oily, the sweet sauce (mayo?) that is drizzled over it is a perfect complement. My dining companions loved the mee goreng, and I have to say the hor fun isn't too bad either.

The service staff are efficient, and if not friendly, then at least polite. My favourite is the old aunty who serves drinks (: she's hilarious. Aside from that, the food comes quickly, the place is quite clean. Oh, but when they say they close at 9.30 - they really close at 9.30. They stop taking orders for eat-in at 9, and they start turning off the lights and fans at 9.15 in an undisguised bid to shoo out the remaining customers.

I've gotta say this is really the best black pepper crab in Spore!!! If u haven't try this... you have truly not try black pepper crab at all...IT IS THAT YUMMY!!

yes it is true that one have to start to queue at abt 5pm... i was queueing there dutifully at 5.30pm n boy was e coffeeshop packed n e queue was long! After 30 mins into e queue i finally get to place my orders with e lady.. or "dragon lady" as i've been told.. (not too sure if it's e same lady coz she seems quite nice)...

my bf and i ordered 2 black pepper crabs (dud! haha...anyway e crabs cost abt $50+) mee goreng n ngoh hiang n chicken wings from e nearby stall.. verdict??? YUM! i've tried e black pepper crabs b4 but alwaz ta bao home...this is my 1st time eating at e coffeeshop... e black pepper crabs r absolutely DELICIOUS! it's not those dry version like jumbo or long beach or no signboard but it's a wet version with black pepper/sweet/buttery taste that is pretty unique.. e crabs r cracked at e right places so it makes it easier to attack e fat juicy crab meat.. n dip in more black pepper sauce! (heard they source e crabs from places like vietnam n no it's not sri lankan crabs)

I absolutely adored places where e crabs r totally infused with e sauce.. Eng Seng did it beautifully with e black pepper crabs.. e crab meat is so heartachingly delicious with e black pepper sauce soooo infused tat it's wonderful! Another place i would recommend would b Sin Huat's legendary crab bee hoon..

e mee goreng was very good as well... i've alwaz liked e mee goreng from jumbo but i've gotta say e mee goreng here is tasty as well n actually "wetter" as well..

in conclusion.. e black pepper crabs here r definitely worth coming early... long queue...n sweating it out to dig into e pui pui black pepper crabs!!! They r e master!

(p.s. actually i do tink that ta bao back taste slightly nicer.. esp when e crabs cool down n r not so steamy hot.. u can actually savour e flavour fuller.. juz a tot!)

You guys reach there at 5pm now? My aunt say to reach there at 4.30 since by 5pm the place are packed. 4.30pm to eat dinner is madness but damn the crabs are good! Esp the black peppery crabs! The black pepper sauce got a tinge of sweetness.
Ordered some side dishes, mee goring, fried rice, vegs and you tiao as the crabs take some time to come. But I think that just ordered you tiao and wait for the crabs to come. Eat less so can eat more crabs! It’s really good! The chili crabs are not bad but black pepper crabs taste better.

The bill came up to 597 including tabao for more crabs!

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.

9 November 2007 : Well... the peasants at the sweatshop got a surprise outing to Changi Airport T3 for a tour of the place. So, after all that excitment, the ever-ready-to-eat gang of peasants - YH, LL, ML, S, BC, PY, KL & JC - zoomed all the way to this feeding place to ATTACK the famed black pepper crabs. This place is usually super crowded and you have to be prepared to queue up to the busstop further down the road. Sometimes, by 5pm on a weekend, they have already run out of crabs!~ We parked along the road and arrived at this place at 5:45PM. It was already crowded but we managed to secure a nice big table with the no-nonsense matronly service staff assisting us. This was my 1st visit to this feeding place.

We ordered :
12 black pepper crabs (7 crabs to be eaten, 5 crabs to be packed & brought home)
2 plates of Hokkien Mee
1 plate of You-Tiao
1 plate of steamed fish
1 plate of sambal stingray
TOTAL : $261.80

The main attraction was the crabs....so the side dishes were basically to take the edge off our hunger while we wait for the black pepper crabs to be served.

The hokkien mee was very tasty and the prawns inside were very fresh. The consistency of the mee goreng was just right - not too dry & not too soggy. We were all very pleased with the you-tiao. It was piping hot and so crispy! Yummy yum yum ... !~~~ The steamed fish was very fragrant and tasty too. The meat was fresh and soft. The soya sauce gravy enhanced the taste of the fish and it was not overly salty. Although im not much of a fan of fish, i really enjoyed eating this steamed fish. The sambal stingray was alright... it did not blow me away.

The black pepper crabs - all 7 of them - arrived in a big plastic dish...piping hot and so very enticing. We all ATTACKED the crab without ceremony.(though the male peasants did allow the female peasants to attack the crabs & every other dish 1st)

The black pepper was so very good. It was not a dry paste sticking to the crabs. It was slightly moist and just the way i like it. We were very satisfied peasants.... and we will definitely return one fine day...perhaps when one of the senior peasants recieves a decisive pay-raise and decides to feed the hungry hoi polloi.

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I have heard so much about this place so I finally decided to take my family there last Monday.

Being Singaporean (read as kiasu), we arrived at 5pm as we were told that long que will form and that the restaurant will run out of food (especially the famous crab) if one turns up late (I was told that the coffeeshop will be full after 5.30pm).

Naturally, we ordered the "die-die-must-try" black pepper crab. We also had the malaysia style hokkien mee, fried fritters with mayonaise and a vegetable dish (pak choi).

The crab was indeed quite good but not "to-die-for" in my opinion. I have eaten similarly good crab in the seafood restaurants along the East Coast (UDMC). The fried fritters was also good and I would recommend it.