Address

Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3
#01-1222

Tel: +65 6285 6762

Opening hours

Daily
4.30pm – 11.30pm
5.7
 
Ambience/Setting
4.7
Food & Beverage
7.2
Value
5.8
Service
4.7

Based on 42 reviews

Would you return to this place?
    Definitely 50%     Probably 21%
    Not Sure 14%     Probably not 0%
    Definitely not 12%
Based on 42 reviews

Specialities

Claypot Crab Bee Hoon, Butter Crab

Featured Reviews

from 42 reviews
Write a Review
  1. Caleb Lim

    First reviewed by  Caleb Lim

  1. Crap lovers....err I mean crab lovers....die die must try !

    Aug 25, 2007
    Wah...this is really a surprising find.....especially in AMK....since when do we associate AMK with great tasting crabs ? Unless the person telling me is "full of craps"......I would not have known it's true until I've tasted it personally !

    Well.....butter crab....yummy.....best of all is the bee hoon crab....wah...this one super power.....looks "plain"....but the taste ROCKS !!! Super creamy soup and fresh crabs....wulala....now that's what all crabs should taste like : )

    As mentioned by many.....be prepared to queue....this is no fast food joint....when you've gotten your table.....stay long enuf to enjoy and savour their super sedap dishes....it's worth all the wait : )
    Must Tries

    bee hoon crab, butter crab, pork rib

    I also recommend this place for

    Type of meal:Dinner
    Occasion:Large Groups/Gathering, Children/Family
    Atmosphere:Vibrant/Noisy, Hidden Find

      7.1
      Ambience
      5
      Food & Bev.
      8.8
      Value
      7.5
      Service
      7
      Would You Return?
      Definitely
      Helpful Review?

      0
    • Patience and aggressiveness are necessary virtues

      Feb 16, 2007
      Damage done: $130 for a meal for six, but it was worth it!

      Stuff ordered:
      Crab Bee Hoon
      Pork Ribs in Lotus Leaf
      Cereal Prawns
      Crispy Seafood Tofu
      Sambal Kang Kong

      Patience and aggressiveness are necessary virtues if you want to eat here. First you need to queue up for a table, which is about half an hour's wait. During that time, need to be vocal about the unfair allocation of tables. Once you get a table, you need to wait for another half an hour for your crab. Plus, the service we experienced took rather long between the fish and second dish. We thought it was a banquet style dining, one dish after another. But such is the joy of dining at the kopitiam.

      You probably can't go wrong ordering anything here so we ordered by recommendation of the wise Girlfriend. That's of course, provided that the usual robust tze-cha palette is to your liking.

      So the thing I do want to talk about is the main event of that meal, the crab bee hoon. I would personally prefer to call it the mutant crab bee hoon since the crab's pincer was the size of a Milo can while its top shell was the size of a man's palm. I think it fed on dead cows.

      The dish is much like fish head bee hoon. I liken it to Ka Soh's fish bee hoon at Amoy Street or XO fish head bee hoon somewhere in Buena Vista, except here, they use crab instead of fish. The condensed milk laced soup base is exceptionally rich in taste and it was a perfect combination with the thick bee hoon. I would recommend eating clearing up the crab first while the bee hoon soaks in the broth. Once the crab has been cleared, leisurely wash everything down with the bee hoon soup. But then again, who cares? It's a neighbourhood kopitiam, not a fine-dining restaurant.

      So anyone wants to join me on the next trip to Mellben Seafood?
        5.5
        Ambience
        6
        Food & Bev.
        10
        Value
        6
        Service
        0
        Would You Return?
        Probably
        Helpful Review?

        3
      • Lovely crab bee hoon makan...

        Jul 14, 2008
        Mellben is an interesting place... why u might ask? coz it's located in a coffeeshop in a HDB block n yet it operates n charges like a seafood restaurant...there's a rival acrossed e st called uncle leong with similar fare where those who refused to wait can head to...in fact mellben used to b at sgoon central.. until there's some disagreement where a chopper is involved n moved house to AMK!! (haha gossip from my mum!)

        anyway there's alwaz a long queue n e norm is to order 1st n then wait for seats.. sometimes e wait can b real long but i was there yest n i got a seat immediately n e food came 15mins later.. (wow 1st time so fast!).. but i do notice that e place is less packed (empty tables on a sun evening!)..a sign of declining popularity?

        okie now to e makan!! i've been here many times n e main star is of coz e crabs! i've tried both e crab bee hoon n e butter crabs n i do like e crab bee hoon... it's one of e best around.. e soup is yummy n e crabs r super fresh n super fat! it's a yum! e butter crabs was less yum... it's still yummy but more sauce would have been better though n e crabs i had was not too fresh (some meat do stick to e shell) n so i concluded that they used all e better crabs for e signature crab bee hoon while they used less fresh crabs for e butter / chilli crabs since e sauce would cover it up! notti notti!

        of coz while waiting for e star to arrive.. we had other dishes such as e cereal prawns.. wow this sux big time! over-cooked n not fragrant at all.. Jumbo one still rocks! e fried bean curd is juz not bad oni.. e claypot bean curd was spicy n e sauce goes well with rice but e prawns were not too fresh..e mongolian pork ribs n pai ku wang were decent..e fried rice though is a pleasant surprise coz it's really good..got wok hei n it's really not bad.. can't remember wat other dishes i've tried b4.. wat i felt is that e focus r all on e crabs so these "side" dishes r really juz to pass e time while e crabs arrive n hence it's not all too yummy!

        after patronising this place for a few times n tried pretty much a wide range of food.. i tink e oni star here is e crab bee hoon..so e oni reason y i would pop by e next visit would b juz to order e crab bee hoon n that's it! with extra soup n extra bee hoon n get stuffed on that alone! well n maybe e fried rice n if not for e not so fresh crab...e butter crabs as well. e rest kinda sux n it's not cheap either!

        tink i would juz head to jumbo or long beach or no signboard if i really wana eat good seafood... forget abt mellben unless crab bee hoon is wat u r looking for!

        p.s: mellben is closed for major reno from 04 aug to 02 sept... maybe to reno into a real restaurant to justify for e prices???

        A return after reno saw the place going upscale n is definitely a nicer place to dine in.. The crab bee hoon's still good and for the sides i had the mongolian pork ribs which is zesty n tangy n i likey! The belechan fried rice is ok-ok n there r better ones out there.. Overall i find the sides had shrink but grew in taste hence upgrade my old rating os "not sure" to "probably"

        (7.5 - purely for e crab bee hoon!)
        Must Tries

        crab bee hoon

        I also recommend this place for

        Type of meal:Dinner
        Occasion:Large Groups/Gathering, Children/Family
        Atmosphere:Vibrant/Noisy, Alfresco/Outdoor Dining

          8
          Ambience
          na
          Food & Bev.
          8
          Value
          na
          Service
          na
          Spent about
          S$28 / pax
          Would You Return?
          Probably
          Helpful Review?

          0
        1. Food delicious, service rubbish...

          Feb 27, 2010

          Went to Mellben Seafood Ang Mo Kio twice. Not concern on long queue and long wanting time for food, as this has been expected. Lots of people love to enjoy good food

          The biggest problem with Mellben is that most of the staffs do not know the basic product knowledge and often fail to make recommendation. When there's only 2 persons ordering

          food. They provide no option, but insisting of purchasing 2 portion of crabs. The staff should

          be well train and flexible on giving suggestion when taking order.

           

          I also recommend this place for

          Type of meal:Dinner
          Occasion:Large Groups/Gathering

            4
            Ambience
            4
            Food & Bev.
            4
            Value
            4
            Service
            1
            Would You Return?
            Probably
            Helpful Review?

            0
          • Is Customer really KING??

            Jan 23, 2010
            i refer to CHEWY_FEI comment dated 28 nov 2009. HI, saw your comment and i can't help by chipping in my 2 cent worth on your so call "Customer is king" We often hear "the customer is king". i don't believe it! first, many customers do not not behave like kings, some act more like ruffians than royalty. you might want to disregard this kind of customer altogether but it's tough to disgard a king. second, in certain cultures, the king was revered but also feared, hardly the best metaphor to bring closeness between customer and service staff. third, the idea of a king implies that everyone else is not. i don't see the benefit of putting customer on a throne if it means the service staff must live below them. perphaps it make more sense to say "the service provider is king". i mean this in the most responsible way.
              ?
              Ambience
              na
              Food & Bev.
              na
              Value
              na
              Service
              na
              Would You Return?
              Definitely Not
              Helpful Review?

              1
            • What a blah

              Nov 28, 2009
              My second or third time to this famous crab joint already, but I am still not incredibly wow-ed! Is it the high prices, long waiting time, or simply the poor service? We arrived here at 5+ in the evening. The decor is crabby, literally. Lots of large crab shells are adorned on the walls, and a special wall is even dedicated to crab shells with celebrities' signatures. Cool? On to the food:

              Fried Beehoon - Ordered this while waiting for the crabs to come, but oh my, what an expensive plate of beehoon this is! $6 for what seems like half a portion you can get from a normal cze char stall outside. Taste wise it is okay, but not worthy of $6. At all.

              Garlic Kangkong - Ordinary and nondescript.

              Pork Floss & Mushroom Tofu - A refreshing change from the usual tofu dishes. Pork floss is tossed over crunchy beech mushrooms atop the tofu block at the bottom. The gravy is savoury and thick, and made yummier with the sweetness of the pork floss! Surprisingly good.

              Butter Crab - A large crab cooked in a creamy, white butter-cream sauce with strong notes of condensed milk and coconut milk. The dish is heavy on the palate, but not cloying. The sweet flesh of the crabs is further accentuated by the fragrant curry leaves. A must-order if you can take creamy foods well!

              Crab Bee Hoon (Soup) - A disappointment. The standard has dropped... Although it is still delicious, the soup lacks the salty-seafood oomph from the fresh crabs. A result from cutting corners? Either that, or the soup served to me did not contain the crab flavours well. Really a drop from the previous delicious bee hoon I savoured.

              A visit here is of course always memorable with the poor service standards. The service staff are undeniably busy, but in their haste they have forgotten that customer is king. Don't even talk about smiling waitresses, they probably even bordered on being rude, shoving my family around. Sigh!

              On the overall, this eating joint is really more hype than substance. Come here only for the butter crab, there are much better crab bee hoon outside! And of course, come here if you have the free time to spare, and to wait for up till an hour till peak dining periods on weekends. You'd been warned!
              Must Tries

              Butter Crab

              I also recommend this place for

              Type of meal:Dinner
              Occasion:Large Groups/Gathering, Children/Family
              Atmosphere:Vibrant/Noisy, Alfresco/Outdoor Dining

                5.3
                Ambience
                5.5
                Food & Bev.
                6
                Value
                5
                Service
                4.5
                Spent about
                S$26 / pax
                Would You Return?
                Not Sure
                Helpful Review?

                1
              • Dining at Mellben Seafood on 16 Nov'09

                Nov 18, 2009
                I consider myself as a regular of this branch since I love their crab bee hoon. I brought my friends to Ang Mo Kio branch for dinner Ang Mo Kio branch on 16 Nov’09.

                To be honest, their food price increased a lot since the last renovation. But thank goodness, the standard didn’t drop. Current price match as Seafood Paradise.

                For that meal, we ordered its specialty "bee hoon crab soup", chilli crab, baby kalian, Mongolia pork rib. Two of my friends tried for the first time. They love the bee hoon crab and Mongolia pork rib.
                If you want to avoid queue, you must go there by 5+/6pm. If you are late around 8pm... the crabs may be sold out.

                Bee hoon crab soup - crab is at $38/kg. If only the pricing be lower will be perfect. The soup taste great, my friends finish the soup to the last drop. Crab was a little small about 750g to be shared for 4 adults.

                Chilli crab with man tou – crab is at $38/kg while man tou is charged separately. The crab is big and juicy. My friend’s only complain is not spicy enough but for another buddy of mine who doesn’t take hot and spicy find the combination of dipping man tou in the sauce is great.

                Baby kalian with garlic – personally, I find it average but my friends love its fragrance and tasty.

                Mongolia pork rib – my friends and I love the juiciness and tasty especially there very little bone.

                Service – those belong to the family are very friendly and socialise with customers but those waiters and waitresses that they hired have lots to improvement. They are either very pushy or rude.

                Their dessert listing is the only problem I have, there is nothing appealing and not many choices for me. Normally by the time, I finished my meals there, I no longer have any “storage space” for dessert.

                I definitely will go there again with my buddies and family.
                Must Tries

                Bee Hoon Crab soup

                I also recommend this place for

                Type of meal:Dinner, Take away
                Occasion:Large Groups/Gathering, Children/Family, After Work
                Atmosphere:Vibrant/Noisy, People Watching

                  6.3
                  Ambience
                  5
                  Food & Bev.
                  9
                  Value
                  7.4
                  Service
                  3.6
                  Spent about
                  S$30 / pax
                  Would You Return?
                  Definitely
                  Helpful Review?

                  1
                • Run-of-the-Mell crab joint

                  Oct 31, 2009
                  This place is so run-of-the-mill that I really don't have much to say about it.

                  We first had vegetables (kailan with garlic) and a steamed red snapper with soy sauce (Cantonese style), which was not really fresh, and was slightly overcooked (imo). Most disappointing, and I've had far better for similar prices (at Imperial Treasure Great World City, for example).

                  Then came the signature dish: the chili crab. Long story short, if you want Singapore-style chili crab, this is probably not the best place in Singapore to have it: the gravy was not spicy nor was it rich, but just the right tone of blah (with a watery mucus-like texture) for a very blah and unenthusiastic food review like this from me. It doesn't help this review of Mellben that the crab was accompanied by "man tou"s that were approximately the size of stamps. Overall this chili crab was as disappointing as Obama to date.

                  The butter crab was decent: the sweet flesh of crab went well with their sauce, which was rich and fragrant with the addition of curry leaves.

                  Overall, I'm not sure that the food justified the hike to Ang Mo Kio, with me getting lost (somehow) on the wrong side of Bishan Park, and having to hike over to Mellben by foot in the rain.

                  Note: If you do want to subject yourself to the above, it is good to either turn up early, or to call and book beforehand.
                  Must Tries

                  butter crab

                  I also recommend this place for

                  Type of meal:Dinner
                  Occasion:Large Groups/Gathering
                  Atmosphere:Vibrant/Noisy

                    5
                    Ambience
                    5
                    Food & Bev.
                    5
                    Value
                    5
                    Service
                    5
                    Spent about
                    S$33 / pax
                    Would You Return?
                    Not Sure
                    Helpful Review?

                    0
                  • One of the best crab around

                    Oct 8, 2009
                    this is definitely one of the places if you want to eat crab!!
                    been here a few times, they have just renovated and now occupied the whole coffeeshop while in the past they just were one of the stalls in an old coffeeshop but at night, almost all the people in that coffeeshop was patronising them :)

                    Food

                    Claypot Crab Bee hoon
                    their soup base was fantastic, strong flavor stock with milk added. recommend to use female crab for this dish (added more flavor to the soup with the crab roe)
                    - could add soup to the dish if the soup finish first which normally is the case :p ($3/per refill I think)

                    Butter Crab
                    their butter crab was wonderfully done, the taste was lingering in my mouth and I just cant stop eating this. I like their sauce very much, a nice change to dip the deep fried man tou in this instead of the usual chilli crab sauce. :)

                    Black pepper Crab
                    their black pepper crab was also very nice!! but after eating the no signboard white pepper crab, I like that better :p

                    Steam Crab
                    erm didnt like their steam crab very much, erm perhaps try too many crabs that day and this dish was the last dish, the crab was like over-steam and a tad too dry... but luckily the crab was fresh thou..
                    although my colleague like this very much.. erm each got his own taste ba :)

                    Fortune Chicken
                    this is also one of my fav.. the chicken was very tender plus full of ingredients!!!
                    -could be very filling if you are not there in a big group and sharing it, considering you are actually here to feast on crab :p

                    Signature fried tofu
                    my colleague like this very much, but i always dun quite fancy seafood fried tofu... so hee another matter of taste :p

                    Service
                    even they are famous, their waiter/waitress attitude was quite bad.. not only we are unable to make reservation, their dun-care attitude was really... I had to wait very long to get their attention to order a drink even thou the place was not crowded, i gave up ordering in the end.....
                    Must Tries

                    claypot crab bee hoon, butter crab, fortune chicken,

                    I also recommend this place for

                    Type of meal:Dinner
                    Occasion:Large Groups/Gathering
                    Atmosphere:Vibrant/Noisy

                      7.2
                      Ambience
                      7.5
                      Food & Bev.
                      9
                      Value
                      7.5
                      Service
                      4.8
                      Spent about
                      S$40 / pax
                      Would You Return?
                      Definitely
                      Helpful Review?

                      0
                    • Increased Price

                      Sep 28, 2009
                      Went there on 28 Oct 09
                      Just nicely renovated.
                      But pity renovation cost passed down to customer.
                      Price increased.
                      2 person 2 crap $100
                      I also recommend this place for

                      Type of meal:Supper/Night Dining, Dinner
                      Occasion:Large Groups/Gathering
                      Atmosphere:People Watching
                      Others:Beer Lists

                        4
                        Ambience
                        5
                        Food & Bev.
                        5
                        Value
                        1
                        Service
                        5
                        Spent about
                        S$50 / pax
                        Would You Return?
                        Probably
                        Helpful Review?

                        0
                      • Great value

                        Aug 11, 2009
                        The crabs are very well done. The service staff were prompt in getting us a table, and to reduce our waiting. Must try their chilli crab! :)
                          9.2
                          Ambience
                          8.9
                          Food & Bev.
                          10
                          Value
                          7.7
                          Service
                          10
                          Would You Return?
                          Definitely
                          Helpful Review?

                          5
                        • crab-ulous!

                          Jul 24, 2009
                          ambience:
                          keeping in mind that mellben is a zi char stall after all, i must say that its ambience is not bad! very well renovated i must say! sat at the side beside trees, grass and the road. thus i had a very good, audible chat with my girls :)

                          service:
                          kinda ridiculous. reached there at 6pm on a sat night only to see a long queue alr. when the girl asked for our order, we ordered 1 plate of mantous, 1 crab and 1 crab beehoon to share among 3 tiny girls. which i think is alot alr! yet the girl said we will have to wait 2 hrs (till 8pm) bcos we din order any veges.

                          what kinda ridiculous reason is this? so whatever. anw veggies r good for health so we ordered a plate of veges to reduce our waiting time to 1 hr 40min (till 740pm). like totally whatever.

                          in the end it wasnt that bad.. we managed to be seated by 7pm n got our food by 715pm.

                          food:
                          sambal kangkong - delicious! kangkong is very soft, just the way i like veges to be! sambal blended with the kangkong v well!

                          i tried tried the garlic baby kailan before n it wasnt fantastic. so sambal kangkong is definately the vege to recommend in mellben!

                          crab bee hoon - the soup is SUPER BUTTERY and drop dead DELICIOUS. its a pity that they don allow the crabs that come with the crab bee hoon to be cooked in another way. so its basically just steamed crabs. so what i did was i finished my butter crabs n then transferred the steamed crabs onto the butter crab plate (which was still overflowing with butter sauce) so in other words i had 2 serves of butter crab. SHIOKK :)) u can do the same if u order chilli crabs!

                          butter crab - this is the BEST butter crab in SG!! that's provided u like the liquidy kinda butter. if u r looking for like dried kind (which is damn good too) den this kinda butter crab will disappoint u i guess.

                          anw the butter is absolutely delicious and generously filled the plate! even after dipping 2 crabs into the plate + my 10 mantous, there was still butter cream remaining. needless to say, my frens n i drank up the whole plate. really.

                          a definately mus order in mellben!

                          man tou - definately must order too to soak up your butter crab/chilli crab sauce. YUMS. comes only in plates of 10.

                          overall, i had a FANTASTIC meal. will def come back again!
                          p.s. they do takeaways too if u don like to look ugly eating crabs in public! :)
                          Must Tries

                          sambal kang kong, crab bee hoon, butter crab, man tou

                          I also recommend this place for

                          Type of meal:Dinner, Take away
                          Occasion:Large Groups/Gathering, Children/Family, Girls Night Out, After Work
                          Atmosphere:Vibrant/Noisy, Alfresco/Outdoor Dining

                            7.6
                            Ambience
                            8
                            Food & Bev.
                            10
                            Value
                            7.5
                            Service
                            5
                            Spent about
                            S$31 / pax
                            Would You Return?
                            Definitely
                            Helpful Review?

                            0
                          • Not bad.. Not bad..

                            May 26, 2009
                            I've eaten some of the best crabs in Singapore, black pepper, chili, white pepper, butter.. And I believe that we should just eat what's signature at each place. I don' go KFC to eat burgers.. (that's what I keep telling my Hubby)

                            Anyway, back to my review. Parents decided to give me a birthday treat, and I brought them to Mellben to try the crabs. I've tried the Toa Payoh branch, and didn't have very high expectations of the AMK one.. the shimmering sand crab at TP was substandard.. but then, i digress, that's another review for another time. :)

                            Again, back to this review, the service wasn't fantastic. And for some strange reason, they actually "force" you to order before bringing you to your seat. ie there was a crowd at the entrance, served by 2 - 3 waitresses whereby they take your order. Talk about pressure.. the family was standing around whilst they waited for me to look at the menu. Not very comfortable too when the entrance was narrow. I have learnt JIT, but don't think it applies here..

                            Do not understand the need for this, if someone could, pl leave me a comment and enlight me on this.

                            Ordered the butter crab, crab bee hoon, minced pork tofu and veg (the last 2 was mediocre, so not really worth a mention) The butter crab was good. I love butter crabs that are creamy, as opposed to the "chewy" butter sort. and with the side of mantous.. it was yummilicious.

                            The Crab bee hoon was good, i had a niggling feeling if i had underordered under pressure. and should have added beehoon, or soup (+$3 ea). but it turned out to be just enough for 4..

                            Overall, it was worth a visit. my parents were happy, and i enjoyed the experience.
                            Must Tries

                            Butter crab. Crab Bee Hoon

                            I also recommend this place for

                            Type of meal:Supper/Night Dining, Dinner
                            Occasion:Large Groups/Gathering, Children/Family
                            Atmosphere:Alfresco/Outdoor Dining

                              4.8
                              Ambience
                              2
                              Food & Bev.
                              6.5
                              Value
                              5.6
                              Service
                              5
                              Spent about
                              S$28 / pax
                              Would You Return?
                              Probably
                              Helpful Review?

                              0
                              1. Aisha Dhewar said on 16 Jun 2009 11:07

                                I am only writing this comment as there was an invititation for it...
                                Just wanted to enlighten Bam Bam that in most of the restaurants abroad, it is very common and accomodating if you order your food while waiting in a queue. It is considered an efficient customer service, as by the time you get your seat there is no more wait and your food can be served in no extra time. Besides, I am sure you dont expect a fine dining service from a coffee shop, for that you will probably have to go to another type of restaurant.
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