The Punggol Settlement : Ponggol Seafood Restaurant (chili crab, crayfish and seafood feast)
Our small trip to celebrate the big day of this lady! Hijacked her from the office on a Saturday afternoon and took her to literally the other side of the island.
For the first time, I stepped into the territory of Punggol and we're pretty much at one edge of the Island -- the Punggol Settlement. This place is like a weekend kind of place. It's right at the coast, there's two rows of seafood restaurants and bars, there
Guess it was not a bad idea afterall to do this celebration/mini-getaway.
We even got our props ready!
Oh yes, did not expect such a mesmerizing golden sunset.
Can we take one moment to appreciate the color of the sky here please. Like the sun just dyed the clouds into this heart-warming shade of ivory.
The golden sun was great lighting for warm photos.
Wow I love those floating clouds against the tangerine sky. This shade reminds me of the sunset I always see in Sizihwan, Kaoshiung.
After absorbing the warm rays from the setting sun, it's feast time. We got $200 worth of cash vouchers for Ponggol Seafood Restaurant for the price of $99 at Fave. You get to take a look at the menu once you're purchased the voucher. Wasn't exactly sure what to order, the friendly staff helped us decide most of it and we were totally stuffed.
Lala Bihun
Hands down this was the best thing of the night. Like I didn't expect the texture of the vermicelli to be so crunchy while the broth was one amazing pepper based soup with the subtle flavor of the lala clams. I would come back for this, this flavor is something that will stay in your head.
Signature Beancurd
This was recommended by the staff. It's soft tofu with a silky gravy with enoki and shimeji mushrooms.
Soya Sauce Chicken
This was really good too. Tender chicken with thick flavors, your rice disappears faster.
QingLong Cai 青龙菜
When the staff recommended this, I was like....wow u sure know what to suggest. For all I know, this is one expensive vege but it can never go wrong. The crunch and the mild grassy kind of flavor is why I love this.
Chili Crabs and Big Mantous
This is why we chose this place in the first place. The birthday girl adores chili crab and so do I. But I have to say the gravy was a rather thick one, it almost felt like a spicy ketchup sauce. I'd prefer it to be a bit more gooey and I like it when there's this eggy flavor. The crabs were fresh anyway. The Mantous, they are HUGE and it's satisfying to dip them into the savory sauce and munching through the crispy crust.
Butter Cray Fish
This was another favorite of the night. Like I really wasn't expecting crayfish to be yummy coz I always think that shrimps typically don't have much taste other than their own shrimp flavor. But crayfish is a different story, or maybe they just happened to find a way to infuse the butter sugary flavors into the crayfish meat. Love the chewy texture of crayfish meat and there's a very fragrant butter flavor. Once you're done with the meat, you can continue to munch on the crispy bits on the shell. But I'm quite terrified by the holes in crayfish shells haha.
Then there's cake cutting, the restaurant was going to play birthday song for us but we were to embarrassed to be associated with birthday song haha.
Happy Birthday to this lady with the most contagious laughter that can lit up a room.
Generally, I have to say the staffs are very friendly, the food was pretty good too and I really am craving for the Lala Bihun. The bill was around SGD 300 (before the use of coupon). So we actually paid around SGD 200 for a seafood meal for 7 people. I won't say it's super cheap, but I guess it's quite reasonable given that there's crayfish and crabs in the picture.
Ponggol Seafood Restaurant
3 Punggol Point Road, #01-08/09 The Punggol Settlement, Singapore 828694
Visit their website for the menu.
You may try out the many seafood restaurants along the stretch. I would think Punggol Settlement makes a great weekend dinner place, for family or friends. It may sound inaccessible, but there's actually a bus service that drops you off at the Punggol Settlement. So do visit here for a small little getaway.