De’ Beer: Singapore Seafood Restaurant Review

Amazingly Delicious Salted Egg Crabs: Need I say more?

De-Beer-Logo

De’ Beer used to only be in a rather inaccessible and ulu (isolated) eatery location – you’d have to travel all the way to Kranji Farm Resort, but this Seafood Restaurant has since set up a second branch right in a cosy little corner of Sunset Way. This is definitely a cause for celebration for all seafood aficionados.

De-Beer-Interior

De-Beer-Interior-2

The restaurant was exceedingly spacious, with both indoors and outdoors seating available. Classic, gold rimmed high backed chairs with red cushions were placed around large, round tables which were draped with lush red table cloths – all very elegant, auspicious and fitting for a typical Chinese restaurant. Interior decorations were minimal, lending a very clean and modern feel to the restaurant.

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De-Beer-La-La-Bee-Hoon

The freshness of the ‘La La’ clams in De Beer Specialty Fried “La La” Bee Hoon ($18 for 500g; $34 for 1kg) pleasantly surprised me when I slipped one into my mouth. Succulent and tender, every bite into one of the La La released spurts of seafood goodness. If you like your noodles extremely wet with lots of sauce to pair with your noodles, De Beer’s La La Bee Hoon will be right up your alley.

Even though I would have liked the bee hoon to have had a little more of the ‘wok hei‘ (breath of the wok; smokey or seared) taste, the cooked to al-dente noodles were still a delight to slurp up, alongside De Beer’s fleshy La La.

De-Beer-Specialty-HomeMade-Beancurd

As it was so succinctly captured by its name, when my teeth glided effortlessly through De Beer’s Special Home Made Beancurd ($14 for S; $22 for M; $26 for L), I was reminded of my own mom’s home cooked food.

But with a twist: the beancurd was ingeniously topped off with pork floss, which not only worked well with the mushroom sauce but also added a new and exciting dimension to the umami taste. Despite the vegetables not being the highlight of the dish, they were still done just right: crisp yet not bitter.

This dish was listed as one of the favorites by every single one of us at the table – a testament to how delicious it is. A must-order dish for anyone who loves pan-fried beancurd or pork floss.

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De-Beer-Drunken-Sauna-Prawns

We all watched wide-eyed in wonder when the waiter placed a barely lidded wooden container which was incessantly emitting hot steam on our table. I think I even stood up at one point in time because the suspense was simply killing me. A small lift of the lid, a peek and I saw a glimpse of bright, red prawns at the bottom of the mysterious container. It turned out that it was De Beer’s Drunken Sauna Prawns ($30 for 500g; $58 for 1kg)!

If you didn’t know, stones, rocks and pebbles are excellent heat retainers. If you’re out in a jungle on some sort of survival course without a steady source of fire, it would be useful to remember that heated rocks have the ability to boil water and cook.

I digress, of course. It turns out that De Beer uses heated pebbles to steam the live prawns into glorious cooked prawns. I have to say, the trouble of de-shelling your own prawn is all worth it: the meat was pleasingly firm and sweet down to its very last morsel. Yum.

De-Beer-Salted-Egg-Crab-2

De-Beer-Salted-Egg-Crab

Ah, the highlight of the entire meal: De Beer’s Signature Salted Egg Crab with Crispy Cheese (Seasonal Pricing). The appearance of the crab initially threw me off a little; I was expecting a runny salted egg sauce which would be drizzled over the crab – instead, a good amount of salted egg goodness was crusted on the entire exterior of the glorious crab. I am not ashamed to say that I was licking the scrumptious and grainy egg coating off half the time I was devouring the crab.

The meat of the crab was piping hot, still steaming when I cracked the pincers open. It was extremely fresh with a delicate sweet after-taste to it. I was left greedily wanting more when I finished my portion of the crab. On my next visit to De Beer, this would be the first item which I would order.

Overall, De Beer Seafood Restaurant excels in their specialty dishes, most of which involve seafood. In my opinion, the most outstanding dishes from the restaurant are their Sauna Drunken Prawns and Signature Salted Egg Crab with Crispy Cheese. The freshness and quality of ingredients used compel me to return for another visit to the restaurant. I’ll see you soon, De Beer.

Expected Damage: $20 – $40 per pax

De Beer Seafood Restaurant: 106 Clementi St 12 #01-38/40/42. Singapore 120106 | Opening Hours: Daily: 1100 – 1500; 1730 – 2300 | Website

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