Fresh seafood, Thai flavors and charcoal BBQ, each a favorite in the books of many Singaporeans. Concoct a mash-up of all three of these and you will get The Seafood Krub, a not-so-visible restaurant hidden just minutes walk from Dhoby Gaut MRT station.
A traditional Thai charcoal grill is featured here and this ensures authentic charred and smoky flavours on any item that gets cooked. This is something that can be seen in Thailand but not here in Singapore.
You will immediately catch a whiff of this goodness, and get ready to smell like barbecued meat after your meal here. However, in the pursuit of good food anything goes, even if it means smelling like bak kua after the meal.
There are several ways to order here. You can select from a few sets, or you can order ala carte dishes. For the sets, you can choose from a Seafood Platter (2 pax M $39; 2 pax L $59) or a Vegetable Platter ($15). Meats have to be ordered ala carte.
With all our appetites aroused by the smell in the restaurant, we tried as many of the signature dishes as we could!
Seafood here is supposed to be the main highlight and that was what we started with. We had some Oysters ($1.99 each) which are eaten raw with some tabasco and lemon, or grilled over the fire. The oysters were shucked on the spot and the freshness was ensured.
The Giant Scampi Prawns here were really fresh and succulent. These are not your everyday prawns and have to be sourced from a handful of seafood sellers.
There was this full-bodied sweetness and the meat was fresh and the texture was perfect. One of the best barbecued prawns you can get out there!
We had some Japanese Scallops that came with their shells intact, making them ideal for grilling over the charcoal fire. These were large and had their roe still on.
Oh, did I mention that you can get a bowl of Mozzarella Cheese Dip ($2) to melt over the grill? Sprinkle some of the Mozzarella over the scallops before you start cooking them and you will get some really awesome cheesy scallops!
Now for the squid, you do not have to cook and taste this to note how fresh it is. And upon cooking, you can be sure that you will not be disappointed.
Grilled squid is one of my favourite grilled seafood and I gobbled everything up in seconds. Do note that the Thai seafood sauce provided complements this excellently.
For meat, we first tried the Ribeye Steak ($22), where the meat was tender, juicy and had a good full beefy flavor. This came marinated in the restaurant’s own recipe and we recommend that you get it medium-well to well for the doneness.
This is the best way to soak up all the charcoal flavour you can get from this grill. Especially since this is a ribeye cut, the grilled fat will be a highlight for the taste buds of all the meat lovers out there.
Typical Singaporeans might attest to the importance of having chicken wings on any charcoal barbeque. There were Chicken Mid-wings ($8) here and these came doused in a very unique rub. There was a certain umami to the flavours here and the slightly crispy skin from the grilling made the wings really delicious.
We tried the Dak Gogi BBQ chicken ($14) too and it has an even more distinctive flavour. An attempt to dig out information of what went into the recipe for this chicken was quickly and gently thwarted by our host.
In our own words, the tang here can be said to be liken to a “Korean-ish” chicken satay, and it was one of the better marinated chickens we have had.
Being the cheese lovers that we were, we got a plate of Mozzarella sticks to bump up the cheesiness of the evening. These breaded fried sticks came piping hot, crispy on the outside and gooey inside. It brought up vague memories of the kids’ meals that our parents used to feed us in order to satiate our loud wailings during mealtimes.
If you are looking for some charcoal grill with fresh ingredients all round, The Seafood Krub is certainly the place for you. We feel that fresh ingredients are important for a great barbecue experience and this restaurant offers that to its customers.
Expected Damage: $25-45 per pax
