linda 17 October 2008 Malaysian, Singapore 10 Comments  Print This Post  Email This Post

Look no further for chilli mud crab

My personal belief is that once you’ve had the pleasure of tasting Singaporean/Malaysian food served at hawker stores, there’s no turning back. Whenever I have cravings for Singaporean/Malaysian food, we look back at the photos of our gastronomic adventures in Singapore and Malaysia and thank god for our great genes. Blessed with inheriting stomach of steel, we were able to sweat it out with the locals and eat in places most people in Sydney would deem rude and unhygienic. Who cares if you’d have to; witness the “chef” in his sweat soaked singlet and gum boots stir frying your noodles, share tables with a group of old ladies going about their daily gossip, or even sit under the hot tin roof sweating you ass off while being aggravated by the spinning fan producing no relief. The bottom line is, it is those places that will serve you dishes that has been passed down from generation without any modification to cater to the modern era.

We found that Sinma Laksa House is one of a few Singaporean/Malaysian restaurants that serves food true to it’s heritage. Upholding the tradition of hawker stores, SLH is a serlf service restaurant where you’d be expected to get your own cutlery, cups and water. Don’t expect the waiters and waitresses to smile or ask how they may be of assistance to you, just confidently walk up to the counter and collect your own menu, then walk back to the owner (no one else- as they do not speak english) and place your orders.

As this is a favourite of ours, a tradition that H and I have initiated with a couple of friends, Nogz and Gness, we order our usual.

I think I speak for most people when I say that my only experience with mee goreng are the packet Indonesian ones. Unlike tha packet one, SLH uses thick strands of egg noodles stir fried with eggs, carrots, chinese cabbage and slices of chicken breast soaked in a lovely tomato sauce gravy. Our friend Gness, an experienced indonesian foodie, proclaimed it one of the best Mee Goreng he’s had.

Penang Kway Teow

Reminicsing of our trip in Penang, the dish that stood out for us was the Kway Teow. Penang Kway teow uses thick rice noodle, stir fried in a frying pan atop an engulfing heat source. The rice noodle is stir fried with prawns, cockles, egg, chinese sausage, beansprouts and chives, all dressed nicely in a lovely dark/light soy mixture. Despite its efforts to stay true to the traditional recipe, SLH, lacked the heat source, thus was fried for a longer duration, resulting in an overcooked dish, with the rice noodle broken up into pieces. However, I must give them credit for not skimming on the seafood.

Teh Tarek

The Teh Tarek served at SLH did not have the “pulling” texture one may expect. It was drinkable, however, did not compare to Mamak’s.

Singaporean Chilli Mud Crab $56/Kg

The main reason why H and our friends have continuously made the trek to SLH is their Singaporean Chilli Mud Crabs. Here, we are able to choose the crabs we want from the tank and select the degree of spiciness. I’m embarassed to admit that whilst in Singapore, H and I, never had their chilli mud crab, therefore we cannot vouch for it’s authenticity. Despite this set back, we were quite impressed with SLH’s version. The sweetness of the fresh mud crab combined with the slighty spicy gravy made this dish unbelievably delicious. To ensure that the gravy did not go to waste, we mopped each and every inch with our baguettes until the plate was dry clean.

Call to make a booking a couple days in advance to ensure that the mud crab is available. We found that the price of the crab per Kg differ on the two previous ocassion we visited, depending on the season.

Giant Crab Claw

Complimentary Fruits

Like most chinese restaurants, SLH served complimentary fresh fruits.

Sinma Laksa House is definitely NOT a place one would go to for a romantic dinner or to expect great services. It’s a place you’d meet up with a group of friends or have dinner with the family. Order a couple of their fresh mud crabs, fried to your liking, with a couple of Malaysian/Singaporean delicacies like grilled stingrays, satay sticks or roti, accompanied with beer from the pub across the road, you’re gauranteed a messy but fun filled night.

Just a quick note, do remember to bring your own bread to mop up the chilli mud crab gravy, as SLH does not supply any bread. We found that a couple of loaves from Baker’s Delight did the trick.

Finding Malaysian/Singaporean food which retains the authenticity of hawker style other than Sinma Laksa House has been difficult for us. Can you help us out by recommending your favourite hawker style restaurants?

Sinma Laksa House
3/391 Anzac Pde
Kingsford NSW
Phone: (02) 9313 7663