Address: 965A Upper Changi Road North, Changi Garden, Singapore 507665
Tel: +65 65421287
Website: http://www.singaporemirror.com.sg/co_ponggol.htm

I am sick. I caught a flu bug from someone. What was even more vexing was that my sickness had to fall on a weekend. Arrgghhh… Any hoot, if this post is incoherent, please give your understanding.

Last friday, a dinner was organised by the gang that I regularly play basketball with. Somehow or other, it turned out to be a “bring your spouse or girlfriend/boyfriend” event. The venue decided was the famous Ponggol Choon Seng Restaurant. Now, when Singaporeans talk about seafood, there will always be a reference to a particular restaurant situated in Ponggol. The legend of the seafood from Ponggol has reached reverential levels.

With urban development encroaching on the former backwaters of Ponggol, the restaurant has shifted. It is now re-located to yet another obscure place, tucked into the compound of a private residential area. A prominent landmark being the Female Prison located a stone’s throw away.

Front entrance and interior of the restaurant.

This was also a occasion for BT to formally introduce his girlfriend to us. She is a sweet girl from Medan who fell for the charms of the Teochew boy from Novena. Of course, we all took turns to bombard the new couple with questions…heh heh. With the interrogation done, BT took control and made the decisions for the courses we were to sample. This is BT at his most commanding and imposing. He is by far the ultimate foodie.

Our culinary adventure began with the Crispy Duck (S$35). A more plebian version of the Peking Duck, it is eaten the same way - the duck meat and skin along with celery and dark sweet sauce are wrapped in thin flour pastries. Even though my illness had neutered my sense of taste, the seasoning of the duck pierced through my stupor. It was quite yummy.

My already traumatised throat gave a yelp of despair when the next dish was served - the Prawn Pancake and Ngo Hiang Set (S$16). Loved the Ngo Hiang (background), hated the Prawn Pancake (foreground).

The Partin Fish Steamed Hong Kong style (S$48) provided some respite for my sore throat. In local parlance, Hong Kong style means light soy sauce is used. Fish was fresh as expected.

The Sweet Potato Leaf (S$10) and Hong Kong Kailan (S$14) provided fibre for our poot poot needs.

The Mee Goreng (Malay for fried noodles done spicy and with seafood ingredients, S$12) was raved about by other local food reviewers. I thought that the noodles were a tad too sweet and could do with more chilli. However, the consensus at the table was that it was excellent. So don’t take my word for it.

The pride of the restaurant and the highlight of our dinner was the Chilli Crab (S$77 for 2 whole crabs). The Chilli Crab is one of our national dishes. When tourists or friends from abroad visit Singapore, they will invariably be led to sample Chilli Crabs. It is like an obsession the way Singaporeans promote their food. I guess a reason being that facts like we have one of the cleanest government, or that we have a super efficient police force, or that we pay ridiculous amounts of money for our housing and vehicles, or that we pay quite a lot of money to spruce up our city with trees, greenery and what not, do not really make for interesting conversation.

Oodles and oodles of chilli sauce mixed with egg and other spices provided the base for the huge steamed crabs to sit on. There is no way to look elegant while eating Chilli Crabs. Expect to have bits of the hard shell and splatterings of the sauce on your clothing by the end of the day.

The fresh crab ,dug out from the shells in any way possible, is eaten together with the groovy sauce. With the crabs finished, a ritual is to wipe up the remaining sauce with the fried bread.

The Seng Choon version ranks as one of the better Chilli Crabs I had. The hot chilli flavour is not dumbed down for the tourist palate. Go try it.

We thereafter settled down to our favourite activity of talking about old times - how a few of us nearly went to jail for some petty thefts in our teens…how you can raise your temperature to get medical leave the next day by eating half a tube of toothpaste (a trick learned in the army)..etc…etc.