Address: Blk 1206 East Coast Parkway #01-07/08, East Coast Seafood Centre, Singapore 449883
Tel: +65 64423435
Operating Hours: Dinner only: 5.00pm - 12.00 midnight
Website: http://www.jumboseafood.com.sg/

The occasion was to give my dad a treat for his birthday. The venue was chosen by my mum. The bill was to be paid by my sister. Me..I am just in for the ride..heh.

East Coast Seafood Centre was a common venue for my family to go to to indulge in seafood in the past. The sea fronting vista was a huge reason for its popularity with us. We had not visited the place for some time. The bright neon lights, signs in japanese, nicely laid footpaths and a constant availability of taxis attest to the success this place has with tourists.

The Jumbo Seafood website boasts of numerous awards - 10 most popular restaurant in Singapore, Excellent Food Award for exceptional culinary skills in Chilli & Black Pepper King Crab. Let us see if the food here passes my “must be cheap and good” ultimate test approval.

As to be expected, a sizable proportion of the dinner crowd was made up of tourists - Japanese, Caucasians, Indonesians… The place had apparently just been renovated. The 1st floor space was without air-conditioning and provides the opportunity to take on whiffs of the salty sea air. The 2nd level area is enclosed and air-conditioned.

The first dish to arrive was the Yang Zhou Fried Rice (S$8). Although the dish bears the moniker of a province in China, I don’t think the rice has any connections with that particular geographical location. The origins of fried rice can probably be traced to a bachelor looking for a quick meal and finding only leftover rice, bits of BBQ pork, eggs on the verge of decay (the decay is not quintessential to the making of fried rice…in case you were wondering) and some sad pieces of vegetables, decided to stir fry them together driven by the forces of ingenuity as well as hunger.

The Fried Rice here was neither ingenious nor inspired. It was mediocre.

The next dish of the Beancurd Special (S$8) looked like fried pork. It is however beancurd mixed with seafood into a paste and deep fried. I have tasted better fried beancurd before but at least this dish did not suck.

In quick succession after the Beancurd Special, the Yam Scallop (S$16) arrived. I note that the restaurant does not really plan the timing of the arrival of the dishes. Fried rice first…then constant barrage of fried items…no sight of anything with gravy. It could be a devious plan to make you order beverages (everyone knows that the beverages enjoy the highest profit margin).

I like Yam and I like Scallop. This dish however did not make me whoop with joy. It was however palatable and I would rank this dish tops in the line-up of dishes so far.

The Sambal Xishi Mussels (S$8) looked formidable. A heap of seashells topped with glooey sambal sauce. I was really enjoying myself slurping up the contents of the clams when my girlfriend mentioned that she had encountered a rather funky tasting mussel. Thereafter, my appetite for the mussels dropped a notch.

The case with bad timing continued when we were served the Chilli King Crab (S$33 for the 1 kg crab) and the accompanying Fried Buns (S$2.40 for 6). It is a universal chinese restaurant rule (or at least I understand) that the crab gets served last. To do otherwise is a travesty.

The crabs are of the Sri Lankan variety. They are famous for being huge. However, my first taste of the gravy revealed that it was really lacking in the oommph provided by the Chilli. The chilli gravy makes or breaks this dish. I was sorely disappointed. I suspect that the dish was watered down to cater to the delicate palates of the typical tourist (Japanese, Caucasian…). Damn you rich tourists!!! ( I seem to be making quite a few rants against these tourists…maybe I should take on a job as a tour guide and exact some vengeance by fleecing them…hahahaah…)

Crabs was followed by the Oyster Egg Hot Plate (S$10). Good, decent dish. I used it to cleanse my mouth of the tourist friendly chilli gravy. The hot plate had huge quantities of the oyster. I ate quite a lot.

The last dish was the Steamed Tiger Garoupa (S$36). I sampled the dish. It was inevitable that it would be bad. I found the flesh of the fish rather wooden. I think this fish had spent quite some time in the cold confines of a freezer.

Thus ends our misadventure with Jumbo. I am unlikely to return to this place barring the need to entertain some chilli-fearing tourists looking for a environment catered specifically to their needs. Adios…East Coast Seafood Centre.