Chuan kee coffee-shop style night seafood restaurant serving an assortment of Chinese zhi char dishes. The seafood restaurant tucked in the along lower delta road and known for their rather affordable Chinese restaurant-style dishes, especially chilli crab. Their price range is also a fraction of comparable Chinese restaurant serving dishes. Let’s take a dinner dine-in today.
The restaurant sits in the canteen tucked in a quiet JTC industrial factory grounds. You won’t be able to tell that it is a restaurant establishment if it weren’t for the lights and signboard which stands out of the otherwise dark industrial estate. Also, The restaurant has a history since 1975 though not necessarily one grown out of this location.
The restaurant sits in a coffee shop canteen, where the place transforms into a full restaurant with tables spilling out onto the road. There are even balloons and claw machines to entertain waiting guests in-queue on peak days.
Try their Chilli crabs
Furthermore, at it’s core, Chuan Kee Seafood (Lower Delta) is a seafood zhi char restaurant. Recommended dishes includes stirred fired Chinese selections from the Chinese food flair. This includes hot plate beancurd, claypot curry fish head, stirred fried vegetables and meat dishes.
Their food offerings are not bad. Recommendations includes their signature Chilli Crab. It is one of the top dishes to try here at Chuan Kee. A classic Singaporean dish that is made with fresh crab cooked in a spicy, tangy sauce made with chilli, tomato, and egg. Still, I find the chilli crab at Roland’s Chilli crab at Marine Parade the better tasting one. Prices start at $75-86 per kilogram, where a dish typically set you back about S$125 for the crab dish. The crabs are best paired with an additional side order of mantou fried dough bread too.
Also, the crabs are also available in Salted egg yolk and Black Pepper variants, with the latter made with fresh crab that is stir-fried with a rich and flavorful black pepper sauce.
Fish head and other dishes
In addition to these recommended dishes, Chuan Kee Seafood also offers a variety of other seafood dishes. This includes lobster, clams, and scallops, they are often cooked with a local flair and bursting with flavors and spices, such as stir-fried with chilies.
Also, their Curry Fish Head is another heavy alternative to chilli crab. Also if you prefer a lighter meal. The uniquely Singaporean dish is doused with a coconut-rich thick gravy. Just like the chilli crab, the price of the fish per kilo is also dependent on seasonal prices.
Wrapping up with their non-seafood dishes such as their Kung pao chicken and claypot vegetable which are great for sharing as well as hotplate meats, such as deer meat, interesting selections of a staple zhi-char menu.
Other popular dishes at the seafood restaurant also include the Salted Egg Prawns. The dish that features succulent are coated in a rich creamy salted egg yolk sauce. Additionally, their Steamed Fish is usually cooked with fresh fish caught at the restaurant fish tank, that is steamed to perfection and served with a light soy sauce and garnished with ginger and scallions.
Also, I would recommend their fried rice too as an alternative to compliment your white rice staple.
A classic open air zhichar place
Moreover, seating is offered in both the coffee shop grounds as well as the ground floor corridors in the adjacent factory blocks. It does remind you of the zichar place like Melben at Ang Mo Kio or Keng Eng Kee (KEK) at Alexendra road. It has a similar open air coffee shop dining vibe to it.
Also, tables can spill over to the adjacent industrial blocks too on peak dining periods on weekends. Also, the venue has free parking after 6pm on both weekdays and weekends.
Additionally, the restaurant, probably taking a nod from Hai Di Lao hotpot, offering free flow of desserts (ice-cream and bean curd) appetizers such as popcorn, cotton candy. The ice tubes are reminiscent of those I had during my primary school days where they cost 10 cents each at the school tuckshop.
Your usual selections of beers and soft drinks are offered by a drinks counter which serves patrons in the coffee shop, and tea is served by the large pot.
Do avoid peak weekends dinner and go for weekdays for a better dining experience. One gripe of the restaurant is that your dishes tend to be served in no particular fashion and in peak weekends. It can get pretty hectic, so be prepared to wait up to 20 mins between each dish.
Also, it is worth noting that dine-ins at Chuan kee on a less crowded days yielded a better experience. In contrast, expect multiple dishes and rice coming out at a go, making your dining experience more enjoyable.
All in all, dining at Chuan Kee Seafood tucked in the along lower delta road is a delightful experience that brings you back to an era of old-school zhi-char. Do avoid peak weekend dinners for a better dining experience and do try their signature chilli crab on your visit. More often, you would leave your dinner satisfied.
Verdict:
Must Go! | Actually pretty Good | Worth Trying | Shortlist Optionally | Should Avoid
Makan Place Locality Map
Chuan Kee Seafood (Lower Delta)
1091A Lower Delta Rd,
Singapore 169207
Opening Hours: 12pm– 10:30pm daily
