My friend Lisa is moving to the UK next week, so to celebrate (is celebrate the right word?) we went to Harry’s Singapore Chilli Crab Restaurant for a feast. I’ve heard of the place before but hadn’t been there so I was eager to sample their crab, especially after looking at their website where they boast that “Nobody leaves the door unhappy”. That’s a pretty big statement.

Coming from a Singaporean background I had pretty high expectations. My grandma, the head chef of the family, makes the best food in the world, and the best chilli crab. So they had their work cut out for them.

After choosing a heafty 1.9kg crab we were each given a neck-to-waist apron and crab eating utensils. Two thumbs up to the apron, one for keeping us clean and one for saving pieces of meat that would otherwise have hit the floor.

The actual crab itself was really nice, big chunks of juicy crab meat (if you had the patience and persistence) especially in the claw – which was massive. But I think they failed on the sauce, it wasn’t that rich tomato / chilli mixture with bits of egg through it. It didn’t have that lingering aroma. Oh well… At least the salt and pepper squid was really nice, so if you like salt and pepper squid (and who doesn’t) head there.

After dinner we ventured out into the cold rainy night to find some dessert. I wasn’t quite satisfied with the crab so I’m glad my friends are into their desserts. On the way to Passion Flower we got distracted by the gelato display at this Thai restaurant on Campbell street. I think the place is called Chat Thai, but I’m not 100% sure.

I decided to stick to my gut and went with a good old fashion Banana Split. I use to eat these all the time as a kid so it really took me back a few years. Now you can’t really mess up a Banana Split, and they didn’t. It was just what I wanted, with a cherry on top (though I didn’t eat the cherry – don’t like fake cherries).