Manhattan Fish Market II

Get crabby this Christmas, because we're gonna save some turkeys! Manhattan Fish Market gives a seafood-take on the traditional Christmas feast with a crab-filled menu featuring items like crab bisque, chilli crab spaghetti and even a crab platter. Alaskan King Crab, anyone? :)

Crabilicious Crab Bisque


The Crabilicious Crab Bisque was thick and creamy without being overwhelming. Not much crabmeat detected though, but I wasn't expecting too much for the price I was paying. Some at the table commented that there was a very slight sourish aftertaste but I didn't quite notice it since I spent most of the time dipping the fried mushrooms (below) in the soup. Thoughtful addition of croutons for the added texture.

Fried Country Mushrooms


I liked the Fried Country Mushrooms. These came fried to a crisp golden brown, and were all juicy and succulent inside. Nom nom.

Alaskan King Crab Platter


My favourite item at Manhattan Fish Market is actually the Flaming Platter for One, but I thought I should give the "dish of the month" a try. The Alaskan King Crab Platter comes with fried calamari, fried crab pincers (fishcake-like), chilli crab salad and of course, Alaskan King Crab legs. I thought this was okay, the crab legs especially, but the fried calamari and crab pincers were too... close on taste that it got quite monotonous after a while. My recommendation? Give an option to have your calamari grilled; I'm sure the staff would have obliged if you asked anyway.


Personally, I'm not a fan of having a cold dish side by side the other hot items, but this is what you get with the chilli crab salad right in the middle. I did feedback that MFM may like to consider having a hot salad option (same thing, just served hot instead of cold), but I was told it was really meant to be this way.

Grilled Gala Platter for Two


The table also had the Grilled Gala Platter for Two, which I thought fared much better than the other deep-fried platter - the Manhattan Seafood Platter for Two. I suppose it does come down a lot to personal preference, but grilled fish, prawns, calamari and mussels seem to go better with the (delicious) garlic-butter rice and fries. Hate to compare, but I prefer the rice here as compared to Fish & Co's.

Grilled Salmon Fillet


It's usually served with garlic herb sauce, but we asked for sambal instead and I thought it came out quite well actually. The thick slab of Grilled Salmon Fillet was sweet, fresh and very tender indeed.

Baked Fish in Garden Herbs


I'm afraid you will never find me eating something so healthy as this. Turned out to be a little too salty for the palate.


She's not meant for eating, but I couldn't resist posting a picture of my adorable niece Lucia here. Carrying her around made me want to be a Daddy as well haha!

*****

Thank you to Manhattan Fish Market for the earlier invite to a tasting session. As I (i) was leaving for Beijing when the email came, and (ii) had long quit the (free) food tasting scene, I left a note to say that I would be back in future. Of course you wouldn't expect me to have MFM honour its previous invite (and for me to bring more people now too!) and as much as they offered in all generosity to take the tab for all six of us I insisted otherwise. It's nice enough to have early info on their promotional menu, and for that I'm grateful :)

The Alaskan King Crab Platter may not have blown my mind away, but I'm sure I'm heading back to try that chilli crab spaghetti. The Pasta Shop's rendition of this is quite decent actually, but I'm curious to see what MFM comes up with. Look out for an update on this on my food-only Twitter.

Price
$55.90 for an Alaskan King Crab Platter Set (comes with two crab bisques, soft drinks and two servings of ice-cream)
$46.90 for the Alaskan King Crab Platter
$4.90 for the Crabilicious Crab Bisque
$7.90 for the Fried Country Mushrooms
$35.90 for the Grilled Gala Platter for Two
$17.90 for the Grilled Salmon Fillet
$14.90 for the Baked Fish in Garden Herbs

* Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service charge.

Place
Marina Square, #02-182.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.