Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Ming Kee Live Seafood @ Macpherson Road

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A month has passed since the last Makansutra Dinner at Quan Xin Yuan. June 2013 Makansutra dinner was held at Ming Kee Live Seafood. Initially I thought that I was going to the same restaurant that I have frequent a number of time. It turned out that the son of Ming Kee Live Seafood has opened another restaurant with the same name just a few foot steps further down.

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Steamed Boston Lobster with Garlic 4.5/5

When the Steamed Boston Lobster with Garlic was served, everyone was like going wow! It was a generous and sumptuous serving.  The tonnes of garlic on top of the springy lobster flesh complemented it, allowing one to enjoy the freshness and sweetness of the lobster to the fullest.

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Braised Crocodile Horn Strip in Superior Stock 3/5

The dish had everyone guessing what was it because all of us could not tell what was the jelly liked ingredient. Initially I thought it was some sea cucumber but it turned out to be the crocodile skin. The Braised Crocodile Horn Strip in Superior Stock actually tasted like the peppery pig intestine soup.

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Jumbo Canadian Oyster 4.5/5

When the Boston Lobster was served, everyone at the table went wow. The table probably went triple wow, wow, wow! when the Jumbo Canadian Oyster was served. This is the biggest giant oyster I have ever eaten. Drizzled with a delectable black bean sauce, the combination was simple heavenly.

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Steamed Soon Hock in Hong Kong Style 3.8/5

The Steamed Soon Hock in Hong Kong Style was interesting cut into chunks. The snow white chunks of fish meat was light, firm and fresh.

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Smoked Duck Breast 4/5

The Smoked Duck Breast was very beautiful. With a hint of smokey fragrant, the duck meat was still pink, tender and moist.

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Guinness Sauce Short Rib 4/5

The Guinness Sauce Short Rib was evenly coated and caramelised. The short rib was succulent and packed with flavours.

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Triple Cooked Crab Beehoon 3.8/5

I was eagerly waiting for Ming Kee's signature Triple Cooked Crab Beehoon. It is a must order whenever I visit the restaurant. I like the version at Ming Kee because the beehoon is very flavourful absorbing and infusing the robust crab flavour. Unfortunately the Triple Cooked Crab Beehoon was on the salty side that day and I was quite disappointed.

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Homemade Coconut Jelly 3/5

Dinner ends on a sweet note with the Homemade Coconut Jelly. A light and refreshing dessert that somehow helps to cleanse the palate after a sumptuous seafood feast.

Food at the new Ming Kee Live Seafood is definitely top notch and good. The new Ming Kee Live Seafood does not entertain walk in, it is a private dining concept restaurant so do make your reservation first before making your way to the new Ming Kee Live Seafood.


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Ming Kee Live Seafood 
520 Macpherson Road
Singapore
Tel: +65 67445520
Nearest MRT: Tai Seng (CC Line)

Direction:
1) Alight at Tai Seng MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk towards Macpherson Road. Turn right at Macpherson road. Walk down Macpherson Road to the stretch of shop houses. Journey time about 10 minutes.

8 comments:

  1. Looks like the lime light was stolen from the Triple Cooked Crab Beehoon! No one wow at the dish?

    Soon Hock fish is normally one of the better fishes! I noticed that they have cut the fish up. But it looks like they forgot to deone the bone properly as I noticed that at the right side of the photo, there is a small bone sticking out of the fish!

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    1. Ya the lime light was stolen from the Crab Beehoon. Wow you even see the small fish bone. hahaha

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  2. Wow, I really miss the Crab Beehoon. It has been a long time since my last visit there.

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    1. Read from last Sunday paper the ex chef from Ming Kee is back in Singapore cooking the same dish at a bukit timah coffeeshop zichar stall.

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    2. Hi may i know where the bt timah stall is

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    3. At this coffeeshop called 7th Mile Coffeeshop at Blk 18 Jalan Jurong Kechil.

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  3. Do not ask me why there are two restaurants on the same street - it baffles me totally.

    It was painful finding parking here during dinner time. At least the 556 one was near to the HDB open-air carpark.

    I dined here with my family last December 2013 and it has taken me sometime to decide to write a review because I felt that this has really wrong.

    This restaurant has a window at the front of the kitchen where diners could look into. Was utterly disgusted when I witnessed the chef cooking and smoking at the same time in the kitchen. Is this allowed? How clean will the food be? The chef was also drinking whisky at the same time.

    Food was over-rated, especially the signature crab bee-hoon which tasted like it had been cooked with seawater. The Guinness Stout pork ribs were chunky and difficult to bite, especially for older folks.

    Service was horrible...there was only one waitress to service 4 tables who was also the order taker and cashier. We had to DIY to get our own tea pot refilled at a pantry at the back of the restaurant and our bill took the waitress close to 20mins to process??? My final bill for 4 persons was $363 which included a service charge of 10%???!!!!

    I suspect that I have been ripped off here. This is because like most Singaporeans, my family enjoys eating crabs and we have cooked our own Sri Lankan crabs at home before. We buy the big ones from the Tekka market for $37/kg and Ming Kee serves at $50/kg which is considered value as most major restaurants charge more than $60/kg. The supplier had told us that normally the big Sri Lankan crabs are available in 1kg/1.2kg sizes only. What really bewildered me was that the crab that was served to us was the most 1.2kg however my receipt showed that I was billed for 1.7kg which was like 500g heavier or rather $25 more, not to forget the 10% service charge that was imposed on the total bill?????

    We had ordered a plain steamed Soon Hock in Hong Kong style which was fresh and easily the best dish of the night but the final bill really made me uncomfortable. We can buy fresh Soon Hock from the market at $25/kg but I was charged $88/kg here. The one we had looked like it was the most 800g but we were billed for 1.1kg...

    We did have a word with the chef Ivan (the one whom I witnessed smoking) who gave excuses and said that he was not the boss and couldn't make decisions.

    We were sick at the attitude shown to us and just wanted to get out ASAP.

    To sum up, as food-loving Singaporeans sometimes we can overlook being "carrot-heads" when we eat out if it has been a fair dining experience, especially if the food and service is good, but this????? I think this has gone really overboard. These people should be put out of business.

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  4. Hi, I'm thinking of treating my family at Ming Kee, may I know how much you spent for the meal? I've only been to the one at 556 Macpherson Rd and I did enjoy the food. I wonder how the prices differ between the two Ming Kees. However, from your post (and several other bloggers) I think the set up at 520 looks more modern / comfortable so I'm thinking it'll be more comfortable for my family. Also, do you know if they offer set menu? Thank you!

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