In Singapore one thing we’re blessed with is an abundance of not only local but spectacularly good quality seafood ingredients from around the world. As most produce in Singapore is imported anyway, seafood is but one of many fresh ingredients that demands pristine travel conditions. Any seafood restaurant serving sub par seafood in this climate is sure to go out of business quickly once word passes around.
I love seafood and for me it’s special occasion food. Our family always had seafood at Christmas, instead of the more traditional cooked turkey, so I’m instantly reminded of good times and decadent spreads. Where possible I try and follow the Singapore Seafood Guide for buying sustainable seafood, although unfortunately it’s not always possible. In Singapore there are a whole host of seafood restaurants that specialise in different types of seafood and different cooking styles and below I’ve selected eight of the best seafood restaurants to suit different occasions.
The Naked Finn
This intriguing restaurant is hidden at the back of Gillman Barracks, a hard to reach spot in its own right. If you do happen to get a taxi up there, make sure you get them to take you all the way to the restaurant, otherwise the walk from the front gate will leave you a little sweaty 
The smart but small restaurant is casual and brightly lit with its clear walls on three sides. The simple but modern interior is comfortable and service is swift and efficient. The menu is unusual and specialising in high quality seafood that is cooked in the best way possible. You can go for a lunch set or a la carte during the day or dinner sets in the evening.
We shared four dishes. A ramen style soup with tiger prawns ($18++), barbecued squid ($16++), Barramundi ($16++) and Kangkong ($5++). The soup was the highlight for me. The rich broth wasn’t too oily and was filled with noodles, prawns and a gorgeous chunk of pork belly. The squid was tender and flavourful from the charcoal cooking and Barramundi was crisp on the outside whilst being soft in the middle, kangkong was a good complement for the other dishes.
I have to mention the cocktails too. Although I rarely (honestly!) drink at lunch time, my friend and I were just too tempted by the refreshing sounding flavours of the cocktails. I tried a Coconut Martini whilst my friend sipped a super refreshing Kalimansi Cocktail. Both were light but refreshing and complemented the food well.
The Naked Finn is not cheap but it is worth the money spent and you’ll be sorely pushed to find a compatible experience elsewhere. The cooking is creative, the seafood fresh and the ambience very relaxing and enjoyable. I’m looking forward to heading back there for dinner some time to try the dinner set. We paid $48 each including tax.
The Naked Finn (reservation recommended)
41 Malan Road, Gillman Barracks, Singapore, 109454
phone +65 6694 0807 (please call between 2pm and 6pm for reservations)
The Cajun Kings
For months now some friends of mine have been trying to get me up to The Cajun Kings in Serangoon. The Cajun Kings was one of, if not the, pioneer restaurant to bring Louisiana style southern cooking to Singapore. It was also the one to lead the way in serving food in plastic bags for everyone to dip in and get down and dirty whilst they enjoy their spice and seafood. Since you end up using your hands anyway I can see the logic in this.
The reason it took me so long to get here is because Serangoon is quite a way away from home, and there’s not many good reasons to go there unless you live there. It turned out to be quite an easy trip, although the cabbie was tentative as we wound our way through narrow residential streets. The Cajun Kings is on Jalan Riang right beside two other local favourites, Siam Society and Wimbly Lu. The restaurant itself is super casual, to the point where all the cutlery and place settings are plastic. Even the wine ‘glasses’. That shocked me a little . My environmental conscience was also playing flip flops with the thought that everything we used was being chucked in the bin at the end of it, but I did my best to ignore the voice. And to be fair wine was a stupid idea anyway, the beer is good and goes much better with the spice levels of the seafood.
My expert friend ordered our food thank goodness because the menu was one that confused me. There are a few different starters like frogs legs, fries and pork cracklings and then various combos for the main event, including mixes of seafood and sides. We were a hungry bunch and ordered four sides, two combos ($75 ++ for a mix of seafood, sausages, corn and fries) and two extra serves of clams for six of us. Which didn’t stop us topping up with a Dungeness Crab and a Lobster and more clams once we’d finished all that!!
I have to say the food was really good. Razor clams (or Bamboo clams as they call them) were moist and tender and super garlicky but very moreish. The sweet potato fries were also a hit, crispy and sweet to offset the spiciness of the seafood, same for the corn on the cob. Frogs legs were also good, they were fried but very tender and tasty (I did laugh when after eating them Husband said how much he enjoyed the ‘chicken wings’!) The prawns were some of the best I’ve tasted, not watery like they can often be in a restaurant, instead they were succulent and well spiced. We went with level 2 and level 3 spices and truthfully I couldn’t tell too much between them, the spice was such that it was tasty and lingered, so the level 3 did become spicier but not in a bad way, in a very good way. I didn’t go for the lobster or crab (again, I’m a bit stupid, my laziness prevented me from digging in, but given that a quarter of our bill was dedicated to those two items, more fool me!).
The big negative for me at The Cajun Kings is the messy hands. I blame my Dad. We were forever in trouble at home as kids if we licked our fingers and to this day I’m really not a fan of getting my hands dirty when I eat. And this was dirty hands like up to your wrists covered in spice and sauce. Delicious sauce granted, but still. The privilege of eating like a caveman is not cheap either, we paid $125 per head inclusive of tax for A LOT of food and three pitchers of beer between six.
The Cajun Kings (reservation recommended)
15-1 Jalan Riang, Singapore, +65 6284 4426
Penang Seafood
Penang Seafood was where I tried one of my first Fish Head Curries in Singapore. Memorable for the spiciness for sure but also the succulent flesh of the fish. Penang Seafood also gets my vote in this list because they (obviously) specialise in seafood. So here you can also order various other local seafood specialties like Assam Steamed Red Grouper, Chilli Crab and Cuttlefish. I suggest if you don’t like things too spicy you mention that when you order. You’ll pay varying market prices for fish head dishes but you shouldn’t spend more than $30 each.
Penang Seafood
76 Lorong 25A, Singapore, 388258 (just near Aljunied MRT)
phone +65 6841 3002
The Pelican Seafood Bar & Grill
As far as combining your seafood with spectacular views, you can’t go past The Pelican. Located across the water from Marina Bay Sands you have a prime view if you sit outside on the comfortable deck. I’ve written about The Pelican before as a great restaurant to take your visitors to and it’s for two reasons. The view and the food. You can read more here.
The Pelican (reservation recommended)
1 Fullerton Road, #01-01 One Fullerton, Singapore, 049213
phone +65 6438 0400
Aoki
A list of seafood restaurants just has to include a restaurant for sashimi and Aoki has the best that I’ve tried. Although super expensive for dinner, the set lunches here are a steal at between $33++ and $38++. For that you get amuse bouche (potato salad on my visit), green salad, a huge plate of mixed sushi and sashimi, miso soup and a trio of desserts. The sashimi tuna is mouthwatering. You can read more about it here.
Aoki (reservation recommended)
1 Scotts Road, #01-17 Shaw Centre, Singapore, 228208 (entrance off the little side street next to Shaw Centre)
phone +65 6333 8015
Longbeach UDMC
Chilli crab, although not my favourite dish by a long stretch, is still an iconic Singaporean dish that I feel needs a mention in a list of the best seafood restaurants. Regular readers will know that I’ve long favoured Longbeach UDMC for chilli crab, in part due to the good crabs but also for the location along the east coast. It’s another favourite place to take visitors to enjoy a cycle along the coast followed by chilli crab and crispy mantou rolls. The other fresh seafood available at this branch is also good. You can read more here.
Longbeach UDMC
#01-04 East Coast Road Seafood Centre, Singapore, 449811
phone +65 6448 3636
Sambal Stingray at Newton Food Centre
Sambal Stingray is another of those iconic Singaporean dishes that warrants a mention in the top seafood restaurants. It’s such a simple meal but when done well it really is a great meal. It’s one of the healthier options at a hawker centre too if you’re watching what you eat (my picture above looks oily but it really wasn’t). I’ve tried a few at different hawker centres but the one I enjoyed the most was at Newton.
Lucky Newton Seafood Stall
#82 at Newton Circus Food Centre (only open in the evenings)
500 Clemenceau Avenue North, Singapore
New Ubin Seafood (great promotion on crabs, buy two get one free!)
Tucked up in a little alley way near Sin Ming Road (just past Macritchie) is the well known New Ubin Seafood. Truthfully it’s well known for seafood and for steak. They do a minimum 500g for $60 (+ gst only) which is not bad value at all for Singapore. We were only two girls so instead we went with the salted egg squid, kang kong with sambal, tofu with egg and and pork ribs. The food was good, in particular I really enjoyed the tofu, it arrived sizzling to the table with egg in the bottom and a thick and rich pork mince gravy. Salted egg squid was good but the salted egg wasn’t as crispy as when I’ve tried it previously. Service was swift and efficient and there’s a great atmosphere in here. Plus, there’s currently a promotion one crabs, prawns and bamboo clams, buy two and get one free. It’s a Christmas promotion so I guess it’s on for a little bit and this is super value. My only downer on New Ubin is that they serve Sharkfin soup – big black mark . They seem to be into feedback though so I’m going to raise this with them and see if I can’t get them to replace it with something.
New Ubin Seafood (reservation recommended)
Block 27, Sin Ming Road, Sin Ming Industrial Estate, Singapore, 575680
What do you think? Do you have a favourite seafood restaurant in Singapore?
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