Singapore, chili crab & shark's fin soup

[Sorrows]

Okay, I know this is a weird one.

So we leave for Lembeh in one week, with a two-day stopover in Singapore. Naturally, we want to try the chili crab and have reservations at Jumbo for my son's 22nd birthday. All good--until I notice that (seemingly) every seafood restaurant in Singapore serves Shark's Fin Soup! An ethical dilemma for a scuba diver! They also serve other items that I feel a bit squeamish about, but the shark's fin soup has to be the most egregious.

I hear that there are places that have shark's fin soup on the menu but don't actually make it from REAL shark's fins. I wonder if any of the more seasoned travelers here would know more about that? Any recommendations for us?

Believe it or not, we don't just plan to eat in Singapore, so any other suggestions/advice/guidance would be greatly appreciated!

 

[AleG]

...
I hear that there are places that have shark's fin soup on the menu but don't actually make it from REAL shark's fins. I wonder if any of the more seasoned travelers here would know more about that?
...

Fake shark fin soup? they probably use manta fins instead. :yuck:

Singapore is quite small, you can take a walk around some of the ethnic neighbourhoods, there's also an interesting museum, if you are into that sort of things, on top of Caning Hill, a large bunker used by the British and Japanese during WWII.

 

[AaronRiot]

Just stay away from the fin soup period. Fake or not it encourages the slaughter.

 

[rusti999]

The best crab (black pepper, NOT chili) I had in Singapore was at Eng Seng:

Eng Seng Black Pepper Crab - Review of Eng Seng Restaurant, Singapore, Singapore - TripAdvisor

No shark fin soup, AFAIK. However, if you are looking for a fancy restaurant, you might be disappointed, though. This is on the side of the road, kind of outdoor, no AC. In general, when I'm in Singapore, I look for food in food courts and roadside places; when you are there you can try to find the Makan Sutra guidebook to check out which places to go to for different kinds of dishes:

http://www.makansutra.com/guides.html

One exception I make is to go to Din Tai Fung for xiao long bao (soup dumplings). There are a few locations in Singapore, one somewhere on Orchard Rd.

As far as suggestions on what to do besides eating, what are you interested in?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Hainanese chicken rice!

For non-eating activities, the botanical gardens are first rate.

 

[pughio83]

Great food in and around boat and Clake's quay but many seafood restaurants have sharks
Fin soup. I often sit down on purpose then walk out and tell them it's bcoz of the sharks fin!! But the best food is usually local eats.

The quays have great atmosphere but beware, some of the seafood restaurants at boat quay are a rip off, £12.50 for a bowl of fried chicken rice and a coke at some of them, then they charge u for napkins and peanuts! One dish on the menu was like £1000, some hanging budda dish or something like that!

Singapore zoo is an absolute must, the aquarium is pretty good too, night safari is also excellent. Sentosa island cable car for views, botanical gardens are beautiful, china town for the experience, raffles hotel for a Singapore sling, ritz Carlton art museum.

 

[Sorrows]

Just stay away from the fin soup period. Fake or not it encourages the slaughter.

Just to be clear--we don't want to eat shark's fin soup, fake or otherwise. We just don't want to patronize any restaurant that serves the real thing. But we really want to try the chili crab...hence the dilemma.

We're planning to spend our two days mostly walking around the various neighborhoods and eating lots of hawker food--that's assuming we can take the heat! Otherwise, the museums look good...

I love all he WWII stuff. We went to Peleliu in Palau, and I've read King Rat and The Singapore Grip. I would be interested in Changi or the Battle Box--I guess it depends on time constraints and how energetic we feel after flying for 27 hours. Really not looking forward to that part!

 

[rusti999]

Three walking tours from the National Geographic:

Singapore Walking Tour: The Padang -- National Geographic's Ultimate City Guides
Singapore Walking Tour: Little India Temples -- National Geographic's Ultimate City Guides
Singapore Walking Tour: Chinatown -- National Geographic's Ultimate City Guides

You might also be interested in Fort Canning, where the Battle Box is (but there's much more there):

Parks and Gardens

There are also a couple of guided walking tours related to WW2:

Welcome to The Original Singapore Walks!
Welcome to The Original Singapore Walks!

That should be plenty for you.

 

[Sorrows]

Thanks, everybody! Still don't know what to do about the chili crab, but I'm sure we'll work it out somehow.

 

[MSDT476614]

Thanks, everybody! Still don't know what to do about the chili crab, but I'm sure we'll work it out somehow.

Just go eat what you want. Jumbo is for tourists. 'No Signboard' restaurants (chain) are better in quality IMO and more reasonably priced as well.

At this point in time the shark's fin soup consumption is diminishing in Singapore through 'voluntary' actions by local supermarkets and larger hotel establishments. A 'seafood' restaurant is afterall what its namesake implies. (I'm imagining a PETA lover saying I want to eat fries at MacDonalds/Nations/BK/KFC but I hate that they serve meat there.)

If you'd like to have chilli crab / black pepper crab / salted egg yolk crab (highly recommended) in a 'restaurant' that does not serve shark's fin per se you might want to visit some neighbourhood 'zi char' stalls. There are some good ones around and I'd be more then happy to bring you and your family around if you hit this part of the world. No, I do not own any of these restaurants / stalls.

Alternatively, many large 5 star hotel in Singapore will serve you chilli crab if they have the dish and most of them do not serve shark's fin anymore or so they claim.

For a nicer overall dining experience I'd still recommend a slew of seafood restaurants our at East Coast Park. You do not have to order 'that' dish. Pay a bit more for the ambience to dine outdoors.

Note: you are coming these few months? Its monsoon season so expect quite some rain in Singaopre/Malaysia.

Wish you a nice visit and good diving on your trip!