Are you a crab lover? Jumbo Seafood makes its debut with ten signature live crab dishes.

▲Jumbo Seafood debuts with ten signature live crab dishes.

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan, Taipei

The renowned restaurant "Jumbo Seafood," ranked first among the Singapore Tourism Board's top 10 seafood restaurants, has arrived in Taiwan,with its first Taiwanese branch officially opening on December 16th,located on the 3rd floor of A8 at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi New World. In addition to its signature chili crab and pepper crab, Jumbo Seafood also brings seven other crab dish flavors, along with ten famous Singaporean dishes, allowing everyone to enjoy them without traveling to Singapore.


▲Signature chili crab.

Jumbo Seafood specializes in live, freshly prepared crabs. On the left side of the restaurant entrance, there is a 4.6-meter-long aquarium where customers can choose their preferred crab or king crab, and then select their preferred cooking method. In addition to the signature chili crab and black pepper crab, there are also white pepper, salt & pepper q, steamed with soy milk and egg white, golden sand, creamy q, stir-fried with ginger and scallions, claypot vermicelli, and silky cream — a total of ten live crab preparation styles, covering fried, stir-fried, steamed, and q dishes, satisfying every food lover’s preferences.


▲Pepper crab.

Chili crab is a must-order dish at Jumbo Seafood, and the secret to its deliciousness lies in the sauce. It combines Southeast Asian spices such as chili, candle nut, and turmeric powder, with a tomato-based sauce to create a spicy yet sweet and sour flavor. The specially made sauce is topped with bright red chili oil and stir-fried together with the plump, fresh crab, fully coating the crab. To maintain the same taste as the flagship store in Singapore, Huang Chung-yuan, Jumbo Seafood’s kitchen operations director, stated that in addition to defining the SOPs for each dish, sauces and seasonings are all transported from Singapore to each branch, including the one in Taiwan.


▲Golden thread creamy fried crab.


▲Claypot vermicelli crab.

As for the crabs used, Zeng Boxian, CEO of HeXing Catering — a joint venture between Jumbo Seafood and local Taiwanese partners — said that both Taiwan and Singapore source their crabs from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Vietnam, mainly the large sand crab (Sri Lankan crab), with each weighing over 1 kilogram, almost larger than a human face.

Regarding pricing, Jumbo Seafood President Huang Jianming explained that since the live crabs are imported from abroad, costs such as tariffs apply, so the price of live crab dishes in Taiwan is slightly higher than in Singapore. Prices for live crab dishes at Jumbo Seafood Taiwan are based on market rates, with no fixed price, but roughly around NT$2,980 per kilogram.


▲Nyonya-style fried Nile tilapia.


▲Mocha spare ribs.

This time, Jumbo Seafood has also brought ten of Singapore’s most iconic dishes to Taiwan, namely cereal prawns, Nyonya-style fried Nile tilapia, soy-braised cod, cheese mentaiko grilled prawns, scallop with mashed taro, steamed cod with spicy pickled radish, honey-pepper lamb chops, wok-seared beef fillet, mocha spare ribs, and jade tofu. Among them, Nyonya-style fried Nile tilapia involves separating the fish meat from the bones before deep-frying until crispy — even the fish bones are edible. Prices range from NT$288 to NT$1,056.

Currently, Jumbo Seafood has five outlets in Singapore, five in mainland China, one in Vietnam, and its first Taiwanese branch is its 13th store. Looking ahead, Jumbo Seafood plans to expand to eight branches in Taiwan.

Address: 3F, A8, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi New World, No. 12, Songgao Rd., Xinyi District, Taipei City
Phone: (02)2720-7333