THINK of East Coast Park in the 80s and the image that comes up could well be Big Splash's circular buildings with colourful spirals and slides, and also the neon-lit lobster for Seafood International.

The lobster logo has been re-lit, at the same spot, after a hiatus of one-and-a-half years when the place was undergoing renovation. Now, the 25-year-old has re-opened at its original venue which has been rebranded as Playground@Big Splash.

The market-style restaurant has been stylistically revamped, but food-wise, it still maintains the same Thai-Chinese seafood cuisine that it's known for.

The novelty is that patrons get to pick their own catches of the day with a shopping cart. They also choose their greens as well, and an organic section is in the planning.

The 18,000 sq ft restaurant, with ceiling-to-floor glass walls, includes an open dining area for 200, 20 private rooms, and also some 270 seats at the alfresco area.

The kitchen is also now an open-concept show kitchen, helmed by Chinese and Thai chefs. The Thai twist is much appreciated in a few of the dishes. The green lobster ($9.80 per 100g) and prawn sashimi, for instance, is served with a sour, piquant Thai green chilli sauce. Not that the crunchy-fresh and naturally sweet lobster and prawns needed much sauce-dipping.

Another special dish is the Sakura chicken, Japan-imported chicken braised with the restaurant's special sweet-savoury sauce in a hot stone pot (starts from $14 for a small).

The 'golden platter' sees slices of pumpkin covered with a veneer of salted egg yolk and stir-fried with a dash of Carnation milk ($12 upwards).

For crab, there's the choice of having it in Thai curry, which is a richer, unsweetened curry base. Go for the regular chilli crab version if you like it sweet.

And if you like your pad thai springy and dry, then this is the place for it. Desserts aren't great though, being rather run-of-the-mill fare prepared like an afterthought.

Seafood International's revamp and expansion - it's the anchor tenant and landlord for Playground@Big Splash - has made it quite a destination dining place, especially for those entertaining overseas guests.

Seafood International
902 East Coast Parkway, Block A, #01-01,
Playground@Big Splash
Tel: 6345 1211

This article was first published in The Business Times on Mar 15, 2008.

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