Team Singapore or Team Malaysia? Content creator flies to KL to find out who has the best chilli crab

It's an age-old debate: Which country has better food - Singapore or Malaysia? 

Well one Australian entrepreneur, Allen Fu, decided to attempt to end the debate by comparing the chilli crab dish - aka one of Singapore's national dishes - from both countries.

On Nov 19, Allen took to TikTok to share his experience of trying chilli crab at the renowned Jumbo Seafood restaurant at Riverside Point, which happens to be his favourite branch.

He got two mud crabs in chilli crab sauce alongside fried mantou buns, salted egg yolk prawns, seafood fried rice and stir-fried sambal kang kong.

@allen.fu88 Literally took a flight to eat this one thing. Are you a singapore chilli crab fan or black pepper crab fan? Anytime I get a chance to go singapore, there is nothing I crave more than this meal ?? #exploresingapore #whattoeatsingapore #singaporefood #singaporechillicrab #jumbochillicrab #traveltok ♬ original sound - Allen Fu | Entrepreneur

To get a flavoursome mouthful of chilli crab, he took the sweet crab meat (which took 45 minutes of deshelling) and mixed it in with a bowl of seafood fried rice topped with the gravy.

The verdict? "This is orgasmic," he concluded.

Hopping across the Causeway to try Malaysia's chilli crab, Allen went to Fatty Crab restaurant in Petaling Jaya, located in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area. 

@allen.fu88 Replying to @Vincent Chin Team singapore or team malaysia chilli crab? Major differences I noticed: 1. Singapore chilli crab tends to be fresher and fatter with bigger claws (mud crabs) 2. Singapore is sweeter and more tomato-ey with egg compared to the dark spicy and sour sauce of malaysia 3. The malaysian crab is smashed open with a hammer rather than picked out by a pick like in singapore Oh and the chicken wings are absolute fire, they’re probably the best chicken wings I’ve eaten in a long time that’s cooked thet way. Nice and flavourful with a tender juicy inside. I’m not sure I’m soold by malaysian chilli crab though. Call me crazy but I’m still a huge fan of Jumbos! The malaysian chilli crab though is about ¼ the price of singapore. We paid roughly the same price 385RM for 6 people compared to 402SGD for 4 people for roughly 2kg of crab + extras. #singaporechillicrab #malaysianchillicrab #chillicrab #malaysianeats #wheretoeatmalaysia #malaysianfood #travelmalaysia ♬ original sound - Allen Fu | Entrepreneur

Right off the bat, he noticed the difference in sauce colour, mentioning that it's darker than Singapore's version.

As for the taste of the sauce, he found it to be spicy and sour, mentioning "it's not as sweet as the Singapore one." He also mentioned in the caption that the "Singapore chilli crab tends to be fresher and fatter with bigger claws" as they use mud crabs. 

The restaurant didn't serve mantou, but offered toasted bread instead which Allen used it to savour the sauce. "It's got such a kick," he added.

He also noted that instead of using a pick to deshell the crab like in Singapore, he was provided a hammer tool to break the hard shell.

"This is what you call a meat pinata," Allen remarked. "We smack it to get the goodies inside."

He also tried the crab the same way he did in Singapore, complete with fried rice, crab meat and gravy. After his first spoonful, he mentioned "It's good, it reminds me of sweet and sour fish."

The total bill came to RM385.31 (S$110.33), noting that it's a third of the price of what he paid in Singapore.

So how much did he pay for his chilli crab dish in Singapore?

Allen confirmed that it was $402 in the caption and comments section. 

And of course, netizens were curious to know his verdict. In the comments section of the video, Allen replied to a user asking if he is Team Singapore or Malaysia, "I'm still a fan of jumbos [sic] more! Their style is more my taste."

One user commented that he could tell from the video Allen prefers the Singapore version.

And of course, netizens also expressed their opinion on which country does it better.

One user mentioned that the pull factor of chilli crabs in Malaysia is down to the cost.

On the other hand, a Malaysia user mentioned their preference for Singapore's chilli crab.

While a Singaporean netizen highlighted that one can't compare the two versions as the preparation style of chili crabs in both countries are different.

It just goes to show that taste is subjective.

ALSO READ: Does Singapore have better food than Malaysia? This UK tourist thinks so after visiting both countries

venkat.gunasellan@asiaone.com

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