Palm Beach @ Fullerton (2024)

Palm Beach has two things in its favour in the competitive Singapore seafood scene – location of the restaurant right at Fullerton facing MBS, and accredited for inventing the national dish – the chilli crab.

Palm Beach Seafood is located at One Fullerton, home to the iconic Merlion and where the Singapore River meets Marina Bay. The restaurant offers air-conditioned indoor dining as well as al fresco seating where you can enjoy the breeze and watch the sunset against the backdrop of Marina Bay Sands.

With over 50 years experience in the business, Palm Beach has created a vast array of seafood dishes, some of which that were invented Mdm Cher have become popular mainstays.

Live Lobster Sashimi with Lemon & Dill Herbs 柠檬莳萝佐龙虾刺身

Live Australian lobster sashimi served with freshly grated wasabi and soy sauce and lemon and dill

The live Aussie rock lobster can be done in any way you want, and with the freshness of the lobster sashimi is the best way to taste the clean, sweet taste of the lobster flesh. And the head can be used to cook porridge, braise noodles (our choice) or stir-fried and served as another course.

This was my favourite way of eating a live lobster – sashimi. It requires some skills to process a live lobster, as the sashimi would taste horrible if the blood of the lobster is not cleared properly. And you would need a proper sized lobster to get proper sashimi. This is a luxurious dish, only when you have an important guest or an worthwhile occasion to celebrate.

Grilled Satay 烤沙爹

Selection of caramelized grilled beef or chicken on skewers, served with rice cakes, diced cucumber, onion and warm pineapple peanut sauce

The soul of the satay is the sauce. Palm Beach satay sauce was overpowering with pineapple mash that you cannot taste peanuts or spices. The chicken satays had not fragrance from the charcoal grill; obviously it was grilled using electric griller. A miss, unless you have foreign guests and have no time to go to the nearby Makansutra street.

Crispy Baby Squid 香脆小苏东

Wild caught baby squids, fried crispy and coated in our Chef’s special sweet and spicy sauce. This recipe has been perfected over 6 decades; an iconic dish that is not to be missed.

OK, it was over marketed, but we always ordered this crispy baby squid whenever we came to Palm Beach. It was nice as a snack with the cold beer, but it was taxing with our old teeth. We are all nearing 60, and the jaw power wasn’t there anymore.

Palm Beach Signature Chilli Crab 棕榈滩招牌辣椒螃蟹

Live crab cooked in the Chef’s secret blend of chilli and tomato sauce, drizzled with egg white; garnished with fresh coriander

As the inventor of chilli crab, everyone had high expectations when they order this national dish here. Chilli crab is said to have been invented by Mdm Cher Yam Tian in the mid 1950s when she added bottled chilli sauce to her dish of stir-fried crabs, instead of using tomato sauce, her usual ingredient. In 1956, she and her husband began selling the dish from a pushcart along the seaside. Business was good and they eventually opened a restaurant in 1962, called Palm Beach at 514 Upper East Coast Road.

This recipe has been perfected over 6 decades since invented by Mdm Cher. I find it a bit too sweet for my liking, but my Princess loved it. The sauce has improved since the last time I came.

Palm Beach Signature Black Pepper Crab 棕榈滩招牌黑椒螃蟹

Live crab stir fried with french butter on high heat and coated with fragrant black pepper

Black pepper crab is attributed to Long Beach Seafood, but I think Palm Beach has the best black pepper crab in town. It is more buttery than Long Beach’s version, and better, more fragrant pepper was used. But I still prefer the white pepper crab from No Signboard, even though this was a really good eat.

Grilled Otah-Otah 烤乌打

Homemade spicy (mild) mackerel fish paste with aromatic fresh herbs and spices, double coated with white cod fish and wrapped in banana leaf

A local delicacy, the otah or otak-otak is of Indonesian origin but made better with prized ingredients like squid and mackerel. I would love for it to be spicier but Palm Beach clientele is mainly foreign, so they have to watch the heat (spiciness) department.

Spicy Kangkong 马来风光

Stir fried in sambal chilli sauce

Plausible attempt, nothing to shout about, also nothing to complain about.

Braised Lobster Head with Shang Mee 龙虾焖生面

This was the second course from the humongous Aussie lobster. The head of the lobster was chopped to pieces and braised with shang mee or deep fried noodles. The sauce soaked through the noodles and created a noodle course that had all the sweetness of the lobster and savouriness of the sauce.

Tropical Fruits Platter 热带水果拼盘

Chilled seasonal fresh cut fruits

And to round up the dinner, some fresh tropical fruits. Everything was carefully selected and top quality.

This is one of the most expensive seafood restaurant in Singapore, but it also has the best service and environment. With panoramic views of the city skyline to serve as a stunning backdrop, Palm Beach is the ideal location to experience authentic Singaporean food with friends and family, for business meetings, or to host private celebrations.

Palm Beach Seafood
#01-09, One Fullerton, 1 Fullerton Road Singapore 049213
Tel : +65 6336 8118

Visited May 2024