Food Review: Irvin's Seafood at 4 Jalan Leban, Upper Thomson Rd, Singapore

Remember the amazing week I had? Well just before the day that I get to meet my favorite bloggers, I was actually invited for a food blogger tasting at Irvin's Live Seafood House at Upper Thomson together with some of my other favorite bloggers! Thanks to the invite by ms-skinnyfat, I joined Celes, Derrick and Melissa for a great meal at Irvin's.

I was confused for a moment when I thought it was still the old peranakan place Ivins, but no this is the one from River Valley and they have nothing to do with each other.

Irvin's Live Seafood House shifted here quite recently and not a lot of people know about it, so I am glad to have tasted it and now know there's 1 more good food place near my house to go to.
This was the spread we had, but just a snap shot.
The cuisine was Tze Char mixed with some Hong Kong delights, because the Hong Kong restaurant beside Irvins, LeBan HK Cafe, is actually by the same owner.

The interior is quite pleasant and spacious. Very chinese styled dining tables. They also have private rooms that you can reserve for free for functions or more intimate gatherings.


Well on to the food! We had 2 types of crabs that night. They were the belachan and salted egg crab. Prices are: Salted Egg Crab - $23.90 (S), $33.90 (M), $48 (per 1kg)
Balachan Crab - $19.90 (S), $29.90 (M), $48 (Per 1kg)

The prices are quite low, but the crabs were not very big/juicy so I don't think its really their main highlight when it comes to Irvin's. Just skip these and go to Ban Leong Seafood nearby for chili crab if you have a hankering.

The salted egg yolk sauce is undeniably good though. They sell them by the pot! So if you want something to spice up any potluck event you can buy it.


One of my favorite dishes of the night however was this little plate of Salted Egg Yolk Yam Chips ($9.80). Whoever dreamed this up needs to be given a reward. The salted egg yolk gravy that coated the crispy yet firmer chips just gives such a satisfying crunch and taste. Very addictive! 



We then had a mix of other dishes for the night, such as this Hot Plate Tofu with Special Minced Pork (S$12.80) that was alright. Pretty normal tze char fare. 


The Red Tilapia with Special Sauce ($32) is also pretty alright. The sauce makes it very palatable, and it was fresh.


We also had the Salted French Beans ($10.80), which is very bland for a vegetable that's cooked in these spices. Would not recommend it.

Other than the yam chips, I think the other dish that shown through was the "damn good" butter pork (#12.80). I finally found a replacement for the butter pork that I lost from Swis Ling at Outram now that they have moved out! Apparently the owner also feels that this dish is quite special, hence the "damn good" name.


We also had the Claypot Pumpkin Prawns ($13.80), which caused so much confusion because that dish totally tasted like salted egg yolk! Apparently our tastebuds were misled because we started with those salted egg dishes first. The chef insisted it was pumpkin. Well then perhaps that can be a healthier alternative next time.

In between our Tze Char dishes, we also had a smattering of LeBan HK Cafe's dishes brought over. Patrons can actually order from both restaurants to enjoy them. Great idea!

Just a bit on this new HK restaurant itself.

Leban HK Cafe was born in 1st June 2012 and located at No.2 Jalan Leban. Serving a wide range of funy food. The name of LeBan contain two words (in Chinese Pinyin), Le means Happy and Ban means Boss. In full phrase, the name LeBan HK Café means Happy Boss HK Café. Which is, at the core of what our cafe wants to achieve - diners to leave the cafe feeling like happy bosses! :)

We had the Chili Cheese Fries ($6.50), which was quite pleasant even if it wasn't piping hot when we had it cos we had to take pictures, of course. Pretty representative of the "HK-style" food of cheese.

Again, a similar dish with the Seafood Baked Rice in Cream Sauce ($9.80) which is also quite yummy! Definitely can up to par compared to Xin Wang or any other HK chains.


What I really liked was these 2 dishes though. The Crispy Butter Bun with Condensed Milk ($4) is just.. a fried bun drenched with said condensed milk but so delicious as a afternoon or supper snack!

The same with Savoury French Toast Bites with Ice Cream ($4.90). Freaking awesome delicious with it being in such bite sized. It is also served with New Zealand Natural Ice Cream. Now that is worth ever single penny.


There are also a few other savoury dishes like the Potato with Corned Beef Hash & Egg ($5.50). Rather good too, but will need some rice to go along because it is quite salty.


Then it is dessert time! What happens when you serve up a scoop of New Zealand Natural vanilla ice cream surrounded by a shot of espresso coffee? You get a bunch of bloggers photographing the Affogato ($4.80) while it melts, of course.

I also finally tried the Sun Fried Ice Cream ($4). I've never ordered it because even though immensely curious because I could never justify why ice cream needs to be fried to be even more sinful than it is. But now I know, it is sinful but so delicious. Probably not going to be my last time trying this! We had the Cookies & Cream and Green Tea ones.


It is also available in Vanilla and Choc Fudge Brownie flavour.

Well here are some parting shots of my lovely dining companions. We had such a great time!

Melissa aka melicacy and Derrick aka dashtaz of sgfoodonfoot.com

Cheryl aka ms-skinnyfat and Celes of celestialdelish 

Well to end of this post there's something in it for you guys too!


Simply Quote before making payment:
"Singapore's Most Handsome Restaurant" and be entitled to 10% discount at Irvin's
"Funky Food" and be entitled to 10% discount at Leban HK Cafe.

Skip the misses and go for the hits and this place is great for gatherings, families and big groups to just chill out over good food.







Irvin's Live Seafood House
4 Jalan Leban, Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 577548
Tel: +65 6836 5020
Daily: 11am - 11pm
Website


LeBan HK Cafe
2 Jalan Leban, Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 577547
Daily: 4pm- 2am
Tel: +65 6257 8801


2 comments
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