Chimes October Crab Fest 2013

Craving for Crab? Well, you are not alone! :) My crab cravings haunted me for several months, exactly after I failed on my 2nd Singapore stop-over with a goal to have the famous Singapore Chilli Crab. I settled on the soft shell crab dish at Changi Airport and even splurged for a steamed blue crab in Downtown Dubai months after, but those crab encounters never helped me get over. I was on the verge of booking another flight with a stop-over in Singapore for our next homecoming, but early this week, I learned that I don't need to go that far! A 30-minute train ride can take me to a "Crab Carnival"!       

I was invited to Chimes October Crab Fest 2013 last Saturday. Chimes is a restaurant in Al Barsha that serves authentic Far-Eastern traditional dishes with a modern twist! Every October, Chimes celebrates the Crab Festival. It is a month-long celebration for seafood enthusiasts as four kinds of fantastic crab dishes are offered at a cheaper price. A large crab costs 129 AED on regular days, but this October, you can get it with rice or bread for only 109 AED.

I had four options, but of course, it's only the Singapore Chilli Crab for me! We initially planned to have the Pepper Crab as well, as we thought that the serving is only good for one. Good thing, the wait staff informed us that one dish is enough for two people. He was right, we were shocked when the chilli crab arrived on our table. It has a crab shell bigger than my hand, claws thicker than my fingers and was placed in a bowl larger than my head!

The moment I saw a huge palatable mud crab, I knew that I had to let go of the prim and proper ways. I cleansed my hands with a refresher towel and removed the outer shell. I was about to grab the claw cracker when I realized that it was already cut into four parts and the claws were already cracked! So, pulling out the crab meat was very easy. I took the succulent meat out, drizzled the sweet chilli sauce over the steamed rice and joyously savored the dish that could have caused another trip to Singapore. I was speechless! All I could say was "This is good... this is so so good!" 

We also ordered a starter. There were satays, spring rolls and other Asian finger-food on the menu, but we took the wait staff's recommendation; Salt and Pepper Prawns. It was crispy, flavorsome and very appetizing.   

Chimes also has Singapore's famous beverage Milo Dinosaur, but I felt it wouldn't blend well with crab and prawns. So, I had Baby Love, a strawberry-banana smoothie instead. Ed had the Lemon Mint Iced Tea which we both think was a perfect pair for our Singapore-inspired dinner. 

To break away from the Singaporean flair, we opted to have a classic Thai dessert; my favorite sweet sticky rice with mango, topped with sugar syrup and coconut milk. My husband who has a penchant for traditional Filipino desserts thought it has a resemblance to Suman. I definitely knew that he loved it because whenever share a dessert, he is usually satisfied with two to three bites, leaving a generous portion for me, but on that plate of sticky rice, we raced our way to the last slice of mango!   

I have tons of reasons to go back to Chimes. I have to try the Pepper Crab, the Milo Dinosaur and the Hainanese Chicken Rice which I fell in love with at Changi Airport. Let me end this scrumptious post by a Filipino tagline which my husband used to describe Chimes: Simple lang pero Rock! It is a very simple restaurant, but it sure did rock our world!

Location:

Chimes

Seven Sands Hotel Apartments

Al Barsha, Dubai
(5 minutes walk from Sharaf DG metro station)