Sin Hoi Sai Seafood Restaurant

A restaurant literally by the roadside, didn't expect to see one in Singapore. Recommended and treated by a friend when I said I wish to try the chili crab. Love the huge crab, very meaty and juicy. The chili (tomato based) goes really well with rice. The rest of the dish is kinda mid. Service was underwhelming very likely understaffed, forgot our drinks twice and end up with a wrong drink.

Had dinner here on a friday night, and the restaurant was surprisingly quiet. Service was responsive but a bit pushy, with staff repeatedly asking us to order while I waited for my friend. It also seemed only certain staff could take orders. Food-wise, the moonlight kuay teow and har cheong gai wings were the highlights—flavorful and well-balanced. The prawn paste chicken was served warm and crispy, and the moonlight horfun was full of “wok hei.” Overall, mostly hits. Decent food at good value ($50 for 2 pax).

I don't understand why the hate on the crabs. For me we had 3 simple dish, Mee Goreng, 海鲜炒面线 Seafood Vermicelli and Prawn Paste Chicken 虾酱鸡 $12.80. The Mee Goreng $9.80 is slightly above normal standard because of its sambal. However the 海鲜炒面线 is literally the No.1 standard in Singapore. The prawn paste chicken feels like the old couple's zichar style back in Bendemeer in the late 90s. Really must support this dish. If you missed Nostalgia, this dish will bring you back. If you find it bad, ask me for a refund. It's that good that I ordered a second small portion again. Remember to ask for the brown Teo Chew sweet sauce for the chicken, it's the sweet sauce that makes it perfect. However, try to go without squid for the two other dishes. It's apparent that squid is not easily flavourful even if it's really fresh. You get my point. Feeling really nostalgic and satisfied. 👍

Marmite Ribs and Prawn Paste Chicken are very delicious. They are not too salty or oily. Pork belly chicken soup is a bit too salty for me. Service is good. We came for dinner on Saturday and it was surprisingly quite empty. The restaurant was renovated in Dec 2024. Great value for money.

First time at this restaurant. Overall impression is the food is passable but not great. Service a bit slow and you need to make effort to get the staff attention. The frog legs in kungpow sauce was good. The rest not too memorable.

Expensive seafood restaurant but the quality and service is excellent. Their signature crab chilly was on point and lip smacking.

Made a reservation for the restaurant on a Saturday evening. Upon arrival, there were 3 big tables of tourists eating chili crab and other dishes. Which made me wonder if the food was good. As my partner and I arrived earlier than my family members, we were allowed to be seated first. The wait staff were responsive, however I felt like they were very pushy. 3 separate times I told them that we will wait for the rest of my family to arrive before ordering anything, but they kept coming back. The other thing to note with the staff, is not all of them can speak/understand English/Mandarin. And of all the wait staff, I believe only the lady boss can take order. We ordered a few dishes and were pleasantly surprised that they all came out rather quickly. The salt and pepper prawns were fresh and well seasoned. The tofu was hot on the outside, coated with that salted egg sauce, tender on the inside. Prawn paste chicken was slightly disappointing, the dish came cold and the chicken wasn't as juicy as we liked it to be. The spinach with 3 eggs was simple but delicious. Though my family felt like there weren't as much eggs as we hoped to see. The moonlight horfun and bullfrog dishes weren't as good. Horfun was lacking wok hey, the bullfrog soup felt like a thick goopy sauce. Unlike other places where the soup is light and refreshing. Overall, the dishes are 6/10. Passably good but won't make a trip down specially to eat here again. The whole bill came to around $130 for 5 pax (we only ordered 2 Chinese teas as drink).

Moonlight horfun relatively small in portion and tasted average. Levies GST and service charge but water is charged at $1. Wait staff were attentive but it seems like only the elderly lady is allowed to take orders and collect payment so some waiting is required. She approached the table with a wireless card machine at point of payment which was good but rattled off the amount to be paid without passing the pre-invoice to me. Had to ask for it. She then handed over the transaction receipt to me after payment and left without saying thank you.

This zhi char restaurant has been here for many years & has indoor airconditioned seating. It's on the pricier side. They get 3.5 stars. Sambal kang kong was decent. Hotplate beancurd was pretty good (though it used to be better): the tofu was silky & the pork gravy tasty. It was served sizzling (the sauce was poured at the table). Silver fish fried rice was pretty good: well fried (though without much smoky wok flavour) with crispy salted fish on top. Marmite pork ribs were great. There was some crispness & a good sweet-umami flavour.

I wanted dessert after my chili crab dinner. $20.00 SGD for a bowl of gingko nut pumpkin with yam. $30.00 SGD for red date ginseng bird nest. I can't remember the price for grass jelly drink and the other stuff we got. Total damage $80.15 SGD. 3 stars!! The only one I like is the gingko nut pumpkin with yam.

It's weird how when I'm in Malaysia, I crave the excitement of Singapore, but when I'm in Singapore, I miss the simplicity of Malaysian dining. You know, cheap, authentic (delicious!) food without all the pretense, eating outside in the humidity, rickety tables and plastic chairs and a roll of toilet paper as napkins. Anyway...I really love tze char. Sin Hoi Sai is within walking distance of my cousin's place in Tiong Bahru, in an area surrounded by old HDB blocks. We've been a few times for family dinners and food has always been solid. And according to my auntie, apparently it's popular with local celebs too? There's the air-conditioned indoor area, but they still have tables outside. While this place is far from Malaysian cheap, they do have good seafood-- my favorites are the chili crab with fried mantou, cereal prawns, steamed fish. And also the coffee braised ribs, though they are a little on the sweeter side.

Eaten here about 4 times... And that in itself should mean something with all the food options in Tiong Bahru! Two times I came here, it was all out seafood - crabs, oysters, prawns. All fresh and all well done. Not as expensive as some other places around the area but it is not cheap. However, the quality is there. I like their salted egg yolk crab better than their chili crab (though they are apparently famous for their Chili crabs. The other times I went, it was for simple dishes, late dinner - fried noodles, tofu, vege dishes. All well nicely done. Again, not the cheapest but the quality is there. One recent meal there, had the "moon" fried Hor fun (very good), Japanese tofu (nice), fried Pak choi with mushrooms (nice but abit too spicy for me). I had a warm barley (decent at $2) and my Friend had their Aloe vera with lemon, came in a short glass with crushed ice and a slice of lemon. Nice :) when the bill came, realise it was $6 still, good way to cool down :) Another good thing about this place is that it has a lot of seating (though if you are doing dinner on the weekend, no harm booking ahead) and it opens till late.... Or early, however you want to describe the wee hours of the morning :)

I have eaten here 3 times in the last year or so. The black pepper crab is my favorite. The fresh seafood are always reliable. I have also tried fried frog legs and they were really delicious! Crunchy on the outside, with tender flesh. I usually bring overseas guests here. It is not as touristy as Jumbo and the location is great for exploring other parts of Tiong Bahru.

Real popular mid class seafood chinese restaurant . Authenticity is here with a large majority of local clients. The food is fine, tasty, in line with Singapore standards, where all food products are imported. Atmosphere is fine but not sophisticated. Air conditioned room and outside tables. Kind service.

I am always fascinated by the extensive range of live seafood that this eating house Gone where the days were you had to dine by the alleyways, now you have the options of air-conditioned dining. Over the years, Sin Hoi San which used to be a no-frills tze char stall which has slowly transformed into a rather expensive seafood restaurant. Guess this is also due to the fact that it is a very popular supper venue for local and foreign (asian) celebrities. The food is above average that comes with extra perks of celebrity spotting. It is still a great supper place if you are craving for late night tze char as they are opened till 5am.

I have been on the hunt for my new regular chinese spot for a couple months. When I tried this spot, and I thought it could be the one! The place is really clean, polite staff, and not too crowded that you have to wait. The only downside, is it's not located within my neighborhood, oh well. We tried a lot of things but the standouts include: Moonlight hor fun - it's a fried rice noodles with raw egg on top of it which then you have to mix it well on your own on the dining table. Prawn paste chicken - it's the better version that I've tried so far; very fragrant, crispy on the outside yet tender and moist on the inside. They are like local version of korean fried chicken that I love as well. Really love this dish that I often joke to my friends I would come here alone and just eat the prawn paste chicken by myself. Also, IMHO, I think this is by far the best local Chinese food I have ever had in Singapore. I crave Sin Hoi Sai more often that I would like to admit. Believe it or not, this is the oldest and most popular restaurant in the Tiong Bahru area, that even many local celebrities visit often!!!!!! They have delectable extensive menu and I must say that most of them taste very good. It's a busy restaurant and perfect for family dinner. Service is quite slow during peak hour (but tolerable) as they're kind short of staff but it wouldn't hinder your food experience here. Will be back for sure, as I want to try more dishes!

Great place for the famous crab dishes of Singapore. Their chilli crab was impressive. Definitely more delicious than the rendition at Jumbo, where most outsiders have their first taste of the quintessential Singaporean dish. Other dishes were also good, on three visits. Service is good, even though some staff don't speak English well. The place has a nice and relaxed vibe. Prices are comparable to other seafood joints. If weather permits, sit outside. The indoor area gets a bit loud during busy hours.

This is one of the go-to places when you're hungry late at night because it's open all the way till 5am! After a night of partying at nearby Zouk, pop over here to grab a good supper. My friends usually opt to sit outside in the open air where its naturally cooling, rather than in the aircon. I recommend the San Lou hor fun, which is tasty and has lots of mushrooms, fish and beansprouts (which I personally dislike, but the rest of the dish is tasty). The Yue Guang hor fun (brown and comes with a raw egg in the middle which you mix in) gets a bit too much after a few bites. Also, their hei zhor and prawn paste chicken are not bad, and the Si Ji Dou (beans of some sort) is apparently quite good too. The seafood tofu though, not so good. Ours turned out rather sour, though it turned out after checking that the chef had added vinegar for reasons unknown, but the manager apologised profusely, took it off our bill and even gave us some jelly to make up for it. Excellent service!

A Tiong Bahru "zhi char" (煮炒) institution. SHS (Yes, they go by that acronym) has been around for ages. Pretty much a landmark, you see their bright lights and logo lit in neon in your rear view mirror as you drive past along Tiong Bahru Road. Long before the mustachioed, flannel and skinny jean wearing hipsters invaded Tiong Bahru, in the days of yore when bird cages were hung nearby, Sin Hoi Sai stood close to the intersection of Seng Poh Road and Tiong Bahru Road, beckoning to many a hungry customer disembarking at the bus stop in front. Over the years, I've seen it go from a shop occupying one unit to expansion to the adjacent building and getting an AC interior and signage lit in neon. It's always crowded for dinner. The menu is extensive, and the food is generally consistent and extra points for them being open real late (I mean as late as 5am!). They do the dishes generally well but I never ever found that particular standout or Signature dish. One thing close to that is the "Moonlight hor fun" (月光河), fried rice noodles with a raw egg cracked in the middle. It's allllllrrrrrright. Prices have increased over the years and you normally get dinged for the peanuts and the 3Ts (tea, towel and tax). But when it's late and you're hungry, this is the spot.

Situated on two corners of Tiong Bahru Road, this place is known for seafood in the first place and for late dinners in the second one. Late means really late: when I saw it, I remembered I had once been here at around 3-4 in the morning and the place in full swing. This time, I just walked across for a quiet evening meal and ordered asparagus with dried shrimp (about 28 SGD) which unfortunately was out. Not cheap this place! I finally settled for a classic: sliced fish with ginger and scallions (18SGD): about the most expensive I have eaten in SG but impeccable. Althought this is a busy road, it is somehow nice to sit outside on the pavement. Service is OK, though English not always well understood. I didn't have wine because it goes by the bottle, but I spotted a good Alsace Pinot Noir on the menu.

Usually the chili crab sauce is a bit on the salty side, but at SH it is not. So wonderful to soak it up with the bread as much as I want. The baby sotong is much better than most places that I have had this dish. Service is attentive and friendly.

I've been here a couple of times and so far I can honestly say I'm not impressed. There are a couple of pet peeves I have. The main one would be that the food always tastes different! There's not a single time or subsequent visits that the food tastes consistent. I don't think they use fresh prawns as well as the prawns in the hor fun always taste mashy and the noodles are lacking the wok hei to give it that extra kick. My advice is that they're cooked items are highly sub-par, and if you do visit here, go for their fresh seafood as the standards are better.

May 1 service a disgrace!!! service took 45 minutes, We had to remind them that we existed in order to be served our food. On top of they forgot what we ordered we had to remind them. In the end, still not getting all the dishes. Lame excuses instead of upfront apologise that we made mistake. How this place got a Michelin star is a mystery..... From today´s service its a joke Food is very good, no question. But be professional when things dont work out... I am not there to give you money for free, I am customer expecting to be served..... not the other way around SP

Probably my fav place for chilli crab in Singapore. Simple venue, ok service, very fresh food and right price (unlike most of other restaurants in this area :-s)

Went to Sin Hoi Sai yesterday. Made reservation to avoid disappointment. Had only 1 seafood dish: crab beehon -dry. I have to say, this was nicely done. Fresh crab, sauce and wok hei taste. Full of flavour. Highly recommended for casual fsmily dinner. Good service.

Wonder if there is a negative star to rate this place? They bait you with their "market price". DO NOT fall for it. Also served with food we didn't order and was forced to keep it. I figure oh well maybe another $50. OMG $112 for chili crab!! $112!!!! I about died when I saw my bill. They know if you're a tourist they gouged the price they know that you are not local. I hope someone check Yelp before checking this place out. There are so many other restaurants to choose from around the area that is way more inexpensive but good. Stay the hell away from this restaurant. Unless of course you have lots of money to burn.