@mellbensignature_sg is one of the most established seafood restaurants in Singapore, and I got to experience why they’ve been doing brisk business since 1985. We ordered a Soon Hock ($70++ for ours) done Hong Kong style, and we were absolutely thrilled by just how stellar the soon hock was.⠀

Hong Kong style fish is shockingly simple, but is stunningly sapid if all the elements are perfect. And here at Mellben, everything was definitely perfect. The soon hock was unbelievably fresh, and it might even have been swimming around in a fish tank just before we ordered it. Press F to pay respects to the fish, and to honour its delicious sacrifice. The stunningly fresh fish is steamed to perfection with the sauce mixture, consisting of (but not limited to) light soya sauce, hua tiao chiew (aka shaoxing rice wine), some Ve Tsin (MSG), a dash of sugar, some scallions and a lot of ginger.⠀

That’s all that is required for a fabulous fish dish. The sweet, supple flesh of the perfectly steamed fish is infused with the superbly savoury flavours of the sauce mixture. The steamed Hong Kong style fish may be simple, but it is certainly an ethereally excellent dish. I would recommend washing the saltiness down with a bottle of wonderful Sauvignon Blanc from Villa Maria. Normally, seafood restaurants have below average to average wines, but Mellben has this stunning sav blanc on their wine list that’s too good to be missed out on, just like this fantastic fish.