Yeong Kar YanThe next time you crave seafood and have money saved up, think Fremantle Seafood Market, managed by Creative Eateries, an F&B group that has brought us restaurants like Shabuya and Tajimaya at VivoCity.
If you haven’t heard of it, it’s probably because it’s barely a month old. The inspiration behind this establishment is Fremantle, the famous bustling port city in Perth. So the eatery promises the hearty delights of Australian-style dining with their generous portions of food and comes with a restaurant, market and bar.
Strategically located to face the Singapore River, the restaurant tries to replicate the experience of dining by the wharves.
For hot and humid days, however, there’s the option of indoor dining as well. Tastefully decorated with artifacts from all over the world such as the mural drawings and vintage posters adorning the neon-lit walls, the restaurant’s brick and dark wood paneling channel the Victorian feel of Fremantle.
Looking through the restaurant’s extensive menu, a definite must-try is the seafood platters which start from $48 (1-2 persons) and go up to $148 for the Make Merry Seafood Platter (for a party of 5-6).
We thought we’d died and gone to seafood heaven when the waiter came with our Hearty Seafood Platter ($98) of stack tier upon tier of ocean goodness. It includes shellfish ranging from oysters, mussels, clams, to offers of salmon, mackerel, tuna, and a generous bucket of prawns. Oh, did we mention the lobster or the Alaskan king crab leg?
The mussels are briny with the taste of the sea, the crabmeat oh-so-juicy and sweet and the fresh sashimi thickly sliced. You may baulk at the price, but the seafood platter is very filling for a starter. In case you get overwhelmed, just balance it out by taking a bite of the cold dishes on the side that include olives or red peppers filled with feta cheese.
For the main course, we dug into the Tarakihi ($35 – 55, depending on weight), imported from New Zealand. The fish came served with a side of potatoes, mixed greens and 2 sauces – the chilli tomato, and mango. The mildly sweet flesh of the fish is a delight with the sauces and comes off the bone like a dream. From what we heard, the chefs like to experiment and you may get different sauces each time you come.
It’s not just the seafood that’s a triumph here, we’d gladly go back to Fremantle Seafood Market just to savour the desserts.
We especially love the Chocolate Banana Dome which is well… a dome drenched in lots of chocolate syrup, tiny little crunchy chocolate balls, and a cute golden flake on top with compote on the side. It was almost too pretty to eat. We sank our forks into the deliciously soft and sticky double-layered dessert, which went brilliantly with the crunchy chocoballs. Perfection if it only had just a bit more of the banana.
The place is not difficult to find and is just next to the bungee jump area in Clarke Quay. We recommend you come in huge groups as you may want to try as many dishes as possible.
Address: Clark Quay, Block 3E River Valley Road, #01-05/06
Telephone No.: 6337 1838
Opening Hours: 12 noon – 11pm (closed at 2am on Fri & Sat)
Rating: ★★★✩✩
All photos taken by Kon Xin Hua.