Holy Crab in Arcade @ The Capitol

Holy Crab in the Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore is a new restaurant for the camera eat first brigade or those who are delighted by puny menu and for those who like crabs. Anyone who falls into all three categories will find a visit to Holy Crab a crab-tivating one worth shell-ebrating.

Holy Crab @ The Capitol

The restaurant’s website says “forerunner of Singapore’s much loved Private Dining Scene, HolyCrab originally offered the unique experience of dining in Chef Elton’s abode, more than a decade ago back in 2009”. In 2017, it opened a quaint little 25-seater restaurant in Tan Quee Lan Street and moved into the bigger and more attractive premises at The Capitol late 2020.

Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski is an extension of The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore, housing a number of restaurants in the beautiful space of the heritage Capitol Theatre site. Holy Cow is in the middle of the row of dining establishments with the same one and a half storey layout and a cosy balcony. Its decor mixes understated elegant furniture with splashes of vibrant colours.

Holy Cow Menu

The menu of Holy Crab is like a children story book with peek-a-flaps and paper pop ups (see video from Holy Cow’s Facebook). The names of many of the dishes are puny and decidedly adult-themed.

Crabs will obviously be the main attraction of Holy Crab and also one of the key ingredients in many dishes. There are other seafood as well as meat and vegetable dishes on the menu. Pictures of a few pages of the menu are below.

Holy Crab Lunch

We had the Sawagani Crabs ($18) for starter and also ordered the Signature Holy Crab Fried Rice ($16).

The small Japanese freshwater crabs were deep fried and served with mayonnaise dip. They had a nice crunchy texture but not too much flavour.

The Signature Holy Crab Fried Rice was the least Insta-worthy dish of the meal but the most yummy. The portion was quite substantial – more than enough to be shared by two. The rice was nicely fried and had a smokey aroma. The crab meat were in small pieces but added flavour to the dish.

We ordered the CrabTree & Evelyn ($28) for its looks and to follow the advice to eat some vegetables at every meal. We did not meet Evelyn but the tree part was obvious and there was crab in the creamy garlicky broth. It was an interesting way to have crab bisque and broccoli.

Our non-crab dish was Holy Cow (Bone-in wagyu ribeye) at $24 per 100 g with a minimum order of 300 g. It came in a spade with just salt and fried garlic. The wagyu beef known for its rich flavour and generous marbling did not disappoint. It had charred edges and the meat was juicy and tender.

Crabs and More

Holy Crab in Arcade @ The Capitol is a nice place to go for crabs. However, it has than just crab dishes. Prices are reasonable. The restaurant is good for a simple lunch with colleagues or a lavish meal with the family. If you are bringing young children there, just be prepared to answer some awkward questions about the names of some of the dishes on the menu. On the other hand, it may be the perfect occasion to start a conversation about the crabs and the bees.