Singapore｜SHAO TAPAS 烧

Had dinner with some friends visiting from Italy, the vibe and concept is a great way to host foreign friends with local food and drinks. The food was executed and presented well, the tapas-like portions allowed us to try many dishes. The outstanding dishes were the black ink cuttlefish sausage and raw roe crab marinated teochew style. The wine list is lean but thoughtfully curated, we had a lovely prosecco and wines to pair with our food. Service was great! The owner and staff really made sure that we were well taken care of and had a great time. A thoroughly enjoyable evening and experience!

This might look like a trendy bar nestled within Holland Village, but food was surprisingly traditional Teochew, and very, very good. I love their Teochew Raw Marinated Crab. The Teochew’s version at Shao came with a flavourful marinate, with aroma of garlic and shaoxing wine. Compared to the Korean counterpart, it is easier to accept with low levels of funkiness due to fermentation, lots of garlicky aroma, and uses shaoxing wine for sweetness and fragrance. The flesh of the crabs at Shao came off the shells really easily, in chunks without breaking apart, while maintaining its soft texture. Really good. I also like their Teochew cold crab for the creamy and sweet roe. But there’s also the edible second soft shell because they’ve selected double-shelled crabs (which has a soft shell within the hard shell). This happens while they are renewing their shell, and it's also the time when the crab peaks in terms of its roe. For this. So much natural sweetness in this dish. 🔸 Besides this, I also recommend their marinated raw prawns with high natural sweetness, equally matched by strong flavours from the marinate; and their new 酸菜猪肚汤, which is like the classic peppery pig stomach soup but with lots of savoury tang from preserved vegetables as well. Definitely ask for it to be more peppery as well if you like strong flavours. I’ve always enjoyed the food and service here. I’ll be back again.

Place very nice & cozy. Interior feels very comfortable by looking at it. Nice to take photo with friends or relatives. Music played the volume just nice, not too loud and not too soft. Service crew very attentive and nice thru out the dining service, making our stay very comfortable. Will love to come back to just chill with friends. Food wise all is nice. Nothing to complaint about. Raw food worth to call for it. Especially the pan seared black ink cuttlefish sausage, best to pair with alcohol. Overall, will come back again.