The spacious interior at No Signboard. JP/Triwik Kurniasari
It all began in the late 1970s when Madam Ong Kim Hoi and her husband opened a stall at the Matter Road Hawker Center in Singapore.
They sold white pepper crabs based on Madam Ong's very own recipe. As time went by, Madam Ong's delicious dishes became the talk of the town.
Regular customers came again and again. Madam Ong, however, did not put any signboards in front of their stall because they could not afford it. Their regular customers started recommending friends and naturally could only refer to the stall as "the one with no signboard".
"Just go to the no signboard seafood restaurant," they said.
That was how the name of the restaurant was conceived.
By 1981, the No Signboard Seafood Restaurant had become a branded name and since then, it has expanded its branches around many parts of the city-state, pampering foodies with its famous crab delicacies, like chili crab and white pepper crab.
Today, Indonesian foodies can also savor this scrumptious dish. They don't need to fly to Singapore, but can simply drive to the Pacific Place shopping mall.
Bearing the same name, the restaurant combines a modern ambiance with artistic elegance. A giant dragon ornaments one of the walls, giving an oriental feel to the room.
The restaurant, which can accommodate about 200 people, has a mix of customers, from corporate clients, couples and family diners, said Nicole, the restaurant's manager.
Guests can enjoy their meals while observing the crowded traffic and the hustle bustle of the capital through the windows. The restaurant is located at the mall, by the roadside of the busy Sudirman Central Business District.
From only selling white pepper crabs at a small roadside stall, the "no signboard" kiosk has grown into a chic restaurant outlet, offering various cuisines - seafood and non seafood - in dozens of its branches.
Chili Crab: Courtesy of No Signboard
Chili crab is a must-try dish. It is cooked in chili sauce and served with fried buns.
One thing that you should keep in your mind when you are enjoying the dish is you must be prepared to get messy, because you should dip the crabs -and your fingers - into the chili sauce to smother the juicy sweet crab meat.
You won't regret getting your fingers messy once you taste the dish.
The sauce is not fiery hot but it is tasty enough to serve as dips for the several fried buns. You will be licking your fingers once you tuck in.
Another signature dish of this restaurant is, of course, the white pepper crab. The fresh crab is prepared with Madam Ong's secret recipe, which is imported from Singapore.
Besides crab dishes, the crispy cereal prawn is also worth trying. The prawn, coated in crispy cereal and deep fried, is wonderfully crunchy. You can eat it as a snack or have it with steamed rice.
Meanwhile, fish lovers can try the Hong Kong style fried grouper. The deep-fried grouper is crispy and is well-matched with Hong Kong soy sauce.
If you are not into fried food, you can order the fish clay pot instead. It is a mixture of lazy fish and tofu skin rolls, cooked with ginger and garlic.
The fish clay pot is the restaurant's specialty and is cooked in front of the guests to ensure its freshness.
Need some greens? Broccoli and mushroom with oyster sauce and kangkung balacan (water spinach with shrimp paste) are recommended to satisfy your taste buds.
The 600-square-meter restaurant also offers varieties of chicken, lobster, fish, clam and abalone dishes. Besides, there are the usual variety of noodles and fried rice accompaniments.
In order to round off your seafood adventure, mouth-watering desserts, like mango sago with pomelo, red bean with mochi and almond bean curd are available in the list.
If you are crazy about fruit, almond bean curd with longan, papaya and honeydew is a good choice. It is fresh and not too sweet.
If you find it hard to choose, there are set menus for groups, each featuring about five dishes.
"The menu can also be adjusted according to your budget. If you, for instance, want a set menu that costs about Rp 150,000 *US$14*, we can arrange that. It is flexible," said Nicole, the restaurant's manager.
Following the success of its Pacific Place branch, the management of No Signboard plans to open the second chain in West Jakarta, in the near future.
Madam Ong likely never realized that her no-name food stall would expand to other countries in such a unique way. From a stall without a name, No Signboard has become internationally famed.
No Signboard Seafood Restaurant
Pacific Place Mall Ground Floor G-05
Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD)
Phone : +62-21-51400595
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday,
from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
