The story
Singapore's chilli crab began with Cher Yam Tian, who in 1956 started stir-frying mud crabs with bottled chilli and tomato sauce and selling them from a pushcart by the Kallang River with her husband, Lim Choo Ngee. Business was good enough that in 1962 they opened the Palm Beach restaurant on the East Coast, bringing the dish to a far wider public. Other cooks reshaped it: chef Hooi Kok Wai and the Dragon Phoenix restaurant are credited with the richer style thickened with sambal and egg. Malaysia has its own chilli crab tradition, but the dish is often called Singapore's national seafood dish.
Also known as Singapore chilli crab, chili crab, 辣椒螃蟹, ketam cili.
On the Meridish menu
Chilli crab was the main course on menu No. 11 on October 11, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Whole mud crab in a sweet, tangy, eggy chilli-tomato sauce, mopped up with fried buns. A young couple first sold it from a riverside pushcart in 1956.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
