Ironic name, as this restaurant probably has the biggest signboard along the stretch. Here is a bit of historical info: This seafood institution -- famous for its white pepper crab -- started off in the late 1970s as a stall at Mattar Road Hawker Centre -- without a signboard.

Ambience/Location (7 out of 10)

I dined at the No Signboard restaurant at the height of the mid-autumn festival. It was a period of celebration, hence the lanterns and tinsel decorations lining streets of the Geylang neighbourhood.

Seated outside next to the sidewalk, I realized that I was the subject of much unwanted attention as the endless stream of human traffic began casting their looks at my direction, prompting me to return their curious gazes even as I tucked into the hearty seafood fare. This was a slight inconvenience, I felt.

Service (6.5 out of 10)

Our food took a good half an hour before it was served; it didn't really bother us since we knew Saturday night was a notoriously busy period for this place. Only later did we realise the restaurant was more than double the size of the front section where we were eating, as the dining area spilled out onto the side of the driveway and into the back of the restaurant. The area is used as parking space for customers on weekdays.

Food (7.5 out of 10)

The first dish to arrive was the bamboo clam with garlic. The tubular molluscs were fresh and tender, with texture similar to that of perfectly cooked calamari and had a taste that was similar to scallop. Some of the garlic bits were deep fried and tasted slightly burnt, and apart from a grain of sand that was stuck on the flesh of the clam, the dish was near perfect.

Bamboo clams, tasty little things.

Next came the steamed gong-gong (pearl conch). Its meaty texture and clam-like taste is quite interesting the fiery chilli sauce complemented the dish nicely. I gave the oysters a try: served steamed with a choice of garlic, black bean sauce or baked with cheese -- the best were the ones steamed with garlic with its light soy gravy bringing out the full flavour of the oysters.

I decided on having fried kang kong(morning glory) without the sambal; we didn’t want the spiciness from the chillies to affect the delicate taste of the seafood. Instead, it came with garlic and slivers of ginger, which was rather interesting variation of kang kong and reminded me of stir fried spinach.

With all the other patrons tucking into that famous chilli crab, I was keen for something different: The crab bee hoon (crab with rice vermicelli). This dry style crab noodles is just divine, slightly peppery and salty enough to keep you wanting more Normally, I have no patience for crab eating (oh, the mess!), but tonight’s experience was thoroughly pleasurable.

Chilli crab here lives up to its name. It is spicy.

A fairly recent invention that made its way to the tables of seafood restaurants in Singapore, cereal prawns are a popular staple among diners here. The cereal prawns at No Signboard were juicy and not overdone. I would have preferred them less sweet and with a little more heat from the chillies and curry leaves though.

After much consideration, I finally decided to give the chilli crabs a go. The dish did not arrive piping hot but it was a terribly humid day so we didn't make an issue out of it. The sauce did have a decent spicy kick to it but did not taste as rich as it ought to. It was however filled with bright orange bits of roe that was simply too delicious.

Sinful cereal prawns.

Value (7 out of 10)

Seafood dishes in most restaurants go by a 'seasonal price' that fluctuates and usually are not cheap. Our bill came up to approximately $42 per person, which was relatively reasonable, considering the variety and quality of seafood served. Couple that with the exotic atmosphere here and it makes for a pretty interesting evening.