The Mussel Guys! – Musselicious? Not Quite!

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I must have eaten in three out of every four dining establishments at VivoCity. Yes, that is how often I go to that place. I would probably exhaust my dining options over there soon! But then again, new restaurants pop up every so often, such as the mussel guys, which opened just last month.

“the mussel guys”. Ain’t that a cheeky name? Well I didn’t notice any muscle guys, that’s for sure. Haha! A restaurant that specialises in mussels is pretty rare. Mussels are the kind of food that not many people would be a fan of. And I happen to love mussels (okay, and muscles too).

Besides mussels, the restaurant also serves other seafood, steak, and a few more meat dishes. I went for a pasta main with the signature mussels of course. I didn’t have to wait long — the dish was served within ten minutes!

One thing that bugged me was that diners had not been provided with an extra small bowl to place the empty shells. I thought this was something that the restaurant definitely shouldn’t have overlooked, considering the fact that it specialises in mussels with those huge ass shells of theirs.

Mussels Pasta

Mussels Pasta
SGD15.90++

My mussels pasta was a chef’s recommendation, and what a huge disappointment it was! The menu had promised a chunky and thick tomato sauce, but it was really thin and soupy! Frankly, prego’s bottled pasta sauces fare much better than this. This was easily one of the blandest things ever!

That’s not even the worst part. I highly doubted that the five or six mussels in my pasta were fresh. The taste was very pale, as though they had been frozen for too long.

It’s a real shame that for a restaurant that prides itself as being “the mussel guys”, it can’t even manage something as simple as mussels pasta. In fact, the mussels and clams pasta at pastamania is a whole lot more satisfying at just half the price. And they provide the little bowl for your shells too!

Give this one a miss, folks!

The Mussel Guys
VivoCity
1 Harbourfront Walk #02-123
Singapore 098585
(65) 6820 1800
Service:

www.musselguys.com.sg

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About the Author

Veron Ang is the founder and chief editor of Sparklette. She lives in Singapore and has dined and traveled across the world. She also runs Sparklette Studio, a web design and development firm. If you'd like to connect with her, head on over to the contact page or follow her on Twitter: @sparklette.

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37 responses

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pkchukiss
January 18

I am not really into seafood, so you won’t find me lurking around there, unless I get pulled in there by my shirt by my seafood crazy friends. They REALLY can gorge!
Reply
Edna
January 19

the picture certainly looks delicious but wow, such a disappointment. As the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover ! Ya man, I love seafood pasta esp with tomato sauce. I normally request the chef to make it very spicy for me, by putting in a lot of red cut chillis…., yummy !
Reply
Veron
January 19

Hey pkchukiss,
I’m not that into seafood too, although I do love the occasional crayfish, mussels and peeled prawns. I like the taste of crab meat too, but I still don’t know how to eat it from the shell!
Reply
piccola
January 19

I guess.. Looks are deceiving.. But you can tell that the sauce is watery from the picture. What a waste of your money…
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Veron
January 19

Hey Edna,
Looks like we both love our pasta spicy. I usually just dump a whole lot of red pepper (the kind that comes with pizza) into my pasta. Will ask the chef to do it your way next time!
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Veron
January 19

Hey piccola,
It was a HUGE waste of money. Damn!
Reply
mervkwok
January 19

I work so close to Vivocity and I haven’t gone there to eat yet hahaha. Man, the tomato sauce fails big time. I scream blasphemy at the sight of that
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Veron
January 19

*lol* Hey I work rather close to VivoCity too!
Reply
James Ong
January 19

http://kaokamoo.wordpress.com/2006/10/15/spaghetti-vongole-pomodoro/
Look at my cooking. I was too hungry to wait for the sauce to reduce.
I guess the mussel guys are in a hurry to serve the pasta to you…
:)
Reply
Veron
January 20

Thanks for sharing! The thing is, the sauce in my pasta was not only soupy, it was of very minute amount as well! If it had been left there for longer, it would have been reduced to nothing! lol
Reply
andy
January 20

hey..if mussels are your kinda stuff, would recommend Oosters over at Far East Square, just a hop from my office. Belgian Mussels! SOLID! makan there somtime? not so many muscles tho..:P
Reply
Veron
January 20

Sounds sweet! A pity about the muscles though…
Reply
James Ong
January 20

try me .. i got muscles
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daryl
January 21

hey i totally agree abt yr review of mussel guys. the mussels may look big & beautiful but unfortunately it tasted bland. its really a disappointment to come from a restaurant that specialises but couldnt make the best of it. the staff was also proud to accept feedback. recommendations: Ooyster bar @ central sq & crepe place in duxton. generous serving & flavourful that comes with a loadful of hot crispy fries!
Reply
mervkwok
January 22

Cool! Where at? I’m down the road towards Pasir Panjang. There is like no good food around my office *gah!* (walking distance of course)
Reply
Veron
January 22

Hey daryl,
Seems like you’ve tried telling The Muscle Guys that their mussels suck? Hey thanks for the recommendations! That’s two votes for Ooster already. Now I MUST check out that place!
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Veron
January 22

Hey mervkwok, I think we work very near to each other! Talk to you over email!
Reply
tigerfish
January 24

Do they serve mussels in a pot, cooked in white wine, garlic ? I love those! Think belgian mussels are usually served this way. I’ve had this dish in NZ before and guess what, the name of the restaurant is Mussel Boys…ooh…no muscles for you!
Reply
Veron
January 24

I think they do! But my bad experience is deterring me from checking it out again, ever. Haha these seafood restaurants just love punning on the word “Mussel” don’t they? I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a Mussel Dudes somewhere.
Reply
DK
January 25

I think I can cook better mussels pasta than them…..
Reply