Smith Marine, a floating seafood restaurant two kilometres off the coast of Singapore, offers a unique dining experience, including the chance to catch your own fish and have it cooked on the spot.
Besides accessing the location by way of booking a private boat (S$100 for a round trip), one can apparently paddle their own way there, as one YouTuber in Singapore did recently.
The YouTuber, known as Alley Cat, made a solo trip to the restaurant via Stand-Up Paddle board (SUP) from Pasir Ris beach, capturing the journey in a video on his channel.
Screenshot via Alley Cat on YouTube.
Kelongs and kelong dog
Alley Cat paddled past several kelongs while on the way to the restaurant, including a brief encounter with a kelong dog.
Screenshot via Alley Cat on YouTube.
"I am leaving, I am leaving," he assured the barking canine.
The experience also made him decide against hopping on to the kelongs to have a closer look.
Screenshot via Alley Cat on YouTube.
Arriving at the restaurant
Reaching the restaurant at 9:40am, before it was ready for customers, he decided to tour the neighbouring kelongs, and made an unplanned visit to Pulau Ubin as he was "already so near".
When he finally arrived at his destination, a woman asked incredulously, "For lunch?! One person, ride all the way here, 40 minutes for lunch?"
Screenshot via Alley Cat on YouTube.
Bumboat and kayak arrivals
A bumboat carrying customers also arrived at the restaurant. Such a boat can be hired for a round trip to and from the restaurant for S$100.
Bumboat arriving at Smith Marine. Screenshot via Alley Cat on YouTube.
Alley Cat also encountered a group of kayakers who apparently paddled to the restaurant, though their starting point was not mentioned in the video.
A past event listing offers a kayaking trip to the restaurant, which was open to participants five years and older, provided that they are accompanied by an adult.
Catching your own food
As Alley Cat made the trip alone, he did not order seafood as he was afraid he would not be able to finish it on his own.
Some of the other customers, however, visited the restaurant's "sure catch pond" to catch their own fish.
, this costs S$35 per fish, including having it cooked in "any style you want".
Customers can also bring home fish that they catch at S$15 each.
Other seafood dishes on offer include lobster, mud crab, flower crab, prawns, shellfish, and squid, all available in various flavours.
There are also vegetarian and noodle options.
Potential dangers and difficulty
Those keen to take the adventurous route should be aware of the potential danger, and the difficulty of the journey.
"Sounds like an easy task, but actually it's not that easy," Alley Cat says, explaining that paddling to the restaurant required him to be "extremely cautious", as it involved crossing a channel where big vessels would be travelling.
Screenshot via Alley Cat on YouTube.
He also said, in the video's description, that the distance he travelled was 3.8km, given that there was "a line of blue barrels blocking the way", and that one would have to make a detour to paddle around them.
On Google Maps, Smith Marine is located 2.2km away from Pasir Ris beach. Screenshot from Google Maps.
The return trip from the restaurant also involved paddling with "triple the effort" as the wind was not in his favour at the time.
Recommended itinerary
For risk-averse visitors, the restaurant has provided three versions of a proposed itinerary.
For example, those intending to have dinner at the restaurant are recommended to depart from the mainland at around 3 or 4pm, for dinner at 5pm, before departing at 6pm.
Screenshot via Alley Cat on YouTube.
Interesting indeed.
You can watch the video here:
Top image via Alley Cat on YouTube and Smith Marine website.
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