Siblings who own Mellben, Uncle Leong, Melben & Kelly Jie Seafood not getting along? No such thing!

On 3 Feb 2025, Kelly Soon, the owner of Kelly Jie Seafood posted a video on YouTube to crush false rumours about their family rivalry. In the past, there were also speculations about the now-defunct Ang Mo Kio outlet of Uncle Leong Seafood having a dispute with Mellben Seafood (just directly opposite).

I’m sure by now, most of you have tried (or at least heard of) the Claypot Crab Bee Hoon Soup at 232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3’s Mellben Seafood — I’ve been a regular customer in the past myself!

Before watching the clip, I knew that Kelly Jie Seafood, Melben Seafood and Mellben seafood were related, but was surprised when I discovered that Uncle Leong Seafood was also under the same family.

The 5 siblings of the Soon Family, who are later joined by their children (2nd-gen), appear in a 17:30 video to talk about the history of how each brand had started out.

Here is a summarised version:

• 1985— Melvin Soon (fourth sibling) started Melben Food Catering Service at 10 Science Park Road. Later, he decided to focus on seafood and shifted to Alexandra Road.

• 1988— Jason Soon (third sibling) and Uncle Leong (second sibling) opened at West Coast, rebranding their business to ‘龙海鲜螃蟹王‘ for the Year of the Dragon

Not long after, they got offered a new outlet in Pasir Ris. Melvin partnered with Uncle Leong at this new branch, and renamed it Melben Seafood (a combination of English and Chinese names into one).

Since Melben Seafood operated in a 24-hour kopitiam, there wasn’t much business in the mornings since they didn’t serve zi char. Thus, Sng Boon Chuan (eldest sibling) would cover to sell goreng pisang.

• 1993— Melvin asked a reluctant, inexperienced Chuan to venture into seafood. After Melvin reassured him and assigned his existing staff to him, they opened a Melben Seafood Catering at 204 Serangoon Central

When Uncle Leong observed that there were several fish head bee hoon stalls in the market, he suggested the idea of serving crab bee hoon instead to his mentor — the one who taught him how to prepare zi char dishes.

After several trial runs, his mentor finally succeeded in perfecting it. Together, they shared the recipe with all their outlets, and it has been sold ever since. The dish slowly gained popularity after City Beat, a variety show in the 90s hosted by Bryan Wong and Kym Ng, helped to promote it.

Chuan then moved from Serangoon Central to Ang Mo Kio and renamed the business to Mellben Seafood, receiving help from his youngest sister, Kelly, who worked there full-time, as well as Uncle Leong, who assisted on weekends.

In the video, Kelly had clarified to their customers that regardless of whether there is 1 or 2 ‘L’s in the business name, they are still part of the same family. That’s why, despite the different English names that all their seafood outlets have, they share the same Chinese name: 龙海鲜螃蟹王.

“We are a close-knit family!” Kelly exclaimed.

• 2003— By then, the business at Mellben Seafood was booming. Customers had to wait a minimum of 2 hours before their food arrived. Uncle Leong Seafood was established at 233 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 (just a carpark away from Mellben Seafood).

This was an idea suggested by Kelly to capture customers who couldn’t wait, sending them to his brother’s stall instead of losing them to others.

Later on, Melvin had an operational outlet at Toa Payoh for Kelly to take over. To avoid confusion, she renamed it Mellben Seafood Toa Payoh. After a decade of operation, she wanted to create her own identity and rebranded to Kelly Jie Seafood, a name suggested by her 2 daughters. Jason still helps out in the business till today.

The video further showcases the 2nd generation who run the other 7 branches of 龙海鲜螃蟹王 around Singapore. Here is a brief breakdown:

• Mellben Signature (Tanjong Pagar)— managed by Chuan’s son, Gabriel

• Uncle Leong Signatures (Joo Koon, Hougang)— managed by Uncle Leong’s son and daughter-in-law, Ben and Snow

• Uncle Leong Seafood (Toa Payoh)— managed by Uncle Leong’s son, Roy

• Uncle Leong Seafood (Kaki Bukit)— managed by Uncle Leong’s son, Jeff

• Melben Seafood (Cluny Road, Depot Lane)— managed by Melvin’s son, Sylvester

Wow, it seems that the Soon family is one BIG seafood family! After watching the video, I’d say my knowledge of the various seafood spots around Singapore has definitely expanded.

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