When it comes to crabs, even the most proper of diners will whip on our bibs, roll up our sleeves, and dive hands-first into the steaming mountain of crab in front of us. When cooked right, the juicy, succulent flesh of crab, paired with any number of specialty sauces, will taste absolutely stunning. If you’re a fan of these crabby crustaceans, make sure to check out the following restaurants if you haven’t already for your ultimate crab fix:
Crazy Crabs, Oasis Square Ara Damansara
Crazy Crabs serves their crabs six different ways, all crowd-favourites so you’ll probably already know what to order based on your usual preferences. They have buttermilk, kam heong, steamed, curry, salt-baked, and the ever-famous chilli crabs to choose from, all of which pair really well with the sweet crab meat. Their crabs are humongous too, and there’ll be plenty of flesh for you to hunt around for within the bright red shells! Don’t let the leftover sauce go to waste, make sure to order some toast or mantau buns to sop it all up!
Halal
Address: R.02, Central Piazza, Oasis Square, 2, Jalan PJU 1A/7A, Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor 47301
Hours: 11am-3pm, 6pm-10.30pm daily
Tel: 03-7859 8802
Website: http://facebook.com/crazycrabsmy
Crab Factory, Menara Felda
If Southern-style crabs are more your cup of tea, check out Crab Factory in Menara Felda, that specializes in Louisiana-style seafood to satisfy even the biggest of appetites. Their dishes are served in bags, and poured straight onto your table for maximum visual impact. Choose up to three kinds of seafood from their range of 16 clams and crustaceans, including four different kinds of crabs! Then make your choice from one of their 4 sauces, zesty lemon or garlic butter if you want milder flavours, and Jamba-Jamba or their Signature Southern Bang if you’re down for some heat (you can even turn the spice up a notch and go for their ‘Death Valley’ level of heat. But be warned, it’s named Death Valley for a reason!). Make sure to wash those hands and take off your watches and jewelry before diving into your crabs!
Pork-free
Address: Brolly, G-01, Menara Felda, Platinum Park, No., 11, Persiaran KLCC, 58200 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 3pm-11pm on Tues to Thurs, 11am-11pm on Fri to Sun
Tel: 03-7865 5850
Website: http://www.crabfactory.com.my/
Crab Generation, Cheras
This restaurant is the second branch of the well-known Fei Fei Crab in Kepong, and they too specialize in various crab-centric dishes to please the seafood-lovers among us. Crab Generation serves all kinds of unique crab dishes, with unheard of combinations for their sauces (Oreo and cheese crabs, anyone?). Those of you who are looking for new tastes to try should definitely check this place out. But if you aren’t so keen on outlandish combinations like cheesy coffee crab, they also have the staple favourite sauces for you to choose from as well, like salted egg sauce, and their famous peanut butter sauce. Make sure to come early though, or else be prepared to wait in long queues to get your crabs!
Non-halal
Address: No.93, Jalan 2, Taman Len Sen, Cheras, 56000 Kuala Lumpur.
Hours: 5pm to 12am
Tel: 016-302 2989 / 016-614 0793
Website: http://facebook.com/crab.generation
A Li Yaa Island Restaurant and Bar, Bukit Damansara
This unique restaurant serves up Sri Lanka-inspired dishes, including their delectable Sri Lankan crab curry. This curry infuses a multitude of warm herbs and spices into the thick sauce, which proves to be a wonderful pairing to the 1 kg of crab swimming in it. Heady with aromatic spices and seasoned to perfection, this dish hasn’t been getting rave reviews for nothing! If curry isn’t your thing (but why wouldn’t it be?) you can also opt for their black pepper sauce to go with your crab, which is equally as admired by past patrons!
Pork-free
Address: No.48 G&M, Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara, 50490 Damansara, Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 11am-11pm daily
Tel: 03-2092 5378
Website: http://www.aliyaa.com/
Causeway Bay Spicy Crab, Sri Hartamas
This franchise from Hong Kong specializes in crab dishes (obviously), and they have people flocking in from all over the city to sample their signature Garlic and Chilli Crab. The spicy crab is hidden under what seems to be a mountain of fried garlic, and although those flavours complement the crab well, the natural sweetness of the crabmeat still shines through. Beside that, people also love their baked salted egg yolk crab, covered in crispy bits of salted egg that goes oh so well with the crab. You won’t have to travel all the way to Hong Kong for a taste of these mouthwatering crabs!
Non-halal
Address: 26 & 26-1, Jalan 30/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Hours: 11.30am-2.30pm, 6pm-11.30pm daily, closed on Tuesdays
Tel: 03-62052280
Homst, TTDI
This Chinese Muslim restaurant might not be at par with the other eateries on this list in terms of variety of crab, but they are famous for one thing: their salted egg soft shell crab! They’re quite generous with the bright yellow, gooey salted egg sauce, which is smothered all over the soft shell crab, then fried to golden perfection. Many have sung the praises for this dish, with some even coming to Homst just for this one dish! Definitely something you have to try if you’re in the area.
Halal
Address: No: 34-36, Persiaran Zaaba, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 11am-10.30pm daily
Tel: 03-7728 0760
Website: http://www.homst.com.my/soft-shellCrab.html
Fatty Crab, Taman Megah
If you ask anybody where to get good crabs, chances are they’ll direct you to Fatty Crab. Fatty Crab has been around for years, and everyone who eats there knows exactly what they want to order the moment they sit down, without so much as a glance at the menu scrawled on a whiteboard in the restaurant. They specialise in crabs, yes, but only of one kind and one sauce: their signature sweet and sour crabs. This is what everybody flocks to Fatty Crab for, and the addictive spicy sauce keeps people coming back for years. Don’t take my word for it and go check this place out for yourself. But avoid coming here between 8-9.30pm on weekends, unless you’re prepared to wait up to an hour for a table!
Pork-free
Address: 2 Jalan SS 24/13, Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Hours: 5.30pm-11.30pm daily
Tel: 1300 222 100 / 03 2273 3100
Shell Out, Kota Damansara
Shell Out has a similar concept to Crab Factory, where they serve up Louisiana seafood boils in plastic bags that are then poured all over your table, so you can get down and dirty with them crabs. Choose between 11 different kinds of seafood, including crabs, crawfish, scallops, and lobsters. Then pick your poison, and make a choice between five types of sauces, including Shell Bang (a mixture of lemon pepper and garlic butter sauce), black pepper, or curry sauce. The customisations don’t end there though, because you can then choose between original Louisiana-style sauce or a Malaysian-ized version. After that, pick your desired level of heat, from mild all the way to OMG spicy! Add some sides, and you’re good to go for the seafood feast of your dreams.
Halal
Address: 16-1 Jalan PJU 5/15, Dataran Sunway Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Hours: 11.30am-10pm on Sun-Thurs, 11.30am-11pm on Fri & Sat
Tel: 016-418-4616 / 03-7497-1137
Website: https://www.facebook.com/theshellout/
Mei Keng Fatt Seafood Restaurant, Ampang
Mei Keng Fatt has been around for at least two decades, and the fact that their restaurant spans a huge space and two floors, and that they still attract hordes of hungry customers until now goes to show how good their food is. Their absolute signature dish is their spicy chilli crab, which is something you must order if you ever dine there. Live crabs are freshly cooked and smothered in their special sweet and savoury sauce, and the dish will only be complete with some fresh mantau buns to mop up that delicious gravy. Other popular offerings they have include marmite crab, salted egg crab, butter crab, black pepper crab, the list goes on.
Non-halal
Address: 1, Lorong Awan 6, Kuala Ampang, 68000 Selangor
Hours: 11.30am-2.30pm, 4pm-2.30am daily
Telephone : 03-4256 6491 / 03-4257 3232 / 03-4253 4049
Website: http://meikengfatt.com
Now you know where to head to the next time you’re craving some awesome crab dishes. If you’ve been to these places, what would you recommend (or have us stay far, far away from)? We would love to know!
Feature Image Credit: Shell Out
