I Met Harry & Sally @ King Crab Restaurant, Kelana Jaya, PJ

Guys, meet Harry aka Hairy.

I met him last November during my trip to PJ for another makan session with the floggers, a place where our dear Precious Pea loves to go whenever she’s craving for good seafood dishes, especially crabs. Ah.. I know it’s quite late to introduce Harry to you now as he, Sally and the rest of their gang will leave Malaysia soon and probably will only be back by… say, next October. But late is better than never, correct?

Originated from Shanghai, Harry, Sally and their gang comes to Malaysia every year from September to January. Their prices ranged from RM38 per piece to a whopping RM118 per piece, depending on their size and origin. The best ones come from two prominent lake in Shanghai, Tai Lake and Yang Cheng Lake. In Malaysia, King Crab is the largest “tourism agent” to “import” hairy crabs from these two lakes, therefore they’re able to offer it at a much lower price compared to other places. (I know it sounds kinda obscene but do bear with me for once, okie? 😛 )

Harry, still not aware of his fate, was put over the boiling water along with ginger and Zhisu leaves. The fellow and his mates weighed about 200 grams which costs around RM 78 per piece. When removed from the pot, the poor fella goes straight to our serving plates. The waitress demonstrated on how to eat the crab as some parts of Harry are not adviced to be eaten such as the lung and gill and we had a great time experimenting and “detaching” the poor fellas. The thing that surprises me was the texture of Harry‘s shell, which is softer than other type of crabs. As I spooned the roes (Harry and Sally are famous for their roes, not the meat) into my mouth, I pretty much have to utter “Mmmm”. Slightly tasted like salted egg yolk, the roes are creamy, smooth and very rich.

Sally (the name does not mean that the crab is a female, it’s just a name!) from Yang Cheng Lake were presented before us after that. According to Frankie from King Crab, we should taste both Harry and Sally from Tai Lake and Yang Cheng Lake so we can compare their differences. See the tag at the pincer? That is the authenticity tag, given to all Harry and Sally from Yang Cheng Lake to prevent fraud. These guys are famous, ya know?

Sally tastes slightly sweeter than Harry from Tai Lake but some of us did have a slightly bitter ones. Well, like durian, not all have the same texture and taste.

Next… cousin to Harry and Sally, Barry made its appearance. This 1.5kg Australian Lobster was simply a stunning creature and a bit… frightening too. It was served sashimi style where you can just eat the flesh raw…

Or dunk them into the hot boiling pot of superior stock with white beancurd, enoki mushrooms and baby bok choy. The lobster meat nevertheless, was very fresh and succulent.

These are among the other stuff we had that night; Flower Crab Steamed with Egg White, Salted Egg Squid and Braised Yee Mee with Lobster Head. (Too full to comment further… *burp*)

Dessert was Tiramisu by Lyrical Lemongrass (no no, she didn’t bake it, she bought it). What a great way to end a fabulous meal.

I think that Harry and Sally are still on sale till the end of January, so if you’re keen to try them out, do drop by King Crab. They’re at:

No. 103 – 107, Jalan SS25/2,
Taman Mewah Jaya,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 03-7808 2388

Those floggers who had an affair with Harry & Sally:

• Precious Pea
• You Get What You Give… Sometimes…
• A Whiff of Lemongrass
• Lots of Cravings
• Masak-Masak