The original Fatty Crab

I have honestly forgotten the taste of REAL crab. Before this Monday that is. Unless you want to be set back a couple hundred bucks, ‘Crab’ for me on the menu usually means surimi – the imitation, processed kind.

So you can imagine my excitement to try the kind which certainly did not need any plastic wrapping at the infamous ‘Fatty Crab’ restaurant in Petaling Jaya. So good that a chef from New York got so inspired he decided to open up three chains under the same name on the Upper West Side? – I must try this!

Known for its no-frill service and great food, some friends recommended we go there for dinner. I was told both the seafood and the chicken wings were the main attraction here, which left me feeling a little sceptical – soon to be proven wrong!

A huge line outside the restaurant; several matrons seating the hungry customers; satay skewers while you wait – this must be good, I thought. Cue my ants-in-my-pants dance.

A series of tummy rumbling later, we were seated at one of the orange plastic tables. For sides we ordered prawns in garlic sauce and fried rice. What really had our taste buds going was the chilli crab! Living up to its reputation, the crab arrived at our table in a delightfully tangy, sticky, spicy sauce sprinkled with chopped scallions and accompanied with  pieces of toast for dipping.

The chicken wings were surprisingly good too! Battered but not greasy, crispy on the outside but tender on the inside, they almost stole the crab’s spotlight.

My verdict is : the toast would be just toast, the fried rice just rice,  the crab just crab, and the chicken wings just your average poultry if it weren’t for the delicious sauce – oh, it goes a long way in remembering how good the sauce is, over and over again.

Finger Lickin' Good !!!!