Super Crab

Special thanks to Super Crab Aroma Seafood Restaurant for extending this food review invitation.

Super Crab Aroma Seafood Restaurant (蟹王香海鲜饭店) is a seafood restaurant near Taman Bukit Mayang Emas. This restaurant faces the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) but is not directly accessible from the highway.

Super Crab's menu consists of a wide variety of seafood like crab, prawn, fish, octopus and squid. Many of these marine creatures are kept alive in the kitchen until they ready to be cooked. In addition, there is also pork, chicken, duck, frog and other stir-fried (煮炒) dishes on the menu.

Crabs served at Super Crab are sourced from Sabah or Indonesia. Wild crabs are preferred over farmed crabs because the former has better flavor. Crabs exhibit significant sexual dimorphism, which means that the males and females are anatomically different.

Male crabs have triangular-shaped pleon (abdomen) as seen below, while female crabs have rounder ones. Male crabs usually have larger claws, which makes them more delectable in terms of muscle mass. On the other hand, female crabs often have roe at the abdomen which is considered a delicacy, if you know how to enjoy it.

Once in a blue moon, "pondan" (transsexual) crabs are also available. Pondan crabs (黄油蟹) are colloquially called so because their claws are nearly as large as males', but yet have roe inside the abdomens like females'. Actually, pondan crabs are simply female crabs which were caught during their shell-changing period. Biologically, sequential hermaphroditism (sex change) has not been observed in crabs. But I guess the name "pondan crab" deserves a good amount of curiosity!

Before we start, we need to make sure that we have the right condiments for seafood: red chili paste, pickled garlic, fried garlic, scallion (spring onion), coriander and chopped bird's eye chili (cili padi). Yes, we are all set!

Tool-wise, we need a hammer to smash the crabs' stubborn carapace. Once inside, we also need a metal pick to pry those difficult-to-reach flesh. These poor crustaceans may have some of the hardest armor in the animal kingdom, but this does not deter us from feasting on their lovely meat!

One of the most popular way to enjoy pondan crab is by serving it in porridge. Yes, the Crab Porridge (蟹粥) is a good avenue for pondan crab because its roe lends the yellowish color to the otherwise-white porridge! The image of partially-submerged crab yellowish emulsion reminds me of a scene from the movie "Godzilla".

The essence of pondan crab, as you might have guessed, is the succulent roe under its abdomen. The roe is yolky in texture, and tastes extremely savory. I heard that the roe has very high cholesterol content, but I miserably succumbed to irresistible temptation!

Another popular way to enjoy crab here is through Salted Baked Crab (盐焗大蟹). For this case, male crab is preferred because it has more meat especially in its claws. The crab is seasoned using sea salt instead of regular mineral salt. The sensation of saltiness is subtly different between both types of salt.

The best thing part of the male crab is its pair of muscle-packed claws! Individual fibers of muscle tear off neatly with each bite. Scrumptious juice is released as I chew the lovely meat in my mouth. The gratification is priceless!

Other recommended cooking-styles of crab are with chili, with cheese, and "kam heong" (金香) style. Early reservation of crabs is highly recommended because the restaurant only prepares a limited number each day.

Prawn is another family of crustaceans who unfortunately landed on our dinner plates today. The dish Scalding Prawn (白灼虾) is prepared by throwing live prawns into hot, boiling water. Next, the cooked prawns are stir-fried with ginger (姜), leek (韭葱) and Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒). Shaoxing wine is one of the most popular Chinese rice wines and is often used in cooking due to its delightful aroma.

Because the prawns are very fresh, their flesh is extremely sweet and crunchy. An alternative way to enjoy the prawns is by dipping them in sweet-and-spicy red chili paste. My personal favorite section of the prawn is the jelly-like "brain matter" inside its head! I also heard that this section is also rich in cholesterol, but my craving overrode my rational mind.

During weekends, Super Crab enjoys full house attendance including outdoor seating. Many customers are regulars who travel here as far as from Singapore. Fortunately, Penangites can save the trip because Super Crab has another outlet in Sungai Ara. The Penang outlet is pork-free, but the bulk of menu remains intact.

Both outlets of Super Crab are currently having the "Crab Frenzy" promotion. The deal is a single dish of 2 crabs (slightly over 1 kilogram) for mere RM55.00. This price is around the cost of raw crabs; it feels almost like stealing! If you are new to Super Crab and have a palate for good seafood, I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough!

Name: Super Crab Aroma Seafood Restaurant (蟹王香海鲜饭店)
Address: 40, Jalan BM 1/2, Taman Bukit Mayang Emas, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Contact: 03-7880-9793
Business hours: 11:00am-3:00pm, 5:00pm-11:00pm, closed on alternate Mondays
Website: https://www.facebook.com/supercrab.seafood.8
Coordinates: 3.12001 N, 101.59467 E
Directions: Driving northbound on Damansara-Puchong Highway (Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong, LDP), turn into Jalan SS 25/23 just before the pedestrian bridge near Kelana Jaya. Follow the road and curve right, then pass two blocks of shops on your right. Super Crab is the second shop on the third block to your right. Street parking is available along the service road in front the shops.