My sister brought the entire family for a crab dinner. She told us that the Tak Fok restaurant in Manjalara is so popular that there is always a long wait for tables. We decided to go very early so that we do not have to deal with the crowd.
That place was packed alright. The tables and chairs are placed so close to one another that there are hardly any room to move. We believe that what makes this place popular is that it’s cheap (RM 18 or CAD$6 per kilogram). They specialize in crabs and have quite a few varieties of preparation which I had never heard of.
My sister did the ordering. I had no idea what the crab dish below is called. If I hazard a guess I would say this is kam heong style crab. The claws is my favourite part. It is the fleshiest. The kam heong, you know the whatmachacallit dark pieces below, is best with plain steamed rice.
I have never seen this type of crab dish before. My sister translated this to be butter-cheese crab. The yellowish thick gravy looks really good and smells really nice.
My sister also ordered some “fried bread”. This is so unique and new to me. I had sliced bread with chilli crab before but never bread made specifically for crab dishes.
The way to eat this is to break the bread and dip it on the butter-cheese sauce. It tastes really good. This is so unique. I know Suanne will hate it but I am just thinking that I should get a Malaysian crab recipe book for her. Hmmm … maybe not.
If there is such thing as a “commonly unique” dish, the one below is it. It is basically a potato nest filled with assortment of ingredients duch as cauliflower, peanuts, mushrooms, onions, and what nots. Unique but it’s too dry a dish for me.
We also had a hot plate tofu dish. It came sizzling hot. The sizzle gave out a very nice smell.
Sweet and sour pork. Pretty good on it’s own but really the star of this meal was the crabs.
I liked this meal a lot despite the messy-ness and the cramped seating. This restaurant had a few other crab dishes — something like ten (!) if I am not mistaken. I wish I could try them all — I guess I will have to leave it to the next trip.
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the crab dishes really looks appetizing! i also live here in richmond and knowing the prices of the crabs, what you had really was a treat!!
OMG those crabs look soooo good.
Hi Anonymous and Andaliman: I have not succeeded in getting Suanne to make a crab dish at home. She refuses to listen to me everytime I mention the word crab. Any tips on how I can change her mind? I am going crazy thinking about crabs the past few days.
What a rich and satisfying meal !
The fried bread resembles those fried steamed rolls you get at Szechuan restaurants and they’re always saved (by me) to mop up tasty sauces from other dishes.
The “bird’s nest” dish with the deep fried potato nest is supposed to be looking more like shoestring potatoes (which is the common practice) than a solid nest as you were served. Using shoestringed potatoes to deep fry (placed between two wiremesh strainers to achieve the shape) creates a realistic bird’s nest. This is more a Cantonese dish, and the filling typically consists of fresh veggies (pea pods, carrots, celery, mini corn, straw mushroom, onion, bamboo shoot) and prawns and/or scallops.
I have a co-worker whose house has a special custom-built “wok & fry booth” that is self-enclosed (like a shower stall) with a powerful ventilation system. Maybe that’s what Ben could save up for for Suanne’s Christmas gift ……. LOL
Those pictures really made me miss Malaysian food. I need to borrow those pictures to show to the Chinese restaurant here in Japan and ask them to make those Malaysian Chinese food!
The potato nest that you described is actually called Fatt Putt (Yam Basket … or does it means Buddha’s Bowl?). It’s my favourite dish.
Recipe here -
http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=737
Another picture -
http://ta469ch.multiply.com/photos/photo/101/33
Hi, the food (especially the crab) look so devilishly yummy!!! Do you have the address of that restuarant? I do visit KL a few times a year and would definitely love to drop by this yummy restaurant to taste the food!
Btw, I think it’s a Yam Basket as opposed to a ‘potato’ basket. It’s called Buddha’s somethign and I believe originated as a vegetarian dish. The filling for the basket as I recall is a very much more moist and glistening version with cashew nuts instead of peanuts. I recall also that it was quite delicious!
Hi Ben - Fried bread is good stuff…especially if done right. I had to hide the crab post from the Missus, it would drive Her, and thus me…crazy!
Hi LotusRapper: You sure know your food! I have been seeing your name in so many other food forum. We should meet up one day. I sure have lots to learn from you.
Hi Jenny (and LotusRapper): Suanne loves to eat food, not cook for sure! Good suggestion but I don’t think getting her a bigger kitchen would help. :-( Funny thing though … she is an avid collector of recipes.
Hi JYap: You should come over to Vancouver sometime and I will show you the food scene here. It’s just a short hop from Tokyo to Vancouver. What do you say?
Hi Peew: I don’t have the address but did a google just now and found that it could be at “desa aman puri, kepong. opposite kings confectionery”.
Hi Kirk: The Missus is a fan of crabs too huh? BTW, you should start to show who the people are behind mmm-yoso. Suanne and I had been curious how you guys look like!
Ben
Certainly some interesting dishes there. Not sure about the Hakka porridge though?
http://platosway.blogspot.com
Good gods, Ben! You crab feast puts my own crab adventure to shame. Delicious!
- Chubbypanda
Hi Chubbypanda: I was looking over your blog for the crab posting. Where is it? I cant’ find it. I love crabs.
OMG! You are just doing promotion and advertisement for Tak Fook! Should ask the boss to give you special discount in your next dining!
Erm…I have been there too and it is really a great place to have dinner! Cheap and delicious!
Btw, your photos taking skill is so good!
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