CHASING FOOD DREAMS: Alaskan King Crab

Showing posts with label Alaskan King Crab. Show all posts

November 14, 2014

Crab Factory, Original Louisiana Boil: A Thanksgiving Extravaganza Lobster Feast

An Oceanic Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving holidays are just around the corner for those who celebrate the festive abroad in Western countries. I love Thanksgiving holidays. It has the warm autumn feel of festivity that echoes the Christmas holiday coming soon. Living in the states for a good six years, I spent six precious Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. It is indeed a big affair and just like our traditional Malaysian holidays like Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Deepavali, all families head on home to gather for the festive holidays. Traditional Thanksgiving is celebrated with a big fat juicy roast turkey and trimmings. Well this Thanksgiving, you might just want to bend the rule here…

It’s my first visit to Crab Factory, Original Louisiana Boil at SS2, Petaling Jaya. Taking a spot facing the McDonalds in the famous SS2 square, Crab Factory is the brainchild of T.Y. Ooi. After taking a holiday in the states, T.Y. and her pals came back and got excited in bringing a taste of Southern Creole and Cajun flavours with seafood to Malaysians. Developing the recipes, snagging quality seafood from reliable suppliers and the rest is history as they say in the makings, Crab Factory was born.

Walking into Crab Factory, one is immediately at ease with its modern industrial décor from brick walls to cool grey walls and flooring, lots of decorative wheels, chalkboards, industrial lightings and wood mixed steel furniture. Right away, one knows that we should all just leave our prim and proper manners out of the restaurant.

At Crab Factory, one should feel like you are at someone’s home in the States where many would gather for a big seafood feast of crawfish boils and lobster boils. It is only fair that one should also dine like how it should be for every seafood boils back in the southern states to get the full experience. So be prepared to dine with your hands (your best tool definitely!) and the fact that there is no plates and utensils available in the restaurant except for small paper trays and plastic bags. Once the seafood appears, pour out all the seafood in the bags onto the table and dig in…

Ordering is simple, pick your seafood and then pick a sauce. Throw in some sides and bag buddies and get downright dirty delicious with your hands! Oh… put on the Crab Factory apron if you’re worried about your clothes but hey, let’s not sweat the small stuff for great food…

Since its Thanksgiving week, Crab Factory has been running their Thanksgiving Extravaganza Canadian Lobsters promotion. A big sweet treat, this Thanksgiving Extravaganza feast priced at RM145++ offers two Canadian Lobsters (1KG) steamed with King Mushrooms, Potatoes and Corn in a glorious Garlic Butter Sauce.

What a treat! This certainly makes a nice change from the usual turkey for the festive so I am pretty sure many will also attest to this since we are after all Malaysians and we do love our seafood.

The two lobsters are very good in sizes and when the bag was opened, a wharf of garlicky buttery aroma filled the air with much deliciousness. The lobsters are gorgeously succulent and cooked well. The oceanic sweetness coupled with the tender meat brought me back to memories of my sister and friends backyard seafood escapades where we would try and whipped up seafood boils and just literally dive into seafood oblivion. I enjoyed the lobster also because the garlicky butter sauce didn’t mask the lobsters but rather enhanced the sweetness of the crustaceans.

Check out the amount of lobster roe in this crustacean! Feeling rather smirk at the sight of such indulgence…

The bag buddies of potatoes and corn is quite the standard for any lobster boils and the addition of the firm king mushrooms added a nice local touch. After a good soaking, these bag buddies are buttery and yummy.

Now if lobsters aren’t your thing, then surely there is plenty of seafood to keep you happy. Crabs, meat crabs to be exact, comes in several sizes with its own price tag based on market price. Ours was steamed drenched in Crab Factory’s Signature Southern Bang sauce with a medium heat level. There are four levels of heat so choose your poison from Mild, Medium, O’ly Crab and Death Valley. Death Valley is pretty much suicidal if you can’t take spicy at all…

Our crabs looked ferociously spicy and red. One taste of the sauce and I can feel a little sweat starting. I happen to love spicy food and thinks my heat level is pretty good but this medium heat level is pretty much a kick in the heat sense. So make sure to go slowly and choose wisely if you cannot take too spicy. The sauce is pretty much addictive. The more you savor, the more you are hooked. I find myself going nuts about the meaty sweet crab with the knock-your-socks off Southern Bang sauce. The sweating goes off once your flavour sense adjust to the heat and that’s when pleasure comes in. I should go braver once day and take on the two higher heat levels in my next 3kgs of crabs…

Besides just being spicy, the richness of the sauce has a lovely lemony tang and lots of peppery notes. It’s piquant and simply moreish too. Corn was the bag buddy for the crab and it is a great one because the sweetness of the corn goes really well with the spicy sauce. We enjoyed the sauce so much, we jokingly ask for bread to mop up the sauces.

No plain bread but Crab Factory has Homemade Garlic Bread (RM7.90) available which we ordered to mop up the crab sauce. Pretty satisfied as the toasty garlicky bread matches the spicy sauce heavenly!

Next up, 500grams of Prawns in Jamba Jamba Sauce on medium heat level was pour out all over our table. The prawns are firm and bouncy with a very delectable hint of sweetness. The Jamba Jamba sauce is a tomato based sauce and has lovely sweet, sour and spicy flavours. Ok so I lost count of how many prawns I devoured that day but who could blame me as these were just irresistible.

We also took on 500gms of Australian Yabbies in Garlic Butter Sauce. The contrasting bright red with the sunshine yellow butter sauce is so pretty on the table. These yabbies were of a good size. As I plucked off the head and proceed to suck out all the divine flavours, I was telling myself how much satisfaction I was having right there at that moment. The sauce allowed the yabbies to really showcase the natural sweetness and also enhanced the creaminess of the yabbies. This one was RM88 but truly worth the price tag because I have never tasted such big and sweet yabbies here in Malaysia.

Other sidekicks we tried, golden crispy Fried Baby Squid (RM10.90) and Hush Puppies (RM8.90). Absolutely flawless, the crunchy lightly battered Cajun flavoured squid is super yum. When I saw the Hush Puppies on their menu, I literally beg for it. I had a few good ones back in the States and have missed this so much. Not many know how to appreciate these golden fried oatmeal balls but I really enjoy these here. I can taste some spices in the Hush Puppies and these have a medium dense oaty texture. Try it because who knows, you might like me!

Crab Factory has plenty more to offer than what I have tried. There are 17 types of side dishes from Southern Chicken & Waffles, Fish & Chips, Prawn Remoulade, Southern Heartwarming Gumbo Soup, Fried Okra and more… all the comforting Southern dishes. Seafood list goes beyond our normal expectations from the hefty priced King Crab to Slipper Lobsters, Amaebi, Japanese Snails, Baby Octopus, Mussel, Scallops and more. Don’t forget to add on more bag buddies to the seafood. During lunch hours, Crab Factory serves up quite a few variations of pasta with seafood. To complete all the seafood, Crab Factory has a long list of beers available to keep everyone happy!

So if you’re thinking of a Thanksgiving celebration with a seafood twist, head over to Crab Factory to check out the value-for-money Thanksgiving Extravaganza Canadian Lobsters promotion available from now till 30^th November 2014! Burp…

CRAB FACTORY

21, Jalan SS2/64,

47300 Petaling Jaya

Tel: +603-7865 5850

Website: www.crabfactory.com.my

Facebook: www.facebook.com/crabfactorymalaysia

Business Hours:

Mon, Wed & Thurs: 3.00pm - 11.00pm

Fri, Sat & Sun: 11.00am - 11.00pm

Close on Tuesdays

October 4, 2014

Gobo Chit Chat, Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur: Let’s Feast on Seafood Buffet Dinner!

Impressive Seafood Escapade!

My family and I are huge fans of seafood. In fact, we are often on the hunt for seafood whether it be a great crab dish or indulgences of prawns, fish, clams and more. Recently, the whole cosmopolitan city has also been going seafood crazy. It’s definitely a plus point for seafood lovers like me!

It’s my first visit to Gobo Chit Chat at Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur and I could not be any happier as Gobo Chit Chat is having a Seafood Buffet Dinner promotion from now till 29 November, 2014. Available every Friday and Saturday each week for the promotion period, the Seafood Buffet Dinner is definitely not to be miss and is also really value for money. The Seafood Buffet Dinner is King Neptune’s treasures of the sea prepared in various ways for indulgence.

Gobo Chit Chat is a stylish all-day dining restaurant that offers a new dimension of gastronomical cuisine. The ambience is beautifully contemporary and offer guests a trendy and spacious interior set with curved hanger ceiling. Dining is set on different levels to create more chic and private space. Gobo Chit Chat is set with various food stations serving international and local cuisine. The open kitchen and live stations offer freshly prepared dishes served to order. From its Japanese sushi bar, Antipasti bar to front noodle kitchen, grill bar and dessert bar, there is something delicious for everyone.

The star of the night has to be the magnificent Seafood on Ice bar!

Utterly impressive at sight, it’s hard not to be pleased with the glorious spread of Neptune’s ransom from Alaskan King Crab, Slipper Lobster, Baby Lobster, Fresh Oysters, Scallops, Crabs, Blue Yabbies, Clams, Mussels and assorted varieties of Prawns.

The glorious seafood is succulent and sweet. It was such a pampering moment in enjoying the fabulous premium seafood spread. Picking a few favorites is difficult and saving room for more delicious dishes would require much control at Gobo Chit Chat.

The seafood buffet is also perfect for family, friends or business gathering as one can really relax and enjoy all the scrumptious spread of seafood haven.

The Japanese Sushi bar offers lots of Sashimi and Sushi. I really enjoyed how everything is prepared in small portions or to order. Succulent Salmon, Snapper, Abalone and more, the sashimi is super yum together with the sushi packed with lots of delicious fillings.

The kitchen team at Gobo Chit Chat makes their own cured Salmon Gravlax. There are also Smoked Salmon, Smoked Duck, Pickled Herring and more cured meat and seafood. The Salmon Gravlax is so good!

A Baked Whole Salmon together with Roasted Rib of Beef sat warmly at the Carving Station.

If you need your greens, there’s the Salad Bar and the Antipasto Bar. I simply couldn’t resist visiting the Antipasto bar as the array of various marinated and pickled vegetables and mushrooms are very tempting. There are very few places who offer such an array of antipasto and this is such a treat for me.

Here’s another station to visit! Fresh crabs waiting to be cooked into Butter Crab upon each order. Order one with your choice of crab and watch as your crab gets cooked in the luscious spiced up butter sauce. High points for the claypot as it keeps the crab warm as we dived happily into the creamy and lightly spiced up Butter Crab!

There is also the hot buffet station filled with lots of seafood and meat cooked a la Chinese and Malay. From whole Steamed Fish to Clams in Herbal Broth to Udang Masak Lemak dan Rebung and Ayam Dara Panggang Percik with Daging Rendang Tok, these are all dishes that evoke comfort flavours.

Another limelight of the Seafood Buffet Dinner is the BBQ and Grill Station. This is also a Must-Visit! Loads of meat and seafood are nicely chilled on ice, waiting to be selected and handed over to the chefs to grill it the way one wants it…

The choices are truly amazing. I spied Steak, Chicken, Lamb and Seafood such as Baby Lobster, Slipper Lobster, Scallop on Shell, Tiger Prawn, Giant Clam, Squid, Salmon and lots of other whole fishes.

Let me tell you about my plate. It was a plate of perfection! My Baby Lobster, Scallop, Tiger Prawn and Salmon were cooked to perfection.

The Baby Lobster was so succulent, tender and super sweet. It was drizzled with a herb butter with some minced peppers. The Scallop cooked with a soft center was also beautifully sweet and bathe in the same herb butter. Tiger Prawn was yum. Salmon, a fish I am so particular about when cooked won my vote too. Cooked with a medium pink center, the Salmon flakes and melt-in-the-mouth. To me, this is how every piece of salmon should be cook. Its juicy, it’s flavourful and it’s super delicious.

Don’t miss this station!

All that glorious seafood galore but do try and save room for desserts. Gobo Chit Chat Dessert Station is piled up in heights where endless tempting desserts are placed all over. From Mini Puddings to Mini Desserts in little shot glass and bottles to Tarts, Cakes, Pastries, Eclairs, Cookies, it’s a sweet feast.

Chocolate Fountain with Marshmallows, Fruits and Brownies, House mad Ice Creams, Cupcakes and more is simply irresistible.

Watch out for the Cheesecake that literally melts-in-the-mouth, a bold Chocolate Chili Mousse, a fruity Mango Mousse Cake and the Ice Creams. It’s the highlight of the night for me.