When Robert Yeap, the owner of Imperial ZhengHe told us that his restaurant is serving hairy crabs, we could not miss this golden opportunity to try this special delicacy.
Imperial ZhengHe, named after the famous Ming sea farer, Admiral Cheng Ho serves fusion Nanyang and Nyonya delights in a wondrous Imperial Chinese setting. They even have a mini museum upstairs for guest-viewing while waiting for the food.
The hairy crabs from Yang Cheng Lake in Jiangsu are sold at RM220 per pair. A complimentary dish of mixed vegetables and a generous portion of tempura is included. Considering that the hairy crab were air-flown from China, the pricing is quite reasonable. We were told that the best hairy crabs are from Yang Cheng Lake because of the special quality of its water. The females are bigger and meatier than the males.
Robert suggested we take our crabs in its simplest form, boiled. The distinct characteristic of these crabs is the furry claws which resembles mittens. They were small, not as meaty as their “cousins” that we are used to. However, compared with the regular “meaty crabs”, I would say these “mitten crabs” are tastier and sweet. The creamy roe is simply delicious. Robert has his own concoction of sauce to go with it.
We spent a pleasantly-long afternoon at Imperial ZhengHe as Robert was a great host!
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