Top 5 Chinese Crab Dishes

A few years ago we covered the city’s five best crab dishes, selecting our favourites across different cuisines. However, we feel that crabs in Chinese cuisine deserve more of a special mention, as chefs celebrate the crustacean’s versatility in more ways than steaming them with ginger and scallions or wok-frying and tossing with pepper and salt. Here are our top five favourite Chinese crab dishes.

Man Wah

Deep-fried crab claw coated with minced shrimp. This classic Cantonese dish gets the golden treatment at the Mandarin Oriental’s signature Chinese restaurant. Fresh crab claw is a must for this dish, but the shrimp must be minced and not mashed to keep good texture. Each piece looks like a drumstick from the sea, only better. 

Man Wah, 25/F Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road, Central, +852 2825-4003

Tin Lung Heen

Steamed crab claw with egg white. The crab claw packs flavour, and is best accompanied by silky steamed egg whites that are softly set and quivers slightly when served. We like the idea of individual servings, especially because this dish it is one of those we find it hard to share.

Tin Lung Heen, 102/F, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, ICC, 1 Austin Road West., West Kowloon +852 2263-2270

Yan Toh Heen

Another classic Cantonese dish revamped. The golden stuffed crab shell with crabmeat needs no introduction to regulars to Yan Toh Heen. Each crab shell is packed with crabmeat, onions and a creamy sauce, and the thin coating of breadcrumbs helps in building a crunchy crust on top.

Yan Toh Heen, Lower Level, InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui +852 2313-2323

Chairman

The only restaurant from the original list of top five crabs we featured, though this time we haven’t selected their signature steamed flower crab with chicken oil and shaoxing wine. This celebrated Chinese restaurant has mastered the art of preparing seafood well, and so this time we’ve selected their deep-fried crabmeat and mushroom dumplings, which are golden discs of indulgence. The idea of pork back fat as dumpling wrappers may deter you, but the thin translucent fat reminds us of Italian lardo, and each of these round ravioli is filled with fresh crabmeat, chopped shiitake mushrooms and a generous helping of chopped coriander. 

Chairman,  18 Kau U Fong, Central; +852 2555-2202

Above & Beyond

Steamed coral crab with glutinous rice. This showstopper is always the highlight of any meal at Above & Beyond. Inside the lotus leaf-lined bamboo steamer is a whole steamed coral crab, with flesh that is fresh and juicy in every bite. Don’t forget the bed of glutinous rice underneath, which has absorbed the juices from the crab. Save your appetite for this marvelous dish. 

Above & Beyond, 28/F, Hotel Icon, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui; +852 3400-1318