Dragon-i @ The Curve , Mutiara Damansara – Hairy Crab Promotion

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sticky and icky.. I wonder if I am a hairy female or hairy male..
(if I am female.. someone please kindly pass me the razor) .
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Oh! I am MALE.. and I am told.. i do not ooze ROE..
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When one is called for a review on the Hairy Crab, specially flown weekly from the famous Tai Lake in China, one normally does not say no;) The latest promotion at Dragon-i, that is highly seasonal and is subject to availability, is the Hairy Crab set menu that costs RM 128.00/person (min 3 pax) with six dishes – Steamed shanghainese hairy crab, steamed shanghainese crab roe dumpling (xiao long bao a.k.a. XLB) , double-boiled chicken soup with fish maw & bamboo pith, sauteed fresh vegetable with crab roe, chinese fried rice, and for dessert, sesame dumpling in ginger soup.

Hairy Crabs (a.k.a. Dazha crab or Chinese mitten crab) are so named because their front claws have a thick mass of hair. While the crabs are considered the main delicacy of a meal, they usually do not appear in a traditional Chinese meal until the very end, after all the other dishes have been served.

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Everyone tends to have his or her own style in tackling the crab to get to the meat. Most tend to eat the legs first because the flesh is pushed out of the shell and placed back in the shell again, intact. This makes eating the legs the easiest of tasks. After that, everyone rips into the shell bits, and eats pretty much everything else. The orange part is the roe and considered the best part. Crabs are considered to be yin (cold foods), so to balance it you eat them by dipping into vinegar with ginger and if you have Chinese wine to go with it, even better.
If you ask me, the set price of RM128 is a real steal because the taste is just out of this world. After fighting with the shell to get to the delicate pieces of meat and juicy roe, you want the taste to be worth all the effort. Although pricey, it truly is a Shanghainese dish that everyone needs to try at least once. The male roe is actually, ahem, sperm and is thick and gooey in consistency and heavy with feeling! We sampled the female hairy crab with the vegetables – sweet and succulent but less thick in texture. This was delicious too. The other dish I thoroughly enjoyed was the XLB. The less gamy taste (as it was not beef nor pork but rather crab meat) and the sweetness of the crab meat was uniquely pleasurable! Words cannot describe it – you best check it out for yourselves!
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Kampung Boy and City Girl I have known for close to two years now, but hardly get the chance to meet up. I LOVE this couple, they are so cute! It was great seeing the dynamic blogging duo again, after so long.

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I was also happy to meet Shell Food Station in person finally! I nearly fainted when Cheesie of Cheeserland and KY of KYSpeaks walked into the room. Being a real kipas (fan) of both blogs, it was really fun to chat and meet up with them in real life. They are both extremely friendly and down to earth people. So now I have more friends. Yay!

Thank you, Kong WK of PRKraft and Dragon-I for the invite. This was a great lunch and a fantastic weekend meet up with bloggers!

Address:
Dragon-i,
The Curve,
6 Jalan PJU 7/3,
Lot 136 & 137, 1F,
Mutiara Damansara,
PJ, Selangor
Tel: 03-7728 6888
(Non-Halal)
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Forgive me if I act a little crabby.. I have just been turned inside out… and I AM afterall, a reconstructed crab!

read other reviews here, here .. and HERE!

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