Elite's King Crab 3 ways

First was body sautéed in ginger and scallions (gone before I could take a picture). Amazing.

Legs were steamed in garlic.

Brains/mustard/Kani miso steamed with egg custard. Boom.

Gratuitous shot of winter melon soup

Squab money shot

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Amazing dish(s)!

Awesome! What’s the price per pound on the king crab down there?

$50-55lb at Elite for ordering in advance

$45/lb is probably a good price.

We’ve even had $30/lb on one that they couldn’t sell and we just happened to be in house to take it off their hands.

What’s the wine of choice (or choices) with this magnificent beast? Tried to preorder one up here, got denied (availability issue). Had a White Burgundy in mind (Chablis Fevre), but I’m sure you did better. Also wondering if JZhou would do it better or as good.

Chablis is a great match. Fevre has premature oxidation issues so just drink them young. In the same price look for recent vintage Faiveley chablis. You can get Faiveley Clos and Preuses Grand Cru for $50-70 where the Raveneau versions will cost you $3-500+.

I love white burg with Cantonese seafood and squab.

Check out the 2013 Olivier Leflaive Setilles at around $19.99 on KL. Stellar drinker and QPR.

JZhou might do it better but also might charge more. With live king crab it’s all about the ingredient and how large/fresh that thing is and the timing of the cooking methods.

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Have you tried the version up north at Saigon, prepared with noodles (mung bean?). Very popular.

Seen photos of the dish there, but sadly not a fan of the restaurant.

Had a variation of this king crab 3 way dish at Top Island recently. Legs steamed, plain, no garlic. Body lightly fried with a thin coat of corn starch batter and lightly dusted with chili and salt. Tamali, the liver and pancreas or green stuff (not brain) scrambled with egg white, Shao Shin wine and steamed in the king crab’s shell. The 15 pounder was $60/lb.
Warning: Top Island’s on sale king crab special @ $10-15/lb always weight less than half of what they claim. Nearby restaurants with similar king crab specials are much closer to their claimed weights.

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Top Island is a travesty on so many levels.

Food is the least of their issues.

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Could you please elaborate about their other issues?
The full price king crab 3 ways was had in the presidential VIP room at Top Island, one of the few VIP rooms in San Gabriel valley Cantonese restaurants with its own private bathroom and sing-alone audio-video set up. The 10 courses, $250 per head (before tax, tips and wines) special ordered menu dinner comes with a dedicated server and was served on gold plated plates and utensils. Other food items included Australian spiny lobster sashimi, roasted suckling pig, braised whole dried Hokkaido abalone (1 per person), roasted baby squab, braised sturgeon maw and sea cucumber, sea tiger shark fin soup, and a swallow nest dessert. Thus, I had no complain about their decor, their food nor their service.
Also, Top Island in Alhambra, Happy Harbor in Rowland Height, J Zhou in Tustin, NBC in Monterey Park and the new Grand Harbor in Temple City all prominently display photos of their executive chef taken with a well known Hong Kong master abalone chef. So they may all be related in some way.

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