Gastro Monkey // 美食家

In case you had any doubt, I love crabs. Younger me hated them though, and always longed for lobster. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I took those Dungeness Crabs for granted. I thought those were a lot of work and only ate the stuff in the head because it was easier; just throw some rice in, mix it up, and scoop into your mouth! Man, was I wrong. So many other crabs that are so much more work. Like this little guy. Mitten crabs are tiny little crabs that are a ton of work. There's also a method to it, so if you are planning on having some, youtube it so you don't waste your time trying to figure it out. Someone else posted that the best way is to start with the legs since they are smaller and get colder faster.  Either way, make sure that the crab is fresh. I've had frozen before and it just wasn't as good. It makes a huge difference in the texture of the crab meat itself. And the butter. The whole point of mitten crabs are the crab butter. Supposedly the mal...

I actually shot a wedding at this restaurant before and loved how good it was. I made a mental note to come back some day and eat here again. A few years later, I finally made it for dim sum (when your "To-Eat" list is as long as mine, it really takes a while!). We had a great seat with a view of the city. We got there around 10:30 on a Saturday so there was still plenty of parking close by and a fair amount of seats with unobstructed views. You have a choice of ordering from their dim sum menu, or their regular lunch menu. It was hard to choose. We picked some things that we regularly would order (chicken feet, pork ribs, shrimpy items), along with some specialties (pea leaf, Japanese crab). Most of the items we ordered were amazing. I loved the pea leaf and abalone. The abalone, as always, was tender and flavorful. I think a few of the pea leaf stems were older (read: harder) but still good. I loved the radish cakes (also called daikon cakes, everyone has their pre...