Fatty Crab: Malaysian Street Food, Meatpacking District NYC

Rubenesque New York City Entry #55

Some restaurants demand that diners deny themselves. They are islands of restraint. For the past forty years chefs have retreated from a cuisine of excess. Classic haute cuisine was based on the assumption that if you asked about the calories, you can't afford them.

If Fatty Crab is any indication, fat is back, and with a vengence. Regulars will inexorably be transformed from stark Giacometti fantasies to Rubenesque dreams. Super-duper models. Given that the night we ate at Fatty Crab most of our fellow diners were svelte-twenty-somethings - culikids - it seemed that they considered calories the way previous generations thought about tobacco. There will be years enough to quit. If this is hip, it is a heavy shank, indeed.

A comparison of Fatty Crab and Momofuku across town seems inevitable (walk due east from the former and you reach the latter). Both restaurants target the same audience (if they're under thirty, can you trust ‘em?), neither accepts reservations, both sit snugly on a knife's edge of asphyxiation, both present dishes according to the kitchen's whim, avoiding the quaint notion of courses. Add to this that both offer Crafty renditions of Asian street food, outposts of youngish celebrity chefs (FC's chef Zak Pelaccio also runs the neighboring, elegant 5 Ninth), and that a smart $50 buys a night of inventive cuisine.

For two restaurants that are so similar, they could hardly be more different. If restaurants can be divided into those that are ideational (Charlie Trotter, Alain Ducasse) and those that are sensate (Frontera Grill, Babbo), Momofuku is the former and Fatty Crab the latter. The former force diners to think about the food, the latter push them to dive in and indulge. Even the ambiance distinguishes the two. The deep red walls and wild decorations (standing fans on the ceiling) - and music - at FC contrasts with the stark oak walls and tables at Momofuku - just as the restrained noodles contrast with the rich cuts at Fatty Crab. Fatty Crab is intense energy - in decor and in cuisine. Even the staff hail from different corners of Our Youth: the scrubbed earnestness of our East Village servers contrasted with charming scrubbly and dyed staff in the Meatpacking District. Nothing was more symptomatic at Fatty Crab than the absence of knifes (forks and chopsticks were available); these were dishes where Sumo diners wrestled with cuts of meat (a knife is available on request).

We began with Green Mango with Chili Sugar Salt, a dish that would have been most welcome as a palate cleanser in the midst of the dinner. Slices of sour mango were paired with a bowl of Asian Pixy Stick Powder. The sweet heat of the powder took the edge off the puckery sour mango. If it was not ideal as a starter, it would have provided a heartfelt break from the main courses.

Soon after arrived fat salad: Watermelon Pickle and Crispy Pork. The chunks of Crispy Pork might better be characterized as crispy belly held together by the merest floss of meat. Was it ever luxurious. The cool and sexy watermelon pickles kept the plate from pure decadence but it was as close as might be found outside Crobar. This was a dish for the Book of Days.

Short Rib Rendang, braised with kaffir lime, coconut and chili matched the salad in indulgence. The muscle was swaddled in a fluffly blanket of fat. The flavors of Malaysia cried out that the dish was exotic, but it really was the fat that captured and fixed these flavors, as fat always does. Although the dish had considerable heat, it was cooled by the solidity of the rib.

By the time that Fatty Crab's Fatty Duck was brought to the table, we were beginning to get the point. Served alone, this vastly hedonist dish would have been (almost) as satisfying as the rib (although the wild gaminess of the duck was lost as brined and fried). I could appreciate how this dish could have been a fine entree when served with the green mango as a side, but in a temple of fat there were other Gods to worship.

Black Grouper Masak Lemak with a sauce of chilies and potatoes, poached in coconut broth with bok choy and jalapeno was libertine as well. Even fish can have zaftig heft. I admired the mix of coconut broth and fish, glad that the fat did not smother the fish, even if by no magic could it pass weight watchers muster.

Our final dish, the least successful, was a Sous Vide Chicken Breast (the technique of preparing meat by boiling in a vacuum bag) with rice, sweet soy, and chili-ginger sauce. By this time in the evening we appreciated just how much flavor fat can capture, and a lean dish seemed out of place. The dish was inoffensive, and the accompaniments attempted to jazz this austere poultry, but it seemed like cosmetic surgery: the least Crabby moment of the evening.

To dine at Fatty Crab is to indulge in an intense, sweaty, and ardent cuisine. For those frolicking in middle age, Fatty Crab is like passion, not to be missed, but not every night if you please.

Fatty Crab
643 Hudson Street (at Gansevoort Street)
Manhattan (Meatpacking District)
212-352-3590

http://www.vealcheeks.blogspot.com

In NYC for business, I contacted a foodie college buddy to get together for a wonderful evening of food and conversation.

Having lived in New York for over a decade, my friend is the perfect guide for restaurants, shops and celebrity gossip. She said that she had heard about a Malaysian restaurant which was highly recommended by another foodie friend of hers, so we were very excited to try Fatty Crab.

My friend ordered a Singha beer when our very friendly server said they didn't have a Malaysian beer on the menu. I decided to quench my thirst with a watermelon and Vietnamese mint drink (smoothie), which was delicious and refreshing. My only complaint was that it was too small! We reviewed the menu and decided to go with our favorite "fatty" items -- Fatty Tea Sandwiches (pork belly), Fatty Duck (brined, steamed, fried) and Chili Crab (dungeoness crab, chili sauce, white toast).

The three pork belly tea sandwiches were adorable - white bread with the crusts cut off. The pork belly looked like fatty pieces of bacon but had a much richer aroma. A bit rich for my taste, but I enjoyed it.

The Fatty Duck was very delicious! The fried duck didn't have any breading, but had a nice crispy texture on the outside. The flavor was so rich and decadent that it was hard for me to not suck on the bones. I ate everything off the bone as elegantly as I could. Oh so recommended!

The Chili Crab was soooooo wonderful -- complex flavors reminiscent of mussamun curry I had in Phuket (that's as close as I've ever gotten to Malaysia). Eating this dish reminded me of the horrible mess I made of steamed crabs in Maryland; the locals can get alot out, but my effort-to-crabmeat ratio was pathetic. Not recommended for a first date, as it's very messy! There were some delicious morsels to be had, but was a bit disappointed by its size, as I thought dungeness crabs were much, much bigger (like at Bob Chinn's). They provided three large triangles of extra-thick toast, which our server suggested we save until the end so we can sop up all of the delicious sauce. She was right, the sauce was so good I wanted to drink it right out of the bowl. I told my friend that I bet it would taste great with sticky rice as well, but the toast provided an unexpected yet yummy combination.

Before the check arrived, they provided tiny coconut cakes which really hit the spot. Dense and a bit chewy, the coconut flavor was the perfect ending to our exotic dinner.

The restaurant is very small, but we got to sit at a two-top outside on a nice night and our server was super helpful and very friendly. The neighboring tables had friendly people asking us what we ordered, and it felt casual, intimate and cozy. Loved the ambiance, loved the service (friendly hipsters) and really enjoyed walking around the neighborhood afterwards to work off the delicious fatty treats we had (we probably should have walked alot longer to work off all the calories).

asami

Was in NY earlier in the year and was deciding between Momofuku and Fatty Crab...went with FC and never looked back.

Got there after 11 and got seated right away, your usual dark, small, "comfy" seating...had a nice convo with the couple next to us.
Went with:

Green Mango with chili sugar salt...what you would expect, nice flavors...agree with above mention that it would prob be better in the middle of the meal.

Fatty Tea sandwiches - Good flavors, pork belly fat was yummy

Watermelon pickle and crispy pork- Friggin amazing, the looming heart attack was well worth the minute of bliss.

Skate Panaang - Also very good, had great tastes, maybe the spice was a little overpowering, but a solid dish

Ordered two mix drinks that I would say pass on...one had blood orange and it was disgusting...stick to beer or wine

Overall it was an experience I would definetly recommend.


I then went back to NY in July and got to try Momofuku (ssam). Although I'm not sure you can compare them I will...I would go with FC.
Momofuku was also delicious, but the flavors that ZP and fatty crab had won in my book...although the buns were great.

I have been to Fatty Crab a handful of times and the food memories from that place just stay with me. More than any other restaurant in recent years, I crave their dishes, which is difficult since I live in Chicago and all. Especially the watermelon and pork belly salad, the beef rendang and the chili crab - so good. Well, I finally went looking for recipes to see if I could recreate any of the dishes. I found the recipe to the Pork Belly and Watermelon Salad from the NY Times and made it this weekend. It was fabulous. Yeah, it took about 24 hours to complete, and trips to 4 different shopping locations, but that's quicker and cheaper than flying to NY.

I was so excited that I figured I'd share the recipe with anyone else who was craving watermelon, pickled watermelon rind, pork belly, and one of the tastiest ginger lime dressings ever.

I forgot to take a picture when I made it but in this article there is a picture about half way down the page.

Fatty Crab is quite good, but IMHO, no comparison with Momofuku Ssam Bar. The pork belly buns are to die for. The hamachi is terrific as well. Chang changes the menu all the time, and I haven't been in a few months, but its always been terrific.