Hong Kong Typhoon Shelter Crab

Helllooo! I'm back! 

Hong Kong Typhoon Shelter Crab (aka Hong Kong Spicy Crab), I'm told/read on the internet, is named after Hong Kong's typhoon shelters (it's just a place where you take shelter from a typhoon, so no, it's not just a clever name), where the dish originated amongst the folks who lived and/or took refuge there. Thankfully for those of us who don't live on sampans in a typhoon shelter, all the famous purveyors of this tasty delicacy have opened up shop on land in the neighborhood everyone in Hong Kong loves to love, Wanchai.

Here is how you serve Hong Kong spicy crab according to me (CNN has their own version here):

1.  Ask customer to pick a crab. Tell the customer the price of the crab is based on weight/seasonal availability/etc.
2.  If the customer says that crab is too expensive and asks for a smaller one (the price is based on weight, after all, right?), look VERY concerned about the customer's choice, then go back into the kitchen and come back out with the same crab but charge HKD200 less for it.
3.  Fry the chosen crab in precisely one shit-ton (are we hyphenating that these days?) of garlic and chili.
4.  Serve the crab.
5.  Wait until the customers are done eating.
6.  Serve the ginger fried rice that the customers wanted to eat with the crab.

As a customer, as you might imagine, your role is to make sure you look VERY disappointed and upset by the original asking price of the crab, as well as to complain A LOT about why your ginger fried rice hasn't arrived. It's all part of the experience, trust me.

The steps, from a customer's point of view, illustrated:

Choosing the crab:

No, get a closer look!

Get right in there!
Rejoice! The crab has arrived! But don't rejoice for too long.  Now it's time to start asking as to the whereabouts of your ginger fried rice.

Now eat it.

See, it really is a shit-ton (yes, yes we are hyphenating it these days) of chili and garlic!

I suspect Lonely Planet is going to be knocking down my door tomorrow to get this eloquently-written guide published, so to fill in all the requisite details, note that I usually go to Hee Kee Fried Crab Expert.  The other famous place to get your hands on some spicy crab is Under Bridge Spicy Crab. So, to the extent you think it sounds preferable to buy your crabs from someone whose main descriptor is that they are "under a bridge" as opposed to an "expert", go for it.

Props to Eden for pioneering these crab negotiating tactics.  And should you venture to go here without either of us, make sure you also get the black bean clams, fried squid and of course, ginger fried rice.