The Big Easy is roaring into PJ's SS2, courtesy of Crab Factory, opened this month by a merry band of Malaysians who once swung through southern Louisiana on a summertime road trip spiced up by Creole & Cajun cooking & swore to bring home their tastiest recollections of the bayou.
It's a small, engagingly furnished eatery, complete with communal tables to let family & friends gather elbow-to-elbow for fun feasts evocative of The Deep South's seafood boils & enlivened by a soundtrack that's suitably heavy on Louis Armstrong & Harry Connick Jr.
Fresh shellfish forms the foundation for recipes that T.Y. Ooi, this Factory's creative chef (that's the title on her business card), proclaims were tried & tested through many months of kitchen R&D (plus plenty of hearty eating by the restaurant's founders).
We forwent the crabs in favor of the crawfish, the more popular component of true-blue seafood boils. RM78 buys a minimum order of 500 grams that'll feed two or three people, especially with soft, lovely potatoes (RM6) or corn (RM4) thrown into the bag.
Customers can also choose prawns, mussels or baby octopus; the food isn't cheap but it's not unprecedentedly priced either, not in this year of escalating costs.
Prepared in lemon pepper, garlic butter or 'signature whole shebang' sauce; the final one's marked by major heat, more spicy than savory. Even the medium setting packs firepower that's more ferocious than expected.
Gumbo is served as a snack here, featuring shrimp, sausage meat & okra swimming in soupy, soul-food stock over rice. RM12.90; probably functions more as a light lunch than a substantial dinner.
Southern fried chicken wings, hot & juicy (RM12.90 before taxes). Crab Factory's opening menu sticks to the more easily prepared fundamentals, so the food's served pretty fast; perhaps po' boys, jambalaya & bananas foster might come later, but it's fine for this place to focus on quality over quantity for now.
A small selection of craft beers is available too. Service is friendly & obliging; the people seem nice here. At long last, the South rises again, but who knew it'd be in SS2?
Crab Factory Original Louisiana Boil
21, Jalan SS2/64, Petaling Jaya
Open 11am-11pm, Fri-Sun, 3pm-11pm other days, except Tuesdays. Tel: 03-7865-5850
The latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favorites for January-March 2014 is now available online, featuring 100 pretty nice eateries, including more than 20 new entries for this quarter. The eBook can be read & downloaded for free, convenient reading on computers, tablets & smartphones.
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Oooo...I like! Expensive though. Not much cheaper here, I guess. :(
ReplyDeleteSuituapui: yeah, I'm learning to accept that crustacean cravings can't be satisfied cheaply. might have liked to try the crabs & prawns here in the different sauces, but that would have cost too much for a weekday lunch for two of us =)
DeleteNot a place for #foreveralone-rs, be it price or portions :P
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, glad to see that it's not too far from me :D
SC: ya, I think diners who like to gather in big, boisterous bunches would be favoured here =) ooo, I don't mind the distance, and as long as the RM4-per-entry open-air parking lot across the street isn't full, i'm game to head here :)
DeleteAs a cheapskate local, RM4 parking is RM4 too much for me personally, but to each their own. Although I would have to advise not going there on Monday evenings because pasar malam... or go early.
DeleteSC: oh haha, gotcha, thanks. i'm a lazy non-local, who hates circling around in sloooow-moving traffic to nab an elusive parking spot =)
DeleteThey are paying the 4dollar parking for customers as their opening special.. See their face book Page. So just show the parking when u settle the bill..
DeleteAlice: thanks, yup, that's what we did. wonder how long that 'discount' will last :)
DeleteHi Sean. This is T.Y. here. Thanks for the shout out. Found out through a customer who came by after reading your post.
DeleteOur " Park on us" will be for the first 6 months, at least for now. I understand parking is a major problem in SS2.
T.Y: that's great! you've got a nice place here, and i'm sure there'll be many more enthusiastic customers to come in the months ahead =) thanks so much for keeping the 'park on us' offer for now. it's a great gesture, would be really appreciated =)
Deletewah, yummies, i like the name too~ would like to try it!
ReplyDeleteMr Lonely: yeah, cool name that lets you know what this place serves. hope you get the chance to check it out :D
Deleteyeah~ =D
DeleteMr Lonely: yay :)
Delete
ReplyDeleteThis morning I was at the ss2 wet market n heard the lion dance for the opening ceremony
Simple Person: ooo, hopefully they'll earn a fair amount of good luck for their efforts =)
DeleteDon't know why, after seeing these seafood, I suddenly feel like having balitong.... :P
ReplyDeleteCK: haha, balitong would be a nice dinner actually, followed by some fried meehoon :D
Deletewow this is something special. a nice new refreshing concept of eating shellfish. And i liked the fact that they have craft beers! quality beers with quality food.
ReplyDeleteEiling: agreed on all points! this would definitely be one of my more preferred ways of eating crabs, and it looks like they thoughtfully selected a few types of beer that would pair well with the seafood =)
DeleteJust noticed it this afternoon! Looked kinda dark from outside so I didn't bother checking it out.
ReplyDeleteIsabel: oh yeah, the lighting is a bit dimmer and cosier compared to some of the other SS2 outlets. I guess it's good if you're looking for a place with softer lighting =)
DeleteOooo 2 crab places in a week - this one sounds much more promising though. I'd certainly like some of that crawfish.
ReplyDeleteBaby Sumo: ya, it's a good month for crab lovers, with both Crazy Crabs at ara damansara and Crab Factory at ss2 opening! I like crawfish too, it can be kinda fun to dig into :)
Deleteis 2 crabs filling? how big are their crabs? :)
ReplyDeleteJessY: oh, we ordered the crawfish instead of the crabs, but the crabs in the aquarium looked medium-sized. not sure that helps, sorry =)
DeleteInteresting way of eating seafood!
ReplyDeleteKen: oh yeah, would be happy to see more southern American-inspired joints appear :)
DeleteIt doesn't look like your usual crab joint. The craft beers are a nice touch.
ReplyDeleteThe Yum List: true, there are only two places so far in the klang valley that specialize in these seafood boils. and yup, enjoyed the craft beer! :D
DeleteOMG! Crawfish... Gumbo! I miss Nawlins! Will definitely wanna try this place out? No Beignet ar.. ? LOL
ReplyDeleteCiki: hope you enjoy this place and it brings back good memories of Louisiana for you too! no beignets so far, but hopefully someday as a special of the month maybe (cross fingers, heh) :D
DeleteWhat - you went to Crab Factory and didnt have any crabs?? How can :P Was hoping to see what kinda Louisiana-style crabs they have, hehe!
ReplyDeletePureglutton: ooo, the crab recipes will be exactly the same as the crawfish ones ... served in a bag, with three possible choices of spicy signature shebang, lemon pepper and garlic butter :)
DeleteI do like crab meat. I have had crab salad and it is quite good! Great review, Sean.
ReplyDeleteLinda: crab salads are great. refreshing and light =) thanks!
DeletePrices are actually quite fair. Bought some yabbies from the wholesaler couple days back...and getting someone to wash and prepare for you.
ReplyDeleteMissyblurkit: that's a good point! I guess we shouldn't complain on the price point =)
DeleteLooks so tempting.. Love to have it.
ReplyDeleteCquek: hope u get the opportunity to have some shellfish soon!
DeleteHi Sean,
ReplyDeleteThis place serves amazing seafood :) We had burgers from Big Mouth Burger, then seafood from Crab Factory. By the end of the day, we were so stuffed LOL Then we ate some more at Hui Lau Shan for yummylicious mango dessert. Food adventures are the best buddy!
Jimmy: hello there, you professional restaurant-hopper! that sounds like a fun eating spree ... especially the seafood part! and it's no wonder you were full after all that :D
Deleteizzit HALAL?
ReplyDeleteBudakbaek: no pork is served here :)
DeleteIs it HALAL.. N do u hve HALAL CERTIFICATE...? Xctually nice to try but, must b confirm first...
ReplyDeleteWe were a small group. And were were on time for reservation. We recused the seats the staff wanted to place us as exactly in fron of door and register. Staff completely un helpful and dumb. We left the place. Suggest any small group also do the same and skip this place as they are not equiped to make the experience enjoyable. Fatty Crabs is better anyway
ReplyDeleteWe were a small group. And were were on time for reservation. We recused the seats the staff wanted to place us as exactly in fron of door and register. Staff completely un helpful and dumb. We left the place. Suggest any small group also do the same and skip this place as they are not equiped to make the experience enjoyable. Fatty Crabs is better anyway
ReplyDelete