And the month of October is synonymous with the hairy crab season. =)

I had my first hairy crab more than 3 years ago and I can still very much remember how delicious the roe was. Thus, as October drew near, I did my research to find out the respective interesting creations churned out by the few Chinese restaurants (which are under my radar). And Min Jiang was one of the restaurants I shortlisted to try. Not just for their hairy crab, but also for their other signatures dishes like peking duck! I been wanting to try their peking duck for the longest time ever.

My girlfriend and I decided to go to the Goodwood Park outlet instead of the Rochester’s for its better accessibility. Anywhere in town is always convenient. Ha. And upon arrival, we were promptly led to our table.

I would have preferred to sit alfresco where one can have full view of the swimming pool. But it being 12.30pm with the sun up and crazily hot, we decided to sit indoors. There were a few big groups that day, so the restaurant was a little noisy.

And from the menu, we ordered:-

1) Platter, $28 (above) – Steamed ‘xiao long bao’ with chilli crabmeat, baked Japanese fresh scallop with ‘mentaiko’ mayo sauce, chilled angel hair noodle with truffle oil & hairy crabmeat. And this was one of the creations from Min Jiang’s hairy crab promotion 2014 menu. However, this was normal. My favourite of the three would be the scallop and my least being the xiao long bao as the chilli overwhelmed the taste of the crab meat.

2) Roasted peking duck (2 styles), $35 (half) (above) – From the poultry section of menu, we went with half as there was only 2 of us. A whole duck would set one back by $70. And it was great to know that even though we only ordered half duck, the staff would still wrap the duck skin in front of us. I love the skin! So thin, crispy and fragrant! Although the crepe was just a little on the thick side. And for the meat, we were given 3 choices. To fry it with rice, noodle or wrap with lettuce. We went with ee-fu noodles where noodles were surprisingly good.

3) Oven baked lamb rack with red wine sauce, $22 (above) – From the chef recommendation menu, meat was tender and juicy! Yum. And it was interesting to see the lamb rack being propped up by cubes of carrot cakes. Of course, we did not think the carrot cake complimented the lamb. But we did enjoy both (the lamb and carrot cake) very much as separate entities.

4) Pan fried foie gras with Australian 10 head abalone, $28 (above) – From the chef recommendation menu, this was decent. It’s almost as though we were having two dishes when we only ordered one item because we enjoyed the foie gras and abalone separately. And I ordered this only because it had two of my favourite ingredients. Ha.

5) Vegetable, $20 (S) (above) – From the vegetable section, we chose ‘Hong Kong’ kai-lan and ‘fried with minced garlic’ as our method of preparation. This was normal. My girlfriend insisted in ordering it as our meal should have some greens.

6) Steamed hairy crab, $68 (above) – Part of the hairy crab promotion 2014 menu, this was the bomb! So good! The staff pushed out a pushcart tray with our crabs and asked if we would like to do it ourselves or for her to assist (us) in handling the crabs. We went for the latter since we were not too sure how to dissect the crab properly. And hence, a mini performance started. Keke. I really can’t get enough of the vibrant orange roe. So good. I highly recommend having this delicacy steamed to taste the naturally sweet crab meat at its best. And as we were nearing the end of our crab dish, the staff came and poured us a cup of ginger tea to counter the ‘cooling’ (yin) effect which these crabs have on our bodies.

7) Mango sago with pomelo and ice cream served in young coconut, $14 (above) – From the desserts menu, this was good! I liked how thick the ice cream was. And although pomelo was used, I did not bite into anything bitter. I somehow associate bitterness with pomelo. Ha.

8) Sichuan pancake, $12 (S) (above)

So yes! Interested in trying one’s hands on hairy crabs? I recommend Min Jiang! Hairy crab menu offered till 23 Oct for 2014 though. And in all honesty, with or without the hairy crab season, I will also recommend Min Jiang for Chinese cuisine. Although I will try to refrain from ordering dishes that sound too fusion. Service was great too. Although it was a little difficult initially in trying to place our orders when the staff were busy with the bigger groups.

And if one is interested to hands on when it comes to eating these hairy crabs, do read The Straits Times’ article on how to eat a hairy crab in 8 simple steps! =)

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Dinner @ Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant Dim sum @ Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant Lunch @ Shi Li Fang Lunch @ Keng Eng Kee Dinner @ The Magic Of Chongqing