Good Stuff: Best Crab in L.A.
Trust me. It's worth the drive to Redondo Beach. They also just opened another, schnazzier looking location in Tustin (not quite sure where that is--but if it as good as the Redondo Beach location, then that'd be worth the drive too)--I haven't been yet, will let you know when I get there.
Belacan Grill (pronounced blah-chan) is a Malaysian restaurant. I've never been to Malaysia, but the cuisine, in my mind, combines the best of Indian, Thai and Chinese flavors. My friend, Ann, introduced me to this place and I keep coming back. You never read about this place in any of the food blogs and no one else I know has even heard of it. But it is so good, I actually start to crave the crab in between visits. If you're not annoyed about the process of picking the crab apart to get the best pieces of meat or, better yet, if you actually think there is something meditative about the whole thing, then I suggest you head out to Redondo Beach pronto.
The Belacan Crab is the best Asian-style crab I've had--that includes Crustacean, Hop Li and various other seafood places in Chinatown and Monterey Park. Live dungeness crab is cut into manageable sized pieces and stir-fried in dried shrimp, chilies and toasted shrimp paste. The result is a crunchy, flavor-packed shell (perfect for biting into) and big pieces of perfectly succulent crab meat inside--all surrounded by crunchy bits of shrimp paste (which taste surprisingly like bacon) and chilies.
The crab isn't the only highlight on the menu either. The roti (a Malaysian flat bread similar to Indian naan) with curry sauce makes a subtly sumptuous start to the meal--just a little teaser of what's to come. The chicken and lamb satays are delicious--my son ate 8 sticks of lamb satay last night and insisted on keeping the lazy susan frozen so that the satays wouldn't stray too far away fro m arm's reach. Then there is the Belacan Kangkung--water spinach stir fried in the same concoction as the crab. I have a particular affinity to this dish because I grew up eating kangkung--it is a staple vegetable in Philippine cooking. I find it a lot more texturally interesting than spinach because the stems are hollow and maintain a good crunch even after sauteeing. Last time I was there, we even tried a whole rock cod chili fish--a whole fish deep-fried and sauteed in a spicy chili tamarind sauce--so good.
So, go, check it out. Bring the family--it is very family-friendly and casual. Doug even got to watch the end of the Vikings-Saints game while were there last night. Let me know what you think.
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