Thursday 26 April 2018

I Finally Went To That Crab Place


Update : Crab Factory has closed down.

I have always been curious about Crab Factory and Shell Out where your seafood is cooked and then poured onto the table. I am not a seafood fan, I am more of a chicken person but I wanted that experience at least once.



One evening, my brother and I ventured to Crab Factory@SS 2 for our first ever seafood-poured on the table-eat like a caveman-experience.


The prices here are not cheap, that's for sure. Since it was our first time, we opted for the value meal - the Crab Lover Shiok.


For the sauce, we picked the Signature Southern Bang (Mild).


We were supplied with those things that look like a hammer and pliers. Goodness, I don't know what they are called. We were also given plastic gloves and plastic bibs. The table was lined with a large piece of waxed paper.

And then the food came in a big plastic bag and the server poured the whole lot onto the table.


I quickly snapped photos before my hands got dirty. This set came with a bowl of Shallot Rice and Fried Mantao.


We put on our gloves.


And bibs. And the eating began.


Now, I dislike getting my hands dirty and I never liked eating crabs because you have to do a whole lot of pounding and cracking to get at the flesh. But this is the way to do it and I was game.

The sauce, though we opted for "mild", was actually quite hot. So it was a good thing that we were conservative. 


The shallot rice was nothing special. It was plain and we could barely taste the shallots.


But the mantao, that we love. It was nice and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy inside. 


After a while, my brother decided that bare hands are better for maximum enjoyment. Only wimps wear gloves. Well, I kept mine on.

The food was all right for me, no complaints, just that seafood is not quite my thing. But I am happy for the experience. I think my brother enjoyed the food much more that I did. 


What a mess! Actually if you discount the shells, there wasn't really much meat and I think one person (big eater) could easily demolish this set which is meant for 2-3 persons. Maybe without the big bowl of rice, which we ate very little.

As a matter of fact, a little later in the evening, I was peckish and ate 4 bananas hah..hah...hah...


At this price, I think I would prefer to go for steak. But still, I am glad that now I know what Crab Factory (and perhaps Shell Out) is all about.

35 comments:

  1. At least you have tried and have the experience...

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  2. That was definitely a good experience for you. I also will not go again after eating with over 10 friends at a long table at one crab outlet in Kota Damansara. You could imagine the ugly mess after eating which looked like a bloody morgue's table. I actually hated eating like cannibals cos everyone tried to grab their share of crabs, prawns and squids like hungry wolves. The bill was over RM1000 & we could have gone for hotel buffets while you chose a steak meal.

    One blogger ate this with durians recently and got me curious to try.

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    1. Those tools are Meat Pounder Hammer and Nut Cracker. How could a Chef like you tak tahu??? Ha ha

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    2. hah..hah...what an experience you had. I thought it would be more fun when there are more people and you can order more varieties. What? Durians with seafood? Pengsan!

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  3. A yummy spread. That is the way to enjoy crabs. With your hands. Haha

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    1. Yeah, but I dislike getting my hands dirty hee..hee...

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  4. I agree with you that with this price I would rather go for steak so no more Crab factory or Shell out for me too. Wah, you even took the trouble of taking off your gloves to take a photo of your brother eating with his bare hands. I salute him for eating with his bare hands!!

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    1. Bare hands is better but I did not want to mess up my handbag hah...hah...

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  5. I've tried this a couple of months ago too for the first time and I like the concept of eat with bare hands, haha!
    Yes, the Southern Bang sauce is spicy for my level too, but it's pretty addictive though~

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  6. I have been there during my last visit to Penang, it caused us (family of us) a total damage of RM500, and once is enough. lol!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, for that price can go for more buffets!

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  7. never tried this and it doesn't appeal me to try (even once) coz I dislike and lazy to eat crab/clams/whatever seafood which has shells. And for that price, yea, I would rather get a good steak which is more fleshy and filing ;-)

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    1. hah..hah... you sound like me but I just wanted the experience. At least when people talk about it, I know what it is.

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  8. Love crabs, but I find it’s not worth the money here in SG. Hence, I’ve never gone back. ....

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    1. Better to spend on other things hah..hah...

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  9. We have lots of Shell Out here but I have never been. They said it was just seafood cooked with curry powder and the seafood was not fresh, the clams, prawns and all were very small etc...etc...etc... So far I have not heard of one that is a must-eat!

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    1. It's always risky with seafood. If it is not fresh then it spoils the whole experience.

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  10. Hammer and gloves, looks like a big operation lol

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  11. And I love seafood so this place is like heaven for me:)

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  12. I used to be a seafood fan but have grown more and more into a veggie person as I age.

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    Replies
    1. I am sure that is a good thing hah..hah...

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  13. The last time I ate here, there were no set value meals, so you can imagine how pricey it was! O_o I prefer a non-spicy sauce so that the freshness and true flavours of the seafood would come out more :) I have to say the shallot rice looks very lumpy though.

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    1. The shallot rice was terrible actually. I revisited your post and was reminded about the issue with the hot water!

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  14. I agree with you Phong Hong, as much as I like crabs, or lobster, I dislike getting my hands dirty! Although I must say I would be willing to try it once!

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    1. Well, Elisabeth, it would be along time before I eat crabs again hah..hah..

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  15. i also wear the gloves - but somehow the sauce still seems to seep inside and my fingers smell like spicy crab, heheh :D

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    1. Exactly! They are not sauce-proof and I had to wash my hands after.

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  16. Agreed PH even the food nampak mcm bertaburan banyak tp sebenarnya isi sikit je tu hihi... lagi lagi kalau lala... huh celah gigi je tau....

    I dulu dulu sukalah makan crab, tp sejak dah senjakala ni hihi... belajarlah kurang kurangkan seafood, kolestrol oooo

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    1. Kan? Kalau kita asingkan isi, baru dapat satu pinggan kecil kot. Dah lah mahal....

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  17. A yummy-licious experience! I love crabs. I haven't tried eating crabs with gloves.

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    1. Eating with gloves is no fun. Use bare hands! LOL!

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