Crab Hot Lau

#crab_lovers
#busyonweekend
#must_try_square_spring_rolls

We visited on a weekend evening and they were very busy and packed. It seems folks with reservations may get a table but will still need to be prepared for a long wait for foods to arrive...

Pro:
Impressed by their crab dishes! Recommend dish: #6 - square crab spring rolls with dry vermicelli

Con:
Not impressed by the wait for foods.

Tip: Maybe try visiting on a weekday or don't visit when too hungry to avoid hangry mode.

I observed a couple large parties of over ten diners in each group and with folks at their tables still waiting for foods after 40+ minutes... yes, their kitchen is very busy on a weekend evening.

Luckily their crab dish does not disappoint (when it finally arrived at our table) and egg coffee was delicious! The hot pot dish seemed super popular and also looked yummy.

This place is a treat for crab lovers and I love crabs! I would return to try hot pot and sample more crab dishes!

I've visited Crab Hot Lau 5 times now and I have to say they are good, but never taking me to the next level of mind blowing. Either a dish is so mediocre such as the snails to the crab spring rolls which are my favorite item on the menu. They are packed with crab, pork, vermicelli and woodear with a crispy light skin.

They're revamped the menu a couple of times and I can see they will continue to improve so that's a good sign.

Service has been consistently below average though. Unfortunately, I think the younger staff is probably voluntold to work there and there's this one younger female worker who is always in a bad mood. It sort of kills the vibe sometimes eating here.

The noodle soups are decent, but can be ordered anywhere else. Broth is on the lighter side since it's based on the style they are going for. Sometimes it's what you're looking for.

Make a reservation!! And maybe still avoid weekends as it took us awhile to get seated and around 20 minutes before food arrived. Our kind waiter noticed that we were getting hangry and moved our 2 top order ahead of the big tables (there were 3 big tables of 8-15 people). We really appreciated that and the first dish to come was the crab spring rolls. It was phenomenal: good crunch, amazing flavours with the fish sauce, big chunks of crab. I would come back for this dish! The crab soup with wide noodles felt a bit more flat after the excitement of the spring rolls. The noodles had a really good Al dente bite, and again, I love the big chunks of crab. They did not skimp! Overall, I would definitely come back, most likely on a weekday and try their hot pot next time! Saw lots of table ordering that. Street parking was scarce, you will need to look for parking in the residential street behind Kingsway.

A big thank you to the staff at Crab Hot Lau that were patient and attentive!

Wanted to see what the hype was all about! Loved the overall menu, concept and uniqueness! Definitely not your typical beef Pho restaurant. It is worth checking it out.

Crab based pho place on Kingsway. I must say this is a rather unique niche.

Parking is plentiful on the side streets.

The place used to be a Chinese restaurant, and it really shows on the interior. Decently modern. The glowing RGB speakers add a tacky party (Asian uncle and auntie karaoke night) feel.

Staff are friendly and helpful. No complaints.

As this place is more about the crabs and seafood, the menu actually doesn't have that many beef dishes at all. In fact, I think I only saw 1. However they do have some chicken dishes. Something to keep in mind.

I had their signature field rice crab noodle soup, as well as their signature square crab spring roll. The bowl only comes in one size, and is decent. Instead of pho, they use a brown(?) version of wider rice noodles (somewhat similar to wonton soup). Besides the blob of pulverized crab, it comes with some fish cake slices, as well as some leaf wrapped pork sausages. Quite tasty, and definitely something different around here.

The square spring roll is more like a large square "cake" that is cut into quarters. Nice crispy spring roll skin. Inside is the same filling as the pork sausages, mixed with clear vermicelli and some crab meat. Served with a generous portion of fish sauce, and some lettuce. Tasty, but definitely on the pricy side.

This place also serves alcohol, and I think it turns into an uncle/auntie karaoke place at night. They dim the lights when it's party time.

As of the time of the time of writing, there is a 15% discount on Mondays.

Definitely worth checking out if one is in the area. Recommended.

Servers are friendly and available when we do catch their attention (likely because we picked the further corner table). The food are all super interesting and different from the food you can get from the regular pho restaurant. The food seemed interesting and unfamiliar to my tastebuds but many customers here seems to speak Vietnamese and come with their family so must be authentic. Will come back and try the other things again but not the brown thick noodle and not an immediate love!

Came back for dinner! Food was delicious and came out promptly. Loved the crab spring rolls, the noodle soup and dry vermicelli. The gluttonous rice was also a crowd favorite. The chicken wings were crispy and rivalled other spots. Flavors were all on point this time and everything came out hot. Ambiance was alright... loud music, felt like I was at a rave haha.

Service too slow
Food is mediocre, soup that came out together with the rice is cold!

Crab crab crab - This is the place for crab lovers, especially those who are not skillful in deshelling. Imagine mouthful and mouthful of fresh juicy sea crab in different dishes without touching any shells!

This northern Vietnamese restaurant specializes in their famous fresh sea crab meat. So light and fresh. Seasoning was perfect. I had lunch the other day. Absolutely delicious!

Somehow I wished my stomach was bigger. They have so many other dishes to taste other than their famous crab spring rolls and vermicelli soup but also hotpot, dessert, regular and alcoholic drinks. The dishes I had are must haves. I came for their crab spring rolls, but to my surprise, the green papaya beef jerky salad was my number one in this meal.

- Square crab spring rolls
- Green papaya beef jerky salad
- Sea crab vermicelli soup

The crab spring rolls can satisfy your taste buds in many perspectives: crispy but not greasy, juicy with different fresh ingredient textures. Besides the fresh crab meats, the spring rolls have fine ground pork, shrimps, eggs, mushrooms, glass noodles, and vegetables.

The green papaya was shredded like angel hair. The beef jerky are sweet and umame. They are very generous with carrots, and other vegetables. The salad sauce is the catalyst of the dish. If you're allergic to peanuts, please let them know.

The sea crab vermicelli soup has a very rich and darker soup base. It's different from the pho soup base which is more clear. You can taste the crab meat flavour in the soup with cilantro, fried pork fat bits and more. When I scooped deeper, there were loads and loads of crab meat. The vermicelli is a little thicker and more al dente than the pho. I liked it.

The server was nice. She patiently recommended a few popular dishes and explained the differences between a few upon request. The environment was bright and roomy. It is appropriate for any size of groups. They accept most payment methods.

Food is very fresh and imported from Vietnam on weekly delivery
The service is great