Hong Kong Food Trip: Under Bridge Spicy Crab

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Can't get enough of Hong Kong food finds? Hope you've had a chance to check out the review I did on the Delicious Kitchen.

Now it's time for dinner. The past two Hong Kong trips I went to, I meant to eat at the well-known Under Bridge Spicy Crab. Unfortunately shopping trumps food destinations, but not this time. :)

Singaporean Chili Crabs are so well known but looking at the website of Under Bridge Spicy Crab their crabs looked different in such a way that it was dry (no sauce) and overflowing with chopped fried garlic (understatement). After a long afternoon of walking and sizing up the shopping finds, what better way to end the day and start the night with dinner at this joint.

The Holiday Inn Express front desk was kind enough to get us a reservation early in the afternoon as people say place gets packed easily. Better safe than sorry. And besides, it was just 5 minutes away from the hotel. Purrrfect!

Menu has a lot of pictures and is in English with HK$ equivalents.

Cute chopsticks from the restaurant. No you can't take them as souvenirs. Haha

We were greeted at the table by one of their waiters. He speaks little English but engages you in conversation and knows the menu well. In a boisterous tone, he brags that he has worked at the restaurant for 17 years (loyalty awardee ka na kuya!) and still remains strong. That explains this flexing of the bicep picture.

He left off and came back with two small bowls of roasted peanuts which we munched on first. Not crunchy anymore and nothing special really. Take note the peanuts have charges!!! HK$8 per little bowl. We didn't realize that until the bill came but I guess it was something you could have said no to.

Took our orders and food came in around 10 minutes.

We started with the Tofu and Pork Soup.

It was a slightly thick soup (they call it saliva soup, really!) but had very delicate and muted taste where the tofu, pork and other aromatics harmonized well. A great palate opener to start the lauriat.

Everything else came in one after the other.

Braised scallops in Broccoli. Shrimp Fried Rice. Spicy Crab in Garlic (got two - Not Spicy and Mildly Spicy)

The rice was ordinary (similar to the Yang Chow we get here in the Philippines) but was well cooked as every grain was coated in the flavors of the shrimp, egg and vegetables.

The scallop dish was fresh with the brightness of the broccoli preserved and the light sauce livened up the sweet taste of the scallops. The scallops were cut in half across though - might have been better if left whole so you can savor its succulent meat.

Of course the crab was the star of the table. We got two small crabs for HK$380 each (good for 2-3 people). A medium crab is at HK$540 and HK$720 for the large one. They use Typhoon Shelter Crabs which grown on the Causeway Bay which is a typhoon shelter for the island. Crabs thrive in cliffy areas and hide in mangroves of sorts so they grow big and meaty.

The crab was literally hidden and buried under pile of fried garlic and shallots (and chili for the mildly spicy variety). Surprisingly despite being steamed, cut up and fried, it was oily but not disgustingly greasy.

Very meaty and sweet. Its flavor was perfect with the garlic - not too overpowering.

But the garlic thing was soooooooooo good that (1) I personally had to eat with my hand and (2) I ate it with rice like ulam (viand). I did not notice that I was eating so messily because I was enjoying it sooooo much! Easy though as after big spoonfuls it tends to get salty and numb your lips (signs of gluttony!!!).

Criselle wrestling the crab claws (which were big and juicy) using the cracker.



Jena eating with her hands too but remains to be sweet for the camera. :)



I had the head with yes tons of garlic! It has a bit of crab fat roe too. Happiness!

We also ordered steamed fish in black bean (tausi) sauce. Mr. Waiter from earlier actually gave us a good tip. We opted for the grouper (lapu lapu) but he suggested the pampano (pomfret) instead which was half the price of the grouper (KH$ 178 vs HK$ 350). I've eaten pomfret before and it was actually good so we went ahead with his reco.

Good choice. The fish was big enough for 3-4 people.

The sauce had a nice sharp flavor and the tender flaky fish was the perfect vehicle for it.

Wipe out!!! Can't believe we finished all that was served (had to help finish the fish as everyone was almost full when it came on the table).

Complementary slices of watermelon to cleanse your taste buds! According to Jing "mas matamis pa sa Pilipinas".

This is how messy my place was. Or were the plates too small lang? ;)

Tea was also served which is customary in the restaurants. There are "tea charges" of HK$6 per person whether or not you drink it so might as well. Some form of "forced tipping". Now we know better.

You are also given a bowl of tea and lemon slices at the end of the meal. Do not drink please!!! It's for washing your hands to remove the garlicky and fishy smell. Nice trick, it really works!

Happy bunch!!!

Spent around HK$1,400 for the meal which was roughly PHP 1,000 per person. The crab was worth every penny.

Traditional interiors but very nice. Also frequented by locals and spotted other tourists too.

Food:        3.5/5 - The crab is a 5/5 definitely.
Service:     4/5 - Food served fast. Friendly staff but the "oldies" are challenged with English. Tip: Talk to the younger wait staff who understand and speak better English.
Ambiance: 4/5 - Despite being on a corner street, it's a nice dinner place to go to.
Price:        3.5/5 - Be choiceful of what you order so you do not overspend (i.e. get the small crabs). Also be mindful of the "hidden" tea and peanut charges.

Under Bridge Spicy Crab started out as a hole-in-the-all place under the bridge! Do not be confused, there are two more restaurants right around the corner but serves the same thing - sans the fancier interiors.

Here are the directions and the map from their website with the restaurant locations highlighted in red.

Next time you are in HK, devote one dinner night at Under Bridge Spicy Crab! I might eat at Clawdaddy or Red Crab (Crustasia) soon to see if local preparations fare to this foodie must have.

P.S. Look at how they keep their lobsters. Imagine how fresh these are! Kept and reared since they were fry. Apparently keeps them from eating each other too! Yikes!