Fatty Lai Crab Pot (赖胖子肉蟹煲) - Imago

We went to Fatty Lai Crab Pot at Imago after hearing about the China-origin crab-pot concept. It was busy during our visit, and the meal turned out to be more memorable for the sauce and the mix of ingredients than for the crab itself.

We ordered the Large Crab Pot. At the time of our visit it cost RM68, and the serving felt generous enough for roughly two diners with average appetites. That was our impression of this particular pot, rather than a promise about how far every order will stretch.

A flame beneath the pot kept it warm throughout the meal. We liked being able to take our time without the food going cold, and did not find that the continued warming noticeably spoiled the texture. Lotus root, rice cakes, potato and quail eggs gave us plenty of variety between bites of meat and crab.

Our choice was the Savoury Sauce with mild spice. This was the part that really worked for us: appetising, full of savoury flavour and especially good with rice. The different toppings made the pot enjoyable even when we were not picking at the crab.

The crab was the main disappointment. Against what we tend to expect at local seafood restaurants, these crabs were relatively small and did not have much meat. The beef was also somewhat firm; we would have preferred it softer.

There was an optional rice, hot tea, snack and ice-cream add-on during our visit, but that was the arrangement then. Our takeaway is to approach this as a saucy mixed pot with plenty of toppings. We enjoyed that experience, while the crab and beef left room for improvement.