finger-lickin' good: the original fatty crab

Above: the crab at Fatty Crab in Kuala Lumpur is true to its reputation -- fresh, tender and drenched in the perfect spicy, tangy sauce

January 2009 was a very different time for the hubby and me.  We were recently engaged and in the throes of planning our wedding.  We were living in Washington, DC, enjoying our work there,  and surrounded by our friends and frequent visits from family.  And yet, the pull of Malaysia was already calling to us. 

On a weekend visit to New York, we stopped by The Fatty Crab, a Malaysian-inspired restaurant.  We'd read good things about the place, a dimly-lit hipster joint with fun cocktails (mine was served in a giant coconut, which was novel to me at the time) and to-die-for chili crab.  The crab set us back around $40 and arrived at our table in a bowl drenched in a delightfully tangy, sticky, spicy sauce dotted with chopped scallions and accompanied by pieces of crisp, buttered Texas toast for dipping.  I remember licking my fingers clean and slurping up my rum-infused coconut water, feeling pretty good about myself (although that euphoric feeling would disintegrate later that day as the hubby, our friends and I would continue on to have a multi-meal, single-day gorgefest involving goat tacos, bacon brittle, Grimaldi's pizza, bagels and lox, and pork buns).

Well, as it turns out, Zak Pelaccio, the chef-owner of The Fatty Crab, was inspired by a Kuala Lumpur joint of the same name.  For months, the hubby and I have been trying to make the 25-minute trek to Petaling Jaya, a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur, to try the original Malaysian chili crab.  And, as it turns out, thanks in part to our adventurous food-minded visitors from Milwaukee and their extremely cooperative four-month old son, we had that opportunity this past weekend.