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Eater IMterview: Fatty Crab

Fatty Crab throw open its doors this week. So that you'd have the lay of the land coming out of the gate, we sent in a top field agent last week. Here's her report:

SlnyDaddy: Fatty Crab. Go.
frittatamamma: short rib Rendang
frittatamamma: amazing
frittatamamma: falling off the bone
frittatamamma: and, not too sweet
frittatamamma: the steamed pork buns, which dc also noted, are wonderful because instead of tasting the syrupy sweetness of the pork,
frittatamamma: he tones that down, making it more savory. the sweetness that you get is that of the bun itself
frittatamamma: and the dough was cooked just right--not too chewy. magically light but dense.
frittatamamma: chef zac is really good on balancing flavors
frittatamamma: the sleeper dish of that menu is the

frittatamamma:chicken cooked sous vide
frittatamamma: you think, "sous vide," puhleaze. how could chef zak of innovation and street-food inspiration succumb to a trend like that?
frittatamamma: but you know what? this chicken is fantastic. juicy. succulent. deceptively simple. like the essence of chicken
frittatamamma: and then you have an earthy, salty hoi sin sauce on the one hand
frittatamamma: balanced by a more acidic, light and tangy sauce on the other. so you can play
frittatamamma: oh, you know, i forgot about the pickles!
frittatamamma: straightforward, but a nice foil to all of the FATTY, literally, stuff going on. just beware. SPICY CITY
frittatamamma: the fish dishes were good, and, if memory serves (although it has been rendered a bit fuzzy by too much rose), I couldn't stop eating the crispy skate penggang
frittatamamma: it had something salty and shredded on top that i could have eaten straight up. known as sambaludang kering, which is gibberish to me
frittatamamma: (and btw, the chicken wings got high marks from my food editor of a friend who knows a thing or 20 re: wings)
SlnyDaddy: how’d the place look?
frittatamamma: very minimalist, chic. form-is-function-is-art
frittatamamma: what i also loved is the fact that the open kitchen is so tiny and almost evokes a short-order-cook station, or a food truck that you might find in a Southeast Asian city
frittatamamma: on all fronts, honestly a great combination of NYC laid back, neighborhood charm, minimalist sophistication and Malaysian flavor
frittatamamma: can’t wait until they deliver
· Fatty Crab Menu [.pdf download]
· Roll a Fatty [DailyCandy]