More sensations of the sea

CRAB AND CLAW, specialising in New England-style seafood, has been such a success at the EmQuartier that there’s now a second branch at Siam Paragon. Once again, the food tastes so authentic that you expect to see the rocky coast of Maine outside the window. 

The two-storey restaurant – big enough for 100 diners – is decked out with harbour accoutrements like fishing nets and life buoys. The hanging lamps are shaped like lighthouses and the walls are adorned with nautical maps and sketches of crabs and lobsters. 

“Thais love seafood, but I wanted to go way beyond the usual stir-fried crab and fish in lemon and garlic sauce,” says owner Ployparn Markawat, whose family runs the Local by Oam Thong on Sukhumvit Soi 23 and Naj on Convent Road. 

“Before opening Crab and Claw I had a culinary tour of seafood farms and restaurants in the southern provinces, Singapore, England and the US. And I found that New England-style dining in the States is not only fun, it perfectly fits the Thai habit of sharing dishes around the table.”

At the new outlet, the first thing you see upon entering is the oysters – imported from Ireland, France and the US – relaxing on a vast bed of ice. Among the varieties waiting to be shucked are Wolf Beach, Tia Maraa, Skookum Inlet, Kushi, Kumamoto, Cherry Stone and premium jumbo Gallagher oysters from a family-owned Irish farm.

Order just one if you like – the prices range from Bt155 to Bt350 – or get anywhere from six to 12 of the critters. Some have the sweetness of melon and others are as briny as an ocean wave, but a helpful chart lists each variety’s selling points. 

For an oyster, of course, “raw” already means “well done”, but there’s always someone who will insist on a few drops of lemon juice or shallot vinegar. You can also have them whipped into fritters in a batter, or in a gratinee with sauce or with sauteed spinach.

“The freshness of the seafood is the highest priority,” says the chef, Colin Stevens, who hails from Hawaii. “Our lobsters and crabs are flown in every day – no frozen seafood here. I get everything from sustainable fisheries in the US, France, Spain and Japan, as well as Thailand. 

“I also use organic uni roe, a sea urchin delivered to us from the Philippines within 24 hours after being scooped out of its shell. We get our organic vegetables from a farm in Chiang Mai. And the buns, croutons, pasta and sauces are freshly made here.”

An excellent opener for the meal is a refreshing Grilled Octopus Salad (Bt320), the meaty and soft cephalopod hailing from Spain and an excellent pal to rocket lettuce, fennel and oranges in a citrus vinaigrette.

Next up is one of the best-selling delicacies, the Luxury Roll (Bt1,500). A sweet and ample portion of Maine lobster is stuffed in a buttered bun that’s soft inside and slightly crispy outside. On top sits the roe of lumpfish and that uni Stevens was talking about. On the side are perfectly crisp and seasoned French fries.

If the price of the Luxury Roll is too luxurious for your wallet’s tastes, the Fried Oyster Roll is also quite delightful for a mere Bt450. The American shellfish is crisp-fried in cornmeal batter, tucked with cilantro aioli in a bun and served with a large portion of French fries.

The lobsters arrive alive daily from Maine, the US state that sticks furthest into the Atlantic, and can be had either steamed or grilled with garlic and butter for Bt1,900 (700 to 800 grams) or B2,800 (1,000 to 1,300g). A spicy Thai seafood sauce is part of the deal. 

And, for Bt2,300 to Bt3,200 depending on the weight, you can have your lobster baked with uni butter and topped with uni and lumpfish roe.

The mud crabs from the Thai South are a truly hands-on experience, steamed and seasoned with the classic New England seasoning called Old Bay and Alaea Hawaiian sea salt that’s “enriched” with purified red clay. 

You get three crabs, each about one kilogram, for Bt1,400, with slices of lime, drawn butter and seepweed plucked fresh from saltwater flats.

“Old Bay has been an East Coast tradition for more than a century,” says Stevens. “It’s a blend of 18 herbs and spices and brings out the distinct flavours of seafood. On weekends we also have crabs from France.” 

If you’re dining in a group, get a bucket of shrimps and mussels for Bt680. They come from Holland and the US and are boiled, seasoned with Old Bay and served with chorizo sausage, potato and corn.

And the Siam Paragon Crab and Claw is the only branch with Wild-caught Alaskan White King Salmon, impressive enough with a confit of cherry tomatoes and squid-ink hollandaise to be worth the Bt780.

“Only a very small percentage of king salmon is white,” says the chef. “The price is four to five times higher than it is for the red variety, but the flesh is soft and buttery and still juicy because of the quick cooking time.”

Room in the tummy must be saved for the Baked Fruit Crumble (Bt290), an amalgam of strawberries, rhubarb, blueberries, sugar crumble and Tahitian vanilla ice cream.

 

GNAW ONA CLAW

Crab and Claw’s new branch is on the ground floor of Siam Paragon. 

It’s open daily from 10.30am to 11pm. 

Call (02) 610 9713 or visit the “CrabAndClaw” page on Facebook.