Exploring the Famous Southern Crab Hotpot Trend's Northern Expansion

People in Saigon are crazy about crabs, and everyone knows about Khôi's Crab Hotpot - Mr. Tôn Thất Khôi's hotpot restaurant located near Nguyễn Thị Nghĩa street for decades, driving crab hotpot enthusiasts insane. Now, this addictive hotpot flavor has spread northward.

I'm Minh Thư, a hotpot enthusiast. In the humid autumn weather of Hanoi, amidst the unpredictable sun and rain, there's nothing more delightful than going out for hotpot.

Seeking out Saigon's famous “northward” hotpot spots

Early in October, I had a cousin visiting from Saigon who wanted to try hotpot in Hanoi. Beef dipped in vinegar, Japanese sabu sabu hotpot - none of them suited her taste. So, I took her and the whole family to Trần Hưng Đạo street, where there's a reputed Southern-style crab hotpot restaurant. The two of us decided to give it a try.

We arrived at the restaurant on a weekday afternoon, located right by the main road. As we entered from Lê Duẩn street, it was on our right-hand side. Wanting some fresh air, we chose a table on the upper floor. Although we couldn't get a table by the window, the seating was still quite airy. The place was clean and had a simple, comfortable seating arrangement.

Visited Khôi's Crab Hotpot on Trần Hưng Đạo during a weekday afternoon, sitting on the spacious second floor

Experience the 'crab takes flight' sensation

Our main goal was to indulge in crab hotpot, so we ordered a pot of crab hotpot. The restaurant sells crabs by weight, offering various sizes ranging from around 1kg, more than 1kg, in general, quite a variety. It's priced at 650K per kg, quite expensive but my cousin insisted, 'Let's have it, sis, I think this crab looks delicious,' so I chose a medium-sized one, weighing nearly 1kg.

According to the restaurant's advertisement, these crabs are genuine Southern crabs that have 'flown' from the South. While waiting for the kitchen to prepare the hotpot, we also ordered stir-fried water spinach with garlic, along with crab cooked in tamarind sauce and crab with cheese sauce to chat and gossip.

The crab in tamarind sauce and crab with cheese sauce are smaller in size compared to the crabs for hotpot, but they are all meaty crabs. You can choose either fresh crabs or let the restaurant choose for you. The first dish served was the crunchy stir-fried water spinach, which was quite delicious. We planned to order more but decided to save some space for the crab.

Preordered crab cooked in tamarind sauce and crab with cheese sauce while waiting for the hotpot

Crispy Stir-fried Water Spinach

Crab cooked in tamarind sauce and crab with cheese sauce for a few minutes. The crabs were quite large, with firm and succulent meat clinging tightly to the shells, requiring some effort to separate. If it weren't for the tough crab shells, we might have finished them all at once because the Southern-style sauce was incredibly delicious, tangy, sweet, and fragrant. It's not clear how the restaurant marinated them, but the flavors penetrated deeply.

The crab cooked in tamarind sauce was rich and flavorful

After successfully extracting the meat from the shells, we found the meat to be thick and incredibly aromatic, overall a delightful experience. This crab in sauce dish was served with bread, which complemented it perfectly. Similarly, the crab with cheese sauce was excellent, with meaty chunks that were sweet and devoid of any unpleasant odor, making these two dishes alone absolute winners.

The meat is firm and incredibly sweet, each piece so succulent

Delicious but quite pricey, if you're only going with two people, two portions of these crab dishes would be more than enough, filling you up completely. Therefore, if you're planning to go, I recommend going in a group; it's cheaper and you get to try more dishes. This way, you'll eat just the right amount and feel satisfied without overloading your finances or your stomach.

Finally, the crab hotpot arrived. The hotpot came with a plate of vermicelli and a variety of vegetables like water spinach, string beans, and morning glory. The broth was sour and refreshing, allowing the crab to cook tenderly without any fishy taste. Just a sip of the broth was enough to taste its rich and sweet flavor.

Here comes the crab hotpot

The hotpot broth is incredibly sweet, served with water spinach, morning glory, string beans, and vermicelli

I opted for crab meat hotpot instead of the brick crab, but the broth still had some essence of the wild crab, making it rich and flavorful to the point where dipping vegetables in it was delicious. When it came to the crab, no need to say much; the crab was firm, and the meat was sweet and chewy. Overall, there's nothing to complain about the crab hotpot.

The last dish you must try after eating crab here is the pomelo sweet soup. The pomelo sweet soup is made in the An Giang style, refreshing and light, with soft, crunchy pomelo pulp, coconut flesh, and pandan leaf extract, providing a cool sensation without being overly sweet like some other pomelo sweet soups I've tried in Saigon.

Another delightful touch is that the cup of sweet soup carries a hint of jasmine fragrance, incredibly aromatic and perfect for cleansing the palate after indulging in seafood!

The last must-try dish is the pomelo sweet soup

Conclusion: On that day, there were four of us, and we spent nearly 1.5 million dong. We enjoyed the cool atmosphere, the spaciousness of the restaurant, and the enthusiastic staff who helped us choose the crabs. The crab dishes were delicious beyond words. Although we didn't try the snails or clams, we saw some nearby tables finishing them completely, so perhaps we'll come back another time to try them.

Regarding the prices, the advice is to go with a larger group of about 3 or 4 people to make it worth it, as there are many delicious dishes. If you go with fewer people, you'll eat quickly and it'll be a bit expensive. But if you go with a larger group, you can comfortably try more dishes at a lower price, with delicious crabs and quality meat. In summary, it's well worth the money.

Address: Indulge in the exquisite flavors of Khoi's Crab Hotpot at 79 Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem District

SIMILAR ARTICLE: