Lagoon Seafood Restaurant

 

As published in Friedchillies              

 

Mmm, crabs … when you crave them, you really crave them. Your fingers twitch and tentacles sprout out of your head. Well, the next time you have crab craving, try out the Lagoon Seafood Restaurant. There’s nothing like plain-grilled crabs to really enjoy their sweet taste without the distractions of gravy and condiments. Another simple way is to boil them with a little bit of salt, but that means you’ll have water-logged flesh and your fingers wrinkle like prunes.

 

We recommend grilled crabs at this restaurant.

 

The minimum order is two crabs, served halved or quartered — probably not enough unless you’re eating alone. Prices depend on the season but they’re definitely cheaper than in the city or suburbs. Regulars testify to some seriously pumped-up crab claws, so look forward to sinking your teeth in some thick, white flesh. Grilled plain, the flesh is firmer and sticks to the bone. Some chilli paste on the side will add a little zing.

 

Another favourite is the sweet-and-sour crab. Crab-wise, it’s not all that fantastic, but the sauce goes beautifully with man tao (a plain bun), which are pretty d*mn good here. You can have them steamed or fried, though the latter are more delicious. The outer part of the bread is crispy and brown, and the inner is sweet, white and fluffy. Dip it in the sauce and mmm … go straight to heaven.

 

Like most seafood restaurants, there’s fish here and it’s quite decent. They also have bamboo lala (clams), which is not always available in other seafood joints. But they’re somewhat fishy tasting here, so unless you’re really crazy about them, you might want to give this a miss.

 

The squid is decent, especially cooked in soy sauce, and so are the prawns. The all-time favourite buttered prawns are a safe bet for a yummy dining experience. But nothing beats mantis prawns cooked with dried chilli.

 

This dish is seriously delicious. The prawns are first deep-fried in batter before being cooked in sweet paste with cut dried chillies and chopped okra. Contrary to its name, this dish is not spicy. It is probably best to eat it with warm rice. Oh, with some crunchy fried baby kai lan, of course, fried with garlic.

 

Like the bamboo lala, mantis prawns are quite uncommon, so you should order bigger portions of them. The trick is to dine with friends: Eating good food at a place like this is not best experienced alone. Invite the right kind of company so you can philosophise over the many holes in the table cloth, while the cool Straits of Malacca air messes up your afro. Ya, this restaurant is on water, in a Chinese fishing village overlooking the North Port in Selangor. And the water traffic is exciting if you’re a city-slicker.

 

The balcony is uncovered, but there is a covered section. There are no walls, so you can forget about air-conditioning and it’s pretty much smoking zone all around. Zip-a-dee-doo-daaa for some of you. Booze is also served, as is Chinese tea, fruit juice and soft drinks. Lighting is decent though you will have to endure a little noise from the television, which is very popular with the owner’s family. They live there — it’s a family outfit and you can expect reasonably fast service.

 

To get to the Lagoon Seafood Restaurant, make sure you have good music in your car because it may be a long journey. Head towards Port Klang via the Kapar toll. At the traffic lights after the toll, follow the “Wisma Kastam” sign.

 

Go straight until you come to a T-junction. Turn left and go straight for about half a kilometre. Look for a small unmarked exit on your right. Get onto that road and look for the Lagoon Seafood Restaurant signboard on your right.

 

Park at the open space and let your nose take you towards the water via a dim alley on stilts.