Steph C.
Yelp
I found out about Rich Crab the old-fashioned way: by driving by and getting curious. I live really close to this place and Korean crab is one of my favorite things to eat, but not ideal for my picky white husband or our little kids. I finally got a chance to visit for lunch with my mom last week and it was as good as I'd hoped.
Rich Crab is in the same 3rd St. strip mall as Zzamong. The restaurant was comfortable and casual, with large photos of various menu items doubling as decor. It was also completely empty when we walked in at 11:45 on a Monday, and I think we were the only customers the entire time we were there. Service was great, provided by a nice ajumma who might be the owner.
Lunch was decadently delicious, as well as quite messy--Rich Crab provides gloves, and you'll need them to get the most out of every piece of crab. We shared the small A combination, which came with kimchi pancake, soy sauce marinated crab, spicy marinated crab, and spicy crab stew for two. There was also a solid banchan spread with pickles and namuls, kimchi and fishcake.
The kimchi jeon was great, chewy and crispy and full of kimchi. It made a lovely appetizer/side to all that spectacular crab. Gaejang is one of my favorite foods, and I loved both the ganjang and yangnyum versions. Both featured sweet, gooey, gelatinous raw crab meat, best enjoyed sucked straight out of the shell. The yangnyum sauce was bold with spice and garlic, while the ganjang was milder, subtler. If you're just getting one (though you should really get both), go with the ganjang. It's a bigger crab, and it comes with lots of creamy orange roe and guts, which you can mix up with the rice and marinade in the shell of the crab, a dreamy little dish all on its own.
The ggotgaetang was the centerpiece of the meal, and it was superb, spicy and truly rich with crab flavor. The stew came already fragrant with crab, herbs, and bean sprouts, and it continued bubbling on a mini-stove on our table. It was fantastic with some rice and crab meat, and when we were almost done, we got some soojaebi to add to the stew, soft hunks of hand-torn dough that we slurped down with that heady broth.
This was a wonderful lunch, one that I'd love to repeat in its entirety as often as possible. If you, too, enjoy delicious things, check out Rich Crab for a glorious crabby feast.