Xie Bao
We had a show this evening, and this “crab house” just recently opened in Manhattan. This originated from a Flushing stall, and their specialty is crab roe over rice or noodle. We were able to walk in on a Saturday evening without reservations. The social media circuit really raved about this dish by showing off the roe, so we decided to try it. I figured there was no need to make reservations since Manhattan Midtown Chinese restaurants are usually pretty easy to get into.
Ambiance & Service
The restaurant was very quiet and sparsely populated. We were seated in the back towards the kitchen. The service was very quick like most traditional Chinese restaurants.
Food
The Passion Fruit Lemon Soda ($9.90 for a pitcher) came with passionfruit flavors, lemon, and a bubbly water. This was pretty much a fizzy passionfruit-forward soda.
The Crab Roe and Shrimp Spring Rolls ($8.95) was decent. The crab roe was surprisingly very dry, but the shrimp was at least somewhat juicy and flavored.
The Crab Roe Soup Bun ($18.55) came with 6 pieces. Unfortunately, the skin on some of them were ripped before I even picked it up. When you do get an unbroken soup bun, the broth was pretty good. Again, the roe itself had a dry consistency, but it gave the soup pretty good crab flavors.
The Crab Roe over Rice ($32.95) came with a medley of crab roe on the side and white rice. The crab roe tasted decent, albeit it felt like the roe was probably frozen. It dry to the taste, but it definitely added a lot of flavor. My partner really enjoyed the stronger crab flavors that came out of this.
Final Verdict
The crab roe from Flushing was pretty good overall, and it’s worth checking out if you’re near the Theater district. Otherwise, the restaurant feels very typical Shanghainese. The buns were decent but not better than Nan Xiang.
Yelp Jabs
This luxurious crab roe over noodle was a showstopper!! At this price point, we got a generous amount of crab roe and shredded crab meat. Totally obsessed with the savory and umami punch from every slurp.
This Yelper went a bit overboard in their review. Yes, there was a lot of flavors that were umami, but I wouldn’t say the portions are generous. The bowl of rice is pretty small, and so is the broth.
I ordered takeout, had the crab roe over rice. It was a little fishy not gonna lie. But they give you a bit of rice vinegar which if you sprinkle all over the crab makes it a bit less fishy.
The “fishiness” probably came from the roe. It’s definitely not the freshest, and if you nibble on it, it’s dry like it’s somewhat dehydrated.
Revisions
- Feb 8, 2025 - Initial revision.