HOUReview
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Hai Cang
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Almost any place with tables blanketed in a thick layer of plastic tablecloths secured by a giant lazy susan means business. Hai Cang Harbor Seafood Restaurant, a Vietnamese-Chinese seafood restaurant in Chinatown, is one of those places. Expect massive platters of crab, lobster, and noodles perfect for a big group dinner, or anyone who can put away seafood by the truckload.
Hai Cang has an absolutely massive neon sign hanging outside, mostly because it’s set far back from the road in a Bellaire strip center. But also because there seems to be a restaurant-wide preference for all things gigantic, especially the plates of food. There are platters piled high with wok-fried lobster tails thickly coated in savory dry spices and garlic. Mounds of fried rice get crowned with entire fire-red Dungeness crab carcasses speckled with glistening roe. Within minutes of ordering, heaving plates are plonked into the center of the table so you can dig in medieval feast-style as servers flit around swapping plates and scraping away piles of cracked crustacean shells.
Roll as deep as possible to Hai Cang. The restaurant is built for groups, celebrations, and anyone hosting their own informal seafood eating contest. Make sure to pick a giant crab out of the live seafood tank—one, because Hai Cang will cook it up in sticky sweet tamarind sauce, and two, because the resulting photo will be a great relic for your ancestors. And always ask for more napkins.
photo credit: Richard Casteel
photo credit: Richard Casteel
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Food Rundown
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Snow Pea Leaves And Garlic
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Spicy Lobster Hong Kong Style
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Tamarind Dungeness Crab
photo credit: Richard Casteel
Shrimp And Scrambled Eggs
photo credit: Richard Casteel