Crab Hot Lau: A must-try spot for authentic Northern Vietnamese eats
Vancouver is full of fine dining establishments, award-winning restaurants, and internationally-acclaimed eateries, but most of the time, all we really want to eat is authentic food from family-owned places.
The kind of place where locals quickly become regulars and the owners know them by name; where the space is no-fuss, no-frills, but warm and welcoming; and where the food shines so bright that you kind of want to keep the restaurant’s off-the-radar status intact, just to keep the tasty secret to yourself.
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One such place is Crab Hot Lau, a restaurant that serves authentic Northern Vietnamese-style cuisine.
Opened nearly a year ago (the exact anniversary is on November 18), Crab Hot Lau is located at 2141 Kingsway, right in the heart of the city’s unofficial Vietnamese restaurant district.
The owner Cherry Pham moved to Vancouver eight years ago from Northern Vietnam and is the beating heart of the operation. This is her first restaurant, but despite the lack of restaurant history, she has succeeded in bringing a truly unique and authentic taste of her home region to Vancouver.
Daryn Wright/Daily Hive
Jessica Pham, the restaurant’s social media manager, tells us that Cherry has a generous spirit when it comes to food – she is always ready to feed anyone, from friends and family to visiting “food influencers,” when they come through the door.
Being fed by Cherry means you better be ready to be stuffed full to the gills, as we were during a recent visit to the restaurant.
A rainy evening in Vancouver is the ideal time for Vietnamese – especially this Vietnamese.
Crab Hot Lau is known for a few dishes in particular, Jessica tells us, including a signature rice field crab hot pot, an Oxtail hot pot, and Bún nem cua biển – square crab spring rolls made with special rice paper that is imported weekly straight from Vietnam.
Bún nem cua biển | Daryn Wright/Daily Hive
This rice paper, Jessica tells us, is very special and is much fresher than what you can get here; it keeps its crispiness long after being fried, and is an essential ingredient for much of Crab Hot Lau’s menu items.
During our visit, we were treated to several of the restaurant’s standout dishes, including Nộm đu đủ, bò khô (green papaya salad with beef jerky), Bánh gối (Vietnamese “pillow cakes” stuffed with egg, mushrooms, and pork), Nem Thính (rolls made with the infamous rice paper, pork belly, and fresh herbs), and chili salt BBQ squid.
Daryn Wright/Daily Hive
Chili salt BBQ squid | Daryn Wright/Daily Hive
Fish sauce glazed wings | Daryn Wright/Daily Hive
We of course had to try both of the aforementioned hot pots, too, which in itself is a fun dining experience – one that we’d gladly return to for experience again with a group of friends.
The Lau Cua Dong (rice field crab hot pot) comes with seasonal vegetables, house-made fish cakes, ground pork wrapped in piper leaves, and delicate red, flat rice noodles.
Once the broth is at a roiling boil (which is in a pot on a portable butane burner right at your table), diners add the mixture of crab concentrate, pork fat, and crispy shallots to the pot, give it a stir, then add the remaining ingredients, which quickly cook in the hot broth.
Lau Cua Dong and Lau Duoi Bo | Daryn Wright/Daily Hive
Daryn Wright/Daily Hive
The broth was so flavourful and special and felt like an antidote to the heavy rain outside.
For those not interested in crab, the Lau Duoi Bo (Oxtail) hot pot is also a great choice, with a broth that has been simmered for more than 24 hours and an assortment of fresh vegetables, mushrooms, Oxtail, and rare beef slices.
This dish is similar to pho, Pham tells us, except that you’re cooking everything right in the broth at your own pace.
Daryn Wright/Daily Hive
Crab Hot Lau also serves an assortment of Vietnamese coffees, tea, smoothies (the avocado is a great palate cleanser), and alcoholic drinks like sake and bottled beer.
Even on a rainy Thursday night, the restaurant was busy, populated with diners who already know how great the food is here.
Jessica tells us that, even though the restaurant has only been open for a year, Pham already has plans to open a second location at some point.
We really hope she follows through with this plan, because Vancouver deserves more of her food – authentic, special cuisine that is so good we want to keep it to ourselves.
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Crab Hot Lau
Address: 2141 Kingsway, Vancouver
Phone: 604-423-3633
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