Savoring Dungeness crabs in Vancouver
IT TOOK months for my brother Max Arambulo to put together the plan to gather and celebrate our mother’s 94th birthday. Five of my six siblings live on the other side of the globe. My mother, whom we fondly call “Nanay,” stays with my sisters Enchay and Ana, in San Diego, California. Because of her age, Nanay can no longer take on long hours of air travel so coming home to the Philippines was out of the question. Max’s suggestion to gather everyone in Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada for the celebration was welcomed by everyone with excitement. After all, Max, a Canadian citizen, knows Canada like the palm of his hand. A savvy hotelier, Max sits as Executive Director of Property Systems & Integration–Technology Services of the Fairmont-Raffles Hotels International.
Vancouver, recognized as the top city of Canada, is located in Burrad Peninsula in British Columbia’s Pacific Coast. The beautiful coastal city has a panoramic view—skyline filled with modern skyscrapers, against a backdrop of the North Shore snow-capped mountains and bodies of blue waters. Several spectacular bridges link the Metro Vancouver areas. Max informed us that that according to Feng Shui experts, its geographic orientation with mountains on the north and bordered by waters on the south, provides a favorable flow of energy. A city of diverse ethnicity, it is not surprising that the Chinese are the largest visible ethnic group that comprises 30 percent of the city’s population. The 1980’s saw the influx of Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong in anticipation of the transfer of sovereignty from the UK to China.
Upon arrival in Vancouver after a three-hour plane trip from San Diego my sisters, Nanay and I checked in at Residence Inn Marriott in downtown area where we shall converge prior to our first move. Max flew in from Toronto. Our rooms were conveniently provided with a kitchenette where we can cook. After settling down, Max drove us around the downtown area that ended in Chinatown where we needed to buy foodstuff including rice. We happily forayed into Chinese stores picking vegetables, fruits and condiments. The priced pick was live Dungeness crabs caught off the chilly Pacific Ocean waters. These crustaceans are named after a small fishing village called Dungeness in Washington State. This undisputed king of crabs is in season mid-November to June. The biggest and sweetest are best before the end of winter and our timing was just perfect. Max and Ana picked five huge crabs, avoiding the pincers. They were all male crabs and we all wondered if the female crabs, which have the fat or the yellow “aligue” were either discarded or thrown back to the ocean. Only Asians relish the female crabs.
While the Dungeness crabs were being steamed, I prepared the dipping sauce of rice vinegar, red chilis and garlic seasoned with a little sea salt. Ana microwaved some “kalian” or Chinese broccoli and drizzled these with hoisin sauce. Using our hands, we started picking on the deliciously fresh and sweet crabmeat. The shell was not hard to crack and the legs were filled with meat. The pincers were even fleshier. These crabs are very popular since they have no ocean scent (fishy smell). After our crab dinner, we all flashed satisfied smiles.
