Malaysia on the mind, plate, and palate at popular nearby restaurant Fatty Crab

While the quintessential ethnic restaurant conjures up an image of a hole-in-the-wall joint run by a humble family in a back alley, Fatty Crab simply can’t escape the public eye.

When Zak Pelaccio opened Fatty Crab last year, the news spread quickly. Known primarily for his Meatpacking District spot 5Ninth, New Yorkers wondered how his New American specialities would translate into Fatty Crab’s Malaysian fare. Apparently, the concept worked so well that he extended his West Village location (Hudson Street between Horatio and Gansevoort Streets) to the Upper West Side (76th Street and Broadway). Both are a short walk from the 1 train, but only the uptown location takes reservations.

Fatty Crab’s authenticity may seem questionable, but Malaysia’s long history of colonial occupation and close proximity to neighboring countries make Malaysian cuisine itself a fusion. Incorporating an amalgam of Southeast Asian flavors, Malaysian cuisine includes a strong focus on chili spices and coconut milk.

A warning to trendy, nouveau vegans: pork, duck, and shellfish abound, yet stopping by for the distinctly downtown ambience is worth it. Red lights reveal crowded tables and black booths along with a spacious bar. There, visitors can enjoy creative concoctions like a Fatty Sling, made with rum, pineapple juice, ginger ale, and Pernod ($12), as Bob Marley remixes and electronic lounge beats play.

At Fatty Crab, embrace sharing—portions are small and the menu offers too many intriguing dishes to pick just one. Start with the famed steamed pork buns and slices of green mango dipped in a lip-puckering blend of chili, sugar and salt. Or make a bold move by jumping straight into the Fatty’s Specialties section of the menu, which features a melodious ode to pork—watermelon pickle tossed with juicy chunks of crispy, fried pork and, inevitably, lard—but who’s complaining?

And then there is the fatty duck, whose golden skin protects delicate meat lathered with a sweet sauce. Beneath the duck, toasted tamaki, or rice kernels, add a foreign element to the white rice’s sticky texture.

As the restaurant’s namesake suggests, there is an incredibly messy chili crab dish. A red, hot chili sauce steps in for melted butter, which is so tasty that it can make even the most hardened students forget about pending papers and finals.

If the crab’s market price seems unsettling, the menu’s best bargains lie in the noodle and rice bowls. Nasi goreng, or house special fried rice, arrives as a generous bowl of brown rice, chicken, shrimp, pork, and fried egg. Make no mistake: this dish is only reserved for those who can handle some serious spice. For a more traditional Malaysian approach, look to nasi lemak, or rice soaked in coconut milk mixed with chicken curry and a slow poached egg.

After an intensely flavorful meal, the pitiful dessert menu that consists solely of two different chocolate bars will surely disappoint. Yet, complimentary desserts like the mochi cake slices with a subtle hint of dulce de leche are a delicious surprise that will end any sweet qualms.

So, leave intellectual skepticism at the door, because there is no time for that in this relentless encounter with unexpected, fiery flavors. It’s an experience reserved only for the open-minded, the uninhibited, and the curious.