Dos and Don'ts

1. Prepare the sauce from vinegar, sugar and ginger. According to traditional Chinese medicine, hairy crabs are very cold and may harm the stomach causing gastroenteritis. In TCM theory, ginger and sugar will neutralize the coldness.

2. It is also recommended to drink warm rice wine with hairy crabs to expel the coldness of the food as well as combating cool weather.

3. Don't have beer and persimmon together with hairy crabs as they may cause stomach and intestinal convulsions.

4. Don't eat the stomach, heart and lungs of a crab as the are very cold in TCM and may cause diarrhea.

How to select a good crab

1. See how it moves. It should be fast and move quickly if it has robust, strong leg muscles.

2. Provoke it by touching its eyes or slightly tugging its legs. A good crab will fight back fast with its pincers.

3. Turn it upside down, the most popular and practical way of checking. If it can turn its body over swiftly without any difficulty, the crab must be authentic - a sign of its athleticism.

Where to have cheap hairy crabs

Tongchuan Road Aquatic Product Market

It is the most popular in Shanghai with prices usually the lowest. It is said that the market will move to Jungong Road in Yangpu District by the end of the year.

Tel: 6254-5979

Address: 871 Tongchuan Rd, between Taopu Rd E. and Caoyang Rd

Bacheng in Kunshan

This is the preferred destination for hairy crab gourmands, a place along Yangcheng Lake in Jiangsu Province. The famous hairy crab lake is about 90 minutes drive from downtown Shanghai and prices are usually half that in Shanghai. Dozens of restaurants offer fresh hairy crabs in Bacheng. It is even cheaper when you buy the crab live to take away.

How to get there: Drive along Huning (Shanghai-Nanjing) Highway and take the Kunshan exit.

(Shanghai Daily October 17, 2008)