Fan Meijing/Shanghai Daily news

Any fancier of crab meat in Shanghai - and just about anywhere else in China - will tell you that nothing can beat the superb crustaceans that come from Yangcheng Lake.
I had long known of the high esteem in which Yangcheng Lake crabs are held but could not understand how they had earned such a high reputation. I would ask crab gourmets about the origin of their fame. "Why are the crabs from Yangcheng Lake said to be the best and how are they different from crabs raised elsewhere?"
In reply there would licking of lips, mysterious smiles and then I would be told: "Their deliciousness is beyond words. They have to be tasted with your own tongue."
In a recent weekend I was finally offered a chance to make a trip of discovery to the renowned lake in nearby Kunshan in Jiangsu Province.
Before I set off, my mother, a major crab fan who is always recounting her great feat of eating a whole basin of Shanghai crabs in only a few hours, urged me to taste every last morsel of the Yangcheng Lake crabs and report back to her in detail what my feelings were.
We went to the lake by bus. The one-and-a-half-hour journey took about an hour longer because there were so many other tour buses on the road carrying eager crab gourmets they had created a traffic jam at the highway toll station.
The restaurant we went to was plainly decorated and its kitchen was so busy steaming crabs that the staff had no time even for making tea. We waited anxiously, hungry and thirsty. Sitting beside me was Pu Jianping, a middle-aged photographer whom I discovered was an expert on Shanghai crabs.
Then the renowned Yangcheng Lake crabs appeared at the table. I was thrilled. They were huge, plump and beautifully orange.
Every year when the first blast of autumn chill is felt, it's time for Chinese to start eating crabs - better known as "da zha xie" in Shanghai. In lunar September people usually eat female crabs and put the males aside because the latter are still very thin and won't be tasty for another month. The whole crab season lasts to the end of the year.
A high-quality fully matured Yangcheng Lake crab weighs between 220 grams and 250 grams so they're much bigger than other varieties of Shanghai crabs. The males and females can be told apart by looking at their claws and undersides. The pincers of the males are bigger and covered with bushy "hair" while those on the females are "hairless."

The belly opening section of male crabs (right) is triangular and petal-like and round for females. The pincers of male crabs are bigger and covered with bushy “hair” while those on the females are “hairless.” — Fan Meijing

"If you turn the crabs over so they are lying on their backs you will see a section of their belly that can be opened for extraction," Pu said, taking a crab and showing it to me. "For males, this section is somehow triangular and petal-like. In females, it's round."

The flavorful essence of the renowned Yangcheng Lake crab is its spawn — gao for male crabs or huang for female crabs.-China Foto

Also, males and females taste different. To most eaters, the biggest allure of the Yangcheng Lake crab lies not in its pure white meat but in its spawn, which is inside its "lid." The spawn ("gao") of the males is translucent white and has a very rich taste. The spawn ("huang") of the females is golden yellow and also absolutely delicious. Whether "huang" or "gao" is more appealing is totally up to personal preference.
Although it is brilliantly colored when served at the table, the Shanghai crab before cooking is dark-green-blue with a white underside.
"Experts can tell whether a crab is fat by just looking at it and weighing it in the hand," Pu told me. "A 'green hand' like you can try to pinch its claws to feel whether the meat is plump, or look into that vent hole in the belly. If you see red leaking from its body, the crab must be fat and full of spawn."
We started eating. We threw away our chopsticks, stretched out our fingers and thumbs and launched into the crabs with appetite and passion. When tackling crabs, there seemed to be no table etiquette involved but Pu said this assumption was wrong.
"We used to use tools," Pu said. "The most traditional tools are called 'The Crab Eights' - a small wooden 'table' to put the crab on, hammer, axe, scissors, forceps, drill, spoon and fork." Nowadays the number of implements has been reduced to six or even fewer.

Crab sauce

Binding crabs is crucial to ensure a successful grand crab banquet — if the binding is too loose, the crabs may “escape” and you may not have a “complete” spawn; if the binding is too tight you may cut the claws. After binding, steam the crabs — usually without any seasoning. Making the sauce to go with the crabs is important, too. The sauce is generally a mixture of vinegar, ginger, salt and sugar.— China Foto/Fan Meijing

Shanghai people are the most devoted eaters of crab meat in China and are famous for the skillfulness in consuming them.
"In olden times, young Shanghai ladies would be dressed in 'qipao' (a traditional Chinese costume) and spend two hours eating a crab," Pu said. "With the help of delicate steel, bronze or even silver tools, they would seldom stain their hands or lips."
Steaming the crabs to preserve their flavor is the most preferred method of cooking them. Since no seasonings are added during the cooking, to make an excellent crab sauce is crucial. The sauce is generally a mixture of vinegar (those made in Zhenjiang in neighboring Jiangsu Province are the best), ginger, salt and sugar. (My mother also adds some soy sauce to make the sauce tastier still.)
When I was going to decline the waitress to serve me a cup of yellow wine, Pu stopped me and said it was better to sip some of the alcohol.
"Shanghai crab is rich in protein and nutritious but its 'nature' is very cold," he explained. "The wine helps warm up your stomach and restore the body's slightly damaged 'yin' and 'yang,' so try a little even if you don't usually drink."
Really, I was quite satisfied when I walked out of the restaurant. Both my belly and my brain were full and I said to myself: "My mother must be extremely envious of my good luck."
Now I've found out for myself why Yangcheng Lake crabs deserve their great reputation. How exceptional they are, as I had already been told, "is beyond words. They have to be tasted with your own tongue."

How to get there:                               
By car along the Huning (Shanghai-Nanjing) Highway to the lake. You can also order a crab tour package with Shanghai Qiangsheng Tour Service includes bus transport, a meal and a pair of crabs (one male and one female).
Tel: 6255-5322, 3218-0500
Crab prices: Superior crabs (250 grams for male and 220 grams for female) are sold for about 80 yuan a pair, so bargain with the vendor if the prices are unreasonable.

How to eat them
First, break into the exit on the underside and then open the "lid" with fingers and thumbs. It's almost impossible to eat crabs without using your fingers.
Now observe the inside of the "lid." You'll find the spawn ("gao" for male crabs while "huang" for female crabs) and a small clump of intestines which should not be eaten. Use the forceps to pick them out and then use a spoon to eat the "huang."
Scissors are used to cut the body in half. You may use hammer and axe to crack the legs and then use forceps and a spoon to dig out the meat.
The claws are more difficult to handle. First cut the joints away on both sides and then, use the drill to push the meat out.
For drinks with the meal, ginger tea may be a substitute for yellow wine if you really don't want to drink alcohol.
Please remember, patience is necessary to fully appreciate the crab's deliciousness and to enjoy the whole process of eating it.
Crab tools are on sale on eBay.