Sonny Side, a renowned content creator from the U.S., boasts over 11.2 million subscribers on YouTube, where he explores global street food, unique delicacies, and cultural cuisines. During his trip to Vietnam, he didn't shy away from trying both everyday dishes and high-end specialties.

Recently, he stopped by a restaurant on Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1, to experience the luxurious crab sticky rice dish. This dish is made using high-quality Ca Mau crab, known for its sweet, firm, and flavorful meat.

The cooking process is meticulous. The crabs are steamed, carefully extracted, and mixed with lap xuong (Vietnamese sausage), shiitake mushrooms, dried onions, and pork floss before being combined with fragrant sticky rice.

The sticky rice is then pressed into a metal bowl and deep-fried to create a crispy, golden crust. Once fried, it is filled with the crab mixture and delicately flipped over, forming a giant, crab-shaped serving with its shell and claws as decoration.

When presented with the dish, Sonny was impressed by its visual appeal, likening it to an oversized crab.

He first sampled the crab claw meat and was surprised by its deep, savory taste.

"Normally, crab claws have a naturally sweet taste, but in this dish, that sweetness is replaced by a rich, umami-packed flavor," he said.

As he continued eating, Sonny couldn't hide his excitement. He praised the dish’s balanced combination of flavors - the sticky rice was chewy and fragrant, while the crispy outer shell reminded him of fried rice.

"The crispy shell is like eating fried rice, while the sticky rice inside is packed with layers of flavor from the crab, sausage, and mushrooms. This dish is so delicious that I can’t even describe it! I absolutely love it," he said.

Speaking with VietNamNet, Luong Thanh Hoang, the restaurant owner, shared that crab sticky rice is one of their most popular dishes.

To maintain quality, the restaurant carefully selects its ingredients.

The crabs come from Nam Can, Ca Mau, weighing at least 600 grams each, ensuring firm and sweet-tasting meat. The sticky rice used is Nep Cai Hoa Vang, a premium Vietnamese glutinous rice variety known for its chewy texture and fragrant aroma.

"Each serving contains the full meat of one whole crab, while the shell and claws are left intact for decoration and easy eating," Hoang explained.

The dish’s high price is due to the premium quality of Ca Mau crab, which can cost 550,000–600,000 VND ($22–25) per kg, plus additional expenses for ingredients, preparation, and labor.

"This dish requires a complex and time-consuming preparation process. After steaming, the crabs must be carefully shelled, the meat extracted, and mixed with other ingredients, all while maintaining the natural sweetness and texture of the crab," he added.

Preparing this dish takes about 40 minutes, and it is served with a special dipping sauce and pickled shallots.

Besides the 990,000 VND ($40) portion, the restaurant also offers smaller portions priced at 660,000 VND, 770,000 VND, and 880,000 VND, catering to different budgets and preferences.