GRAND OPENING

JJ hopes to lure guests with live seafood

OK, so maybe third time will be a charm for restaurateur JJ Luangkhot. First it was J2. Then came Le Cacao Bistro. Now it has been renamed and reconceptualized as Crab City. When JJ opened his second restaurant in January 2011, he didn't want to mirror his namesake bistro and pastry shop, which is mere steps away.

“Both concepts didn't work,"  JJ concedes, referring to his original J2 Asian Fusion and Le Cacao Bistro Euro-Asian. "This is the third time that we've had to change everything, from kitchen to dining room and menu to staff."

As suggested by the restaurant's name, the specialty will be crabs, from Dungeness and King to Snow and Blue. Preparation will be a la Louisiana style, boiled and served with a choice of lemon-garlic or garlic butter or Cajun sauce.

"It's all about live seafood," JJ says. "We have an oyster bar, crawfish, shrimp, clams, mussels and lobsters."

Crab City is open daily from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. JJ, though, says he is considering lunch service on Saturdays and Sundays so stay tuned.  (3441 Waialae Ave., 780-3115 or 626-5368.)