Omah’s: Crab, crab, crab
When we want crab, we’re serious. Recently, I was in a group of 10 that went to Omah’s Restaurant in Port Melbourne on a very cold evening with one aim: eat crab until we could eat no more.
Omah’s has been in Port Melbourne for several years, selling Malaysian cuisine (they recently opened a branch in Hawthorn). The restaurant’s decor is inspired by 1950’s Malaysian tea houses, with dark furniture on the floor and wooden birdcages hanging from the ceiling. During the day it would be bright and airy as there are floor to ceiling windows looking out to Rouse Street, however in the evening the lighting was turned way down low – always a food blogger’s nightmare.
We were there to eat crabs, so we started off with an order of five, choosing an assortment of flavours. Each mud crab is $39.90 (regardless of weight) and there are several flavours to choose from – salted egg, chilli, black pepper, lemongrass and five spice.
All the crabs were fantastic, but everyone’s favourite was the salted egg crab. It had been fried in a salted egg mixture, which gave it a crunchy, rich, salty coating. I literally licked all the coating off the back of one of the crab shells – decorum be damned!
After rapidly gobbling down our five crabs, we put in an order for four more – another three salted egg and one lonely black pepper. So that was nine crabs between the ten of us… we decided after our second order that we wanted at least one more, but unfortunately Omah’s had sold out of crabs for the night. Darn it!
My second favourite flavour was the black pepper. It had been cooked in a wet sauce and had a good pepper kick. Surprisingly for someone who loves chilli, I wasn’t particularly enamored of the chilli crab – most likely because it had a sweeter style sauce, rather than a spicy one.
We didn’t eat anything else that night, so I can’t comment on any of Omah’s other dishes. I just know that if you want crabs, go to Omah’s and order the salted egg one. You might also want to ask for a crab each when booking so you don’t suffer from not-enough-crab-regret. I’ve been there – it’s a sad place to be.
Ed from Tomatom was also there that night. We noticed that they didn’t eat nearly as much crab as us. Hah.
Thanks to my fellow crab eaters for a fun, crab smashing night: K, Thanh, Allan, Bryan and I-Hua. Can you believe this was only a small part of the carnage?
For more on Omah’s, check out these blogs:
[googleMap name=”Omah’s Malaysian Restaurant” width=”600″ height=”300″ directions_to=”false”]136-138 Rouse St, Port Melbourne, VIC Australia[/googleMap]
Omah’s Restaurant
136-138 Rouse St
Port Melbourne VIC 3207
Phone: (03) 9676 9918
Web: omahs.com
Allan
June 28, 2011 @ 9:35 pm
OMGOSH, i am just in the process of writing that post!!!!! hahaha.
mmmm more crab please.
Agnes
June 30, 2011 @ 4:02 pm
Hah! Just beat you to it 😀
fatbooo
June 28, 2011 @ 9:53 pm
I thought I was doing okay, but reading this post has brought my crab cravings back. Mmmmm it’s so nearby…. *greedy hands*
😀
Agnes
June 30, 2011 @ 4:03 pm
I know – I’m so jealous how close you are. Darn it!
msihua
June 28, 2011 @ 10:23 pm
Bwahahahaha.. I’m going back this Friday for more crabs!! YOSH!
Agnes
June 30, 2011 @ 4:03 pm
You are a FREAK, a freak, I tell ya!
msihua
July 2, 2011 @ 10:20 am
That’s why you love me 😛 Or at least pretend that you do…
Hannah
June 28, 2011 @ 10:23 pm
Aaaaaand this was where you all were two days after I left Melbourne. Believe you me, I was tempted to up and quit my job and camp out at my brother’s house (or, well, your place, because you presumably don’t have Dr Who-like mould growths on your ceiling…) forever more in the hopes of crab festivities but alas! Duty called.
Also, I’m a big fan of decorum being damned. I’ve been chastised more often that I should admit for using my finger to wipe up the last skerricks of dessert-sauce at restaurants.
Agnes
June 30, 2011 @ 4:04 pm
What, you don’t just lift the plate to your face and lick it clean? You do have some standards, hey? 😉
Annapet
June 30, 2011 @ 8:14 am
What a crab feast! I have been craving for crab dishes and I cannot wait to try something new. It’s a shame we do not have establishments here like Omah’s [and we’re surrounded by water].
I’ll have to find live crabs to cook my own. Thanks for sharing.
Agnes
June 30, 2011 @ 4:05 pm
Interesting that you don’t have anything similar close to you! Though I do like the idea of cooking your own 😀
Thanh
July 4, 2011 @ 8:55 pm
Great night. We must factor in more crabs next time.
Agnes
July 13, 2011 @ 10:46 pm
At least one crab each. No need for further discussion.