Omah's Malaysian Cuisine, Hawthorn MELB

In spirit of the Lunar New Year, this week's blog posts will be all about those chopstick licking Chinese meals that usually gets consumed during this festive period. A last minute decision brought us to Omah's whereby a seafood loaded dinner is a good excuse to usher in prosperity and happiness.

Depending on the number of patrons in the restaurant, be prepared to wait for a bit after placing your order. On the bright side, this fancy Malaysian restaurant does have a little bar located close to the entrance so if you are in need of treats in the form of Asian inspired beverages, you know to go.

Crab omelette ~ we were fortunate to be able to nab the mud crab meal package which comes with a serve of crab omelette as a start, followed by the mud crab itself and a serve of dessert afterwards.. all for the price of $49.50. Crab omelette was decent although would have liked a little more crab meat in it.

Salted egg prawns ~ The prawns were evenly coated with a serve of salted egg yolks prior to being deep fried. Juicy and bursting with flavour, prawns are a must have for Chinese New Year because they signify laughter aka happiness. Surely you want to start the year off right, ey?

Belacan beans ~ belacan is a traditional fermented paste that is often associated with the addition of chilli. I found this dish a little salty to my liking but overall, the beans were cooked well.

Singapore noodles ~ noodles signify longevity in life and whilst this is definitely not the traditional one that you get at Chinese restaurants, it is close enough for us. A touch of curry paste was incorporated here which gave it a lovely aroma. Generous portions of chicken, prawns and eggs in this dish, definitely one of my favourites.

Chilli crab ~ seafood or poultry has to be served whole during the New Year as it symbolizes wholeness in life aka nobody wants an incomplete life/job, right? The crab was the star dish of the night. The sauce that comes with it had bits and pieces of the crab's essence added into it and boy, was it such a treat to lap it off with bread. Be warned that there may be pieces of crab shell in the sauce so don't be in a hurry to clean your plate.

For dessert, we had a pandan sago that sits on a bed of gula Melaka syrup and coconut milk sauce. Not too sweet and certainly a light end to the meal.