Went to the pre-opening of this soon-to-be-opened Louisiana themed seafood restaurant called "The Holy Crab", you know how much I adore unique names that's inspired by the... *you know what*, this name's probably my second most favorite after "Fook Yew!" Major LOL.
While the restaurant's scheduled to be officially opened for public on February 3rd 2014, I got the first watch and privilege to try out some of their highlighted menu and be the first guests with some other bloggers, thank you The Holy Crab!
A little history about The Holy Crab, it's managed by the Ersons Food Group which by the way also manage some other famous names like Santouka Hokkaido Ramen and Grandma's Suki *applause*. This happens to be their first outlet and hopefully more *fingers crossed*. The Holy Crab is located in Gunawarman street which is famous for its culinary scene since it's on the same rail as Senopati and Wolter Monginsidi.
The restaurant's exterior looked like a fancy house, Louisiana architecture typical since this restaurant is pretty much influenced by Louisiana. I got the homey impression when I first stepped into the restaurant. It was decorated with mostly earthy elements like woods and cement. It actually reminded me of the good old southern eatery (if you have seen it somewhere in movies), only this was more spacious (can hold up to 130 people), cleaner, more comfortable, and I adore the simplicity of the whole concept for the interior. It was just an appropriate dining venue.
A more private area for those who wanted privacy.
The Dummies Guide to De-Shelling, so this was the board that will be your ultimate guide while eating here, keep your eyes on this board, this would help a lot!
Some of the highlighted menu were 'The Snow Crab" which was also imported straight from the land of Alaska, Gianormous "Lobster", "Dungenees Crab" and "Shrimps". I got to try all except for the Lobster which I found to be really unfortunate, I was staring non-stop at the freaking lobster but soon realizing that it wasn't meant to be mine, love hurts :(.
I couldn't provide you guys the exact price for the food here because the pricing system was determined by the weight of the seafood and the source (local or international), but what I can tell you is that the price ranges from IDR 20k to IDR 120k (for 100 grams) for the seafood while the light bites starts from IDR 25k to 60k. Prices may vary depending on the market seasonal price.
Let's start the seafood raving!
What I love about the eating concept here was there's no plate, no appliances and nowhere to be tidy. If you are an OCD freak then this might not be the place for you, it's where you get down and dirty, dude... Lousiana style, freaking beautiful mess!
Fish and Chips Crispy Fish Fingers
IDR 60k
The appetizer of the night, it was the good old fish and chips. The fish was cooked beautifully, crispy coating but still leaving the fish meat to be moist and in a way, juicy. Probably a little more seasoning to the fish would be good, it just needed a little kick of butter and salt and I'm hooked like a fish! On the other hand, french fries was cooked nicely, and this one had a proper seasoning.
Snow Crab Legs and King Crab Legs
Before we get to the actual meal, to consume the crab legs, the 'weapon' that we're going to need is "Shellfish Cracker Shell Opener" (the blue ones in the picture). Surprisingly, the crab legs shells were not as hard as I had imagined before, more like a plastic kinda fabric and it was not as hard as the body shell for sure. The purpose of the shell opener was to rip the shell off and to get the meat out of the shell, if this doesn't work just remember you always have your teeth which is like the ultimate universal opener.
The wood hammers were used for the crabs if you care.
Apparently, cracking the shells was not rocket science to me, here's the fun part: EATING THE MEAT and since this was like the first time having giant king crab legs, for a first timer, this was really impressive. The meat was really soft, sort of juicy and buttery, it had that natural sweetness and saltiness to it and it just melt in your mouth. The meat from the legs were generous and I couldn't stop having this with the Louisiana sauce which tasted like bolognaise in a way but in the same time a little BBQ-ish, spicy and it had that Cayenne pepper touch to it, the combination was superb, I couldn't think of a better sauce than this to be honest. I was sold.
You know I could even roll a bread on the sauce and it could simply be a stunning dish already. Must must try, I couldn't emphasize enough! You could also custom the spiciness level from Mild, Medium, Spicy to Holy Moly.
Louisiana Shrimps and Sausages
IDR 28k/100 gr.
Ok, might not be the most photogenic dish but seriously you are just a little silly to skip this from your order. The shrimps were fresh, they were really soft, smooth, I could clearly tell that they were cooked on the perfect timing and temperature. The sausages were like big big chunks and they're also cooked nicely. The corn might look ordinary but that was another bomb! It had that buttery-caramelized flavor to it, sort of sweet and worry free! The whole thing burst in your mouth. You know it's so good when I am lost for words I just wanna make foodgasm noises.
Dungenees Crab
This was also the one that I was obsessed about, taking pictures of this was the pain in the ass man, it had that alluring scent that seduced! I presumed that this was going to be filled with thick meats since the size itself was like...gianormous!
You're gonna need the wood hammer to "fight" this one. The kind chef/ *ahem* owner Chef Albert showed us the way to eat this, it's by cracking the body shell first, he was opening it effortless while we were spending a lot of calories already just wondering how to start eating this HAHAHA just kidding lah!
I literally go wow-ed when the shell was cracked opened because it's like looking at a hidden gem! Take a look at the picture on the right, it was filled with so many eggs that had this fatty consistency and savory, one scoop and burst of flavor just like that. The meat was decent but I clearly root for the meat from the king crab legs more, it was just juicy and addicting!
Unfortunately didn't manage to try out the lobster, so I guess pictures instead.
Stop licking the screen...
I was not experiencing any distinct and disgusting smell like how I usually experienced when having seafood most of the times, must be goddamn fresh! Well I smell something else... jealousy! HAHAHA do come here guys, this is a one recommended seafood restaurant!
I had a beautiful visit to The Holy Crab, the food was amazing, none really disappointed me, the ambiance was nice, the staffs were friendly and really attentive! But since it's the pre-opening session and media tasting, I hope they will continue to act this way for days to come, service and hospitality are everything!
The Holy Crab is going to be a strong contender to seafood restaurants out there, better watch your back or the crab claws will 'tweezered' you out!
I wonder if this is a proper dating venue, maybe you'll be surprised by your own date, they might turn in to a baboon mutant when they start looking at those lobsters and crabs and the last thing you know they're applying the Louisiana sauce as their make-up HAHAHA my mind is a little aggressive during the night!
Thank you The Holy Crab for the tremendous dinner! You rock.
By the way, since it's January 31st already...
Picture of firework that I took earlier among my big family dinner gathering, Fireworks are truly beautiful, live or frozen. Anyway, I hope this year will bring you a lot of good fortunes, good health, happiness and prosperity. Don't forget to always pray and fight for your dreams AMEN! :).
The Holy Crab
Jalan Gunawarman No. 55
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan
Jakarta Selatan 12110
021 - 2923 6155
Opening Hours:
5 PM - 10 PM (Weekdays), 12 PM - 10 PM (weekends)
