Last night I tried the newly opened House of Crabs upstairs from the Norfolk Hotel on Cleveland St, Surry Hills. Now, before I go to any restaurant to eat I'll always surf the food blogs and know what to expect. To be honest, I didn't go with much high hopes since I don't usually like mussels and clams, and whenever I eat crab, its always so hard to get the meat out.
Instead though, I ended up really enjoying this dinner. Going with 6 people, we were able to try a large variety of their menu. We were one of the first tables there so our food came out really quickly (within 10 minutes of ordering). Our waiter was also really friendly and patient with our indecisiveness.
For starters, we tried their buffalo cucumber (w/ blue cheese and peanuts), crab, blackbean and chorizo balls, and the ceviche and guacamole with corn chips, plus a kale, bean and broccoli salad. As for drinks, we got the hurricane fishbowl and crabbies ginger beer.
For starters, we tried their buffalo cucumber (w/ blue cheese and peanuts), crab, blackbean and chorizo balls, and the ceviche and guacamole with corn chips, plus a kale, bean and broccoli salad. As for drinks, we got the hurricane fishbowl and crabbies ginger beer.
 |
| Hurricane fishbowl ($25), ceviche and guacamole with corn chips ($16), crab, blackbean and chorizo balls (6 balls $15), kale salad ($16) |
The cucumber came in a little bowl dressed in a blue cheese sauce. I'm not usually a fan of blue cheese so I was a bit reluctant to try it, but I did and it was better than expected. It had a nice cheesy flavour but wasn't too overpowering. The ceviche dish was nice, but nothing special. Same with the salad, though the toasted sunflower seeds provided a nice crunch and nutty flavour.
What I really enjoyed from the starters was the crab and chorizo balls. Nice and crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. It had a nice crabby flavour to it and the peas and beans provide a nice mix of textures.
Now, on to the stars of the show - the boils. Bags of 500g boiled seafood smothered in their own finger-licking sauce.
We ordered 5 boils with the 5 different sauces that they had - mussels with mexican sauce, clams with oriental sauce, yabbies with lemon and pepper sauce, snow crab with cajun sauce, and king crab with butter and garlic sauce (this was the special sauce of the night so its not on their menu). The waiter told us the best way to eat was to tip everything onto the table and just grab from the pile. This is why they have paper table clothes so everything is just wrapped up and thrown away after leaving a clean table.
It was amazing seafood with equally as amazing sauce. My favourite sauce would have to be the cajun sauce, not too spicy but just enough kick to go with the firm and juicy snow crab. The mexican sauce was the spiciest of them all but still enjoyable even to someone with only a mild chilli tolerance like me. The clams with oriental sauce was ok but some of the shells were empty which was a bit disappointing. I was also disappointed by the lemon and pepper sauce, it was only weakly lemony and I couldn't taste the pepper at all. Lastly we had the king crab. This wasn't tipped on the table since the sauce was quite runny. The meat was quite a challenge to get out of this one, even with the crab crackers that were provided. The shell was very spiky too. This was the most expensive of the boils ($45 for 500g) but it was also the best tasting. Even without the sauce, this one was a winner with the fresh taste of crab meat. The butter sauce complimented this freshness really well. It was a lighter flavoured sauce so the taste of crab meat was able to come through.
Lastly, dessert! There is only one dessert on the menu - a neopolitan ice cream waffle sandwich. You could never go wrong with a waffle sandwich. Two waffles sandwiching a thick slab of neopolitan ice cream, drizzled over with raspberry and chocolate sauce, with a sprinkle of toasted almonds. Such a delight to eat.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable and satisfying experience. Don't be deterred by the things I found disappointing because everyone likes different things. This place is well worth the try!
 |
| The boils (minus the king crab - my fingers were too dirty by the time we got the the king crab to take a photo) |
It was amazing seafood with equally as amazing sauce. My favourite sauce would have to be the cajun sauce, not too spicy but just enough kick to go with the firm and juicy snow crab. The mexican sauce was the spiciest of them all but still enjoyable even to someone with only a mild chilli tolerance like me. The clams with oriental sauce was ok but some of the shells were empty which was a bit disappointing. I was also disappointed by the lemon and pepper sauce, it was only weakly lemony and I couldn't taste the pepper at all. Lastly we had the king crab. This wasn't tipped on the table since the sauce was quite runny. The meat was quite a challenge to get out of this one, even with the crab crackers that were provided. The shell was very spiky too. This was the most expensive of the boils ($45 for 500g) but it was also the best tasting. Even without the sauce, this one was a winner with the fresh taste of crab meat. The butter sauce complimented this freshness really well. It was a lighter flavoured sauce so the taste of crab meat was able to come through.
 |
| All gone :) |
Overall, it was a very enjoyable and satisfying experience. Don't be deterred by the things I found disappointing because everyone likes different things. This place is well worth the try!
