IT was the first time we were eating crabs in such a clean, pleasant environment as in an air-conditioned restaurant.

We were pleased to be at TalkCrab, a seafood restaurant in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, that began as an online crab delivery service (for fresh and cooked crabs) in October 2020.

The menu offered a bewildering array of choices but we were really looking to feast on crabs. Upon seeing oysters on the menu, we decided we would have those as well.

We also peered around to see what the diners at the next table were having.

We asked, and they recommended the raw, roe crab, Teochew-style, which we duly ordered. Since there were only three of us, we plumped for two roe crabs (again) cooked in the signature butter sauce, accompanied by four deep-fried mantou.

These came under the “buy one, free two” offer of two 350g roe crabs at RM228 each. They came with a free egg fried rice and a plate of blood cockles. The cockles were not available that night and were replaced with kam heong la la (mussels).

We were gobsmacked by the thick orange roe in the shell of the raw, marinated crab served Teochew-style in a bowl of sauce brimming with umami. It was a blend of soy sauce, lemon juice, chopped garlic, chilli, coriander, and finished with a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds. The perky, tangy sauce with well-balanced flavours complemented the delicate roe of the crab as well as the raw, sweet meat in its body, pincers and legs. It was truly an amazing appetiser.

You could also have the Korean-style raw, marinated crabs here.

The egg fried rice had enough wok hei (wok heat) in it, tasting sticky and flavourful with egg covering the grains.

Our next dish was oysters (RM90 for six). We had opted for the Teochew sauce again but we were pleased with the plump, raw oysters that threatened to slide off the spoon as we fished them out of the bowl. They were so good.

The star dish of the evening was surely the crabs in signature butter sauce, served with four small mantou. And although we doubled the portion of buns at RM1 each, there was not enough of them to dip into the scrumptious sauce. The deeply flavoured creamy sauce, fragrant with curry leaves, embraced the roe crabs which were super fresh and sweet.

The only drawback that evening was the la la in kam heong sauce. We had expected a dry fried style with hot sambal and dried shrimp paste, but the mussels languished in a dark drippy sauce that lacked the flavours we craved.

Perhaps next time we would try the la la pot of a kilogramme of of live Philippine clams at RM68.

We were also drawn to the RM298 menu foe three to four people featuring a signature platter of two “A” size crabs, eight tiger prawns, 250g whole shell clams, six New Zealand mussels, 12 cuttlefish and eight mantou. There are also vegetable dishes to balance the meal.

TalkCrab is at 11, Jalan 15, Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong. Call 010-338 1788, for enquiries. – September 30, 2023.