HAIRY crab season is back. I have friends who can’t get enough of the luscious, creamy roe that’s been likened to the runny yolk of half-boiled eggs.

The roe is scrumptious and the meat of the hairy crabs is sweet.

If you don’t like the fiddly work of eating crabs, it’s all done for you at Elegant Inn HK Cuisine. Even the legs are expertly cut so you can easily pull out the meat.

Two six-course menus featuring the creatures have been put together for the season from now until November.

One set gets you 190g steamed live crab as one of the main courses. Surprisingly it was the male crab we were having, whose roe is much more prized than that of the female

We ate the flavourful, moist and rich orange roe with a teaspoon and dug out the meat from the body and the legs

A sweet, hot, and fragrant ginger tea was served at the end for some yang to balance the yin of crabs.

The dinner offered a happy start with a trio of appetisers of golden curry sesame prawn roll, crispy vegetarian rice roll, and porcini smoked farm egg.

The milder British curry spices are in the golden curry sesame prawn roll, with a bit of potato melding harmoniously with a crunchy prawn and sesame.

We liked the crispy vegetarian rice roll with the deliciously sweet sauce and the egg.

I was blown away by the claypot shark cartilage pork rib soup with fried fish maw and bamboo pith. It was milky, gummy and so delightful.

We relished the slithery fish maw, bamboo pith and the flavours of Japanese scallops and eel in the soup.

The two other main courses in this set (RM268 per pax for minimum of two) were kaffir lime garlic fried spring chicken and braised hot and sour handmade noodles with crunchy oyster.

The crispy fried chicken was imbued with the citrusy scent of kaffir lime leaf and had a generous sprinkling of fried garlic bits.

The crunchy and succulent Japanese oyster went pop at the bite, hitting the spot with a little spice in the batter, and pairing well with the hot and sour noodles.

A double-boiled snow pear with Chuanbei citrus peel and the custardy osmanthus sea coconut pumpkin pudding wrapped up the meal.

The six-course hairy crab and abalone set (RM368 per pax) begins with golden curry sesame prawn roll, crispy vegetarian roll, and the best steamed silky egg with crab roe.

I was blown away by the exquisite egg in a glass topped with a thick orange layer of creamy crab roe and sweet crabmeat.

Shark cartilage pork rib soup is also in this set, but with thick, white fish maw.

One of the main courses is the braised seven-head South African abalone, pan-seared Iberico pork and handmade fish curd in abalone sauce.

Savour the abalone with the braising sauce that’s smooth and full of umami. Then sink your teeth into the soft fish curd and pork drenched in the sauce.

Kaffir lime garlic fried chicken is in this set too. But the crowning moment was surely the braised crab roe with golden shark’s fin “lou” rice.

Fried rice is served along a claypot of creamy golden hairy crab roe with shark’s fin.

Then it’s the double-boiled snow pear with Chunabei citrus peel, and the loveliest crumbly bird’s nest egg tartlet.

An a la carte menu is available if the sets are not for you. Elegant Inn HK Cuisine is in Menara Hap Seng, Jalan P. Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur. Call 03 -070 9399 or 012-722 3518. – October 28, 2023.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.