OMAH's at Hawthorn***

Omah's Hawthorn

338-342 Burwood Road 
Hawthorn VIC 3122 
Australia 
T: 03 9818 7777 E: hawthorn@omahs.com
W: http://www.omahs.com/hawthorn/about.html 
Opening hours:  from 12pm till late 7 days a week. 



The website explains that OMAH'S mean grandmother in the Malay language in Malaysia and it serves authentic Malay/ Peranakan food. Truth be told, I have never heard of them and this is the first time I dine was last week and how wonderful it was. Some of my friends asked me whey is there not a place where one can fine dine Malay food. Well, I can say this is the closest but it has also a mix of South East Asian Chinese/ Singaporean and Indian food  as well. This place is HALAL too, so it gets even better!


Last Sunday, we went to the Hawthorn Branch of Omah's for Deb's Birthday dinner. This is their second branch that started from Port Melbourne. I say having 2 branches means you are doing well and so they are, as the joint was packed with people in big groups and of course majority are there for their famous Crabs mains. We were there for the same thing. Debs pre-ordered  2 crabs and we decided to cook them in Salted Eggs and Chilli Crab ala Singapore style. Instead of expecting Mantou bread with our crabs, as it is more Malaysian based, we got Roti chanai or better known as prata in Singapore instead. That does not compromise the meal, I say! :) The crabs cost about $40 each and are of medium size. 

The Salted eggs sauce crab was not as salty and extravagant like the ones in Singapore where the egg yolk is turned into slushy gravy and the crab kinda soaked in it. Over here, it is more like the eggs was matted with oatmeal and deep fried. Hence the taste is subtle and quite delightful. 

The Chilli crab on the other had was not so hot and spicy but tasted like Assam Pedas with strong lemon grass flavour.  

We also ordered mixed entree platter ($12.90), gado-gado($14.90), buttered prawns($24.90) and also ginger flower duck ($22.90). 
The platter consisted of a selection of Loh Bak, Chicken Satay, Curry Puff, Spring Roll and Silken Tofu. 

Gado-Gado- Malaysian salad of steamed seasonal vegetables, tofu and egg served with peanut sauce. was more of their own style which is totally different from what I grow up with but still good. 

Buttered Prawns -Australian wild prawns coated in golden egg fluff flavoured with curry leaves and spring onion were amazing with strings of yolk that is skillfully prepared in hot oil- which non of us could master and 

Ginger Flower Duck- Half a deboned duck pan fried to served with a piquant sauce of chilli, bunga kantan (ginger flower) and a dash of lemon juice was the extension of Peranakan style food. The ginger flower paste was like a cross between Sambal Balado  and Chicken Rice Chilli. very interesting flavour. 


Overall service was excellent, ambience was beautifully South East Asian with the walls decorated by asian artists' work on sale for anyone but starts at a whooping $4000!!! AS it was Deb's Borthday, we brought a cake and there was no surcharge! They even put candles and gave us plates and cutleries to eat  it. WOW. I say. :)


UPSIDE
1) Beautiful food
2) Meal sharing concept
3) Beautiful Interior
4) Very Friendly staff- good with kids and toddlers
5) No surcharge for bringing in cakes during Birthdays! 
6) HALAL!***

DOWNSIDE
1) Parking, have to park near the train station during busy times
Rate:
Price- medium- high
Food- 3.8/5
Service- 5/5
Ambiance- Contemporary/Funky/Asian-Chic Melbourne
Accessibility- 5/5

Bistro at The Portsea Hotel

A lovely place where you pay for the ambiance and good service.

View of the Bay from the Old Dame'


Fisherman’s Catch-With Natural Oysters, Fresh Crab, S.A. Prawns, Moreton Bay Bugs & a selection of crumbed Fish, Scallops, Prawns & Calamari,
served with Chips & Dipping Sauces


Vegetable Lasagne oven baked with Roasted Roma Tomatoes and Grana Parmesan


Crispy Fried Flake Served with Chips, Salad and Tartare Sauce


Roasted Semi Boned Seasoned Duckling, Spicy Chats and Fresh
Asparagus with Palm Sugar, Ginger and Coriander Caramel

Bistro at The Portsea Hotel
3746 Point Nepean Road
Portsea, Victoria 3944
Phone: (03) 5984 2213
Web: http://www.portseahotel.com.au/home

Best thing about working for HOLIDAYS at Rec-line is the privilege of sightseeing and eating at interesting and wonderful places. The weekend just, we headed down to Mornington Peninsula, South of Melbourne for Chill and Relax time. The Friday we reached Tootgarook, I decided to drop by the infamous Old Dame 'The Portsea Hotel' to check out if we are able to have our dinner that night. That is when I found out that it is so popular, you have to book at least 3 days in advance. Friday and Saturdays are normally booked out for weddings and receptions, so we had only the Sunday for Lunch. Having to be back in Melbourne by 4pm. I didn't say no. :)

It was a cold day but we were put in the veranda with the sea view of bobbing boats on the horizon. Good thing is that in Australia, people like to eat outside so they actually have Bistro Blinds- Ginormous Plastic sheets to cover the veranda without feeling the chill with the gas heaters on. Mind you, we are in the middle of summer but for somewhat reasons, it felt like a winter's day. Then again, we are in Melbourne- the city of 4 seasons in one day.

The Bistro is very pretty with Old style Interior but contemporary furnishings. It was packful of people loitering lazily, finishing their brunch and atmosphere is calm and friendly. Food was on the higher end in prices even when its only a bistro and there is no table waiting service. Hence we had to pick ourselves up to queue at the register and pay first before getting our meals.

There were 10 of us for lunch. We shared 2 serves of Wedges,$13.50 and 2 serves of Garlic and Herb bread,$7 which were moderately priced for starters. Servings can be shared by 3 people as it was quite huge. Both of them came after 10 minutes of ordering which was fantastic. This is probably the first time I get served almost immediately and they tasted good- not too salty or too hot to put in your mouth. Wedges were perfect!

3 people shared The Fisherman’s Catch, $115 min.2 people and could be shared by 3 seafood Obsessed people or 5 not so obsessed seafood lovers. It was fresh and huge but not sweet enough. Probably they boiled them too long and the sweetness disappeared?

At first glance you did not even think it was Vegetable Lasagna, $21.50. I do not really know what it tasted like but the presentation was pretty and the clients ate all of it.

2 clients had the Sunday Summer special menu of Fish and Chips, 28.50 which can't go wrong unless you have it at some dodgy corner shop with bad recycled oil and unprofessional staff.*grin*

And finally, I had the Roasted Duckling,$33.50. The thigh part was a little too dry for me but the breast was beautifully cooked and tender and FATLESS!!! I cannot really taste any of the ginger or the coriander- Perhaps, as an Asian I used these herbs so obsessively that I need heaps of it to taste it. The asparagus though was sensational and the chats(tiny potatoes) were beautiful. Overall I enjoyed my meal, even though interrupted with continuous assisting of the clients and moving the bus to a different carparks as most of the parking are of 1 hour only.

When we finished our meal, it was 1.30pm, the sun was out so we went outside and took pictures around the lovely compound. It was summer once again!


UPSIDE
1) Beautiful atmosphere and views (Fantastic for getaways/surprises)
2) Good sized servings
3) Clean and spacious
4) Reasonable priced Kid's menu

DOWNSIDE
1) Bad parking, have to come earlier to get parking and mostly 1 hour parking.
2) Quite expensive for Bistro
3) No table waiting
4) Drinks to be ordered separately

Rate:
Price- medium to high
Food- 3.5/5
Service- 4/5
Ambiance- Romantic, Historical and a great place to hang out to have a relaxing time grazing your food.

*Suitable for 1-300 people, Open for functions and events, but book early.
*Good for family/children