New Dishes from The Holy Crab!

finally we're back with another food review yay! this time i got the chance to try out the newest lunch menu selections from the holy crab. i believe many of you are already familiar with this restaurant which is located at one of the hippest culinary spots in town, jl. gunawarman. its famous for its western style crab dishes with a special louisiana sauce that you wont find anywhere else in local seafood places. well, having crabs for lunch sounds like a wonderful idea but it can be a hassle because it takes more effort to eat than any other comfort food, plus it can get quite messy if we're not careful right? now dont worry because the holy crab has come up with some choices of tasty lunch menu to satisfy your seafood cravings in a practical package!

the first menu is mixed seafood dirty rice. honestly i have no idea why they called it 'dirty rice'. i was thinking because they trashed out various kinds of topping into it all at once maybe? but according to the holy crab, this is one of traditional cajun cuisines that is already well known. the rice is rich in flavor and it tastes buttery in my mouth. the creaminess of it is complemented very nicely with the fresh seafood additions like prawns, squids, and scallops. oh, it also has chicken liver as a part of the toppings to make the flavor even richer. personally i like this menu a LOT because the combination of creamy and savory it offers caters to my palette very well that i cant stop savoring it even though the overall portion is rather heavy for one tummy.

moving on the next menu, its time to try out jambalaya, an authentic recipe from louisiana. this one looks more spicy because of the whole reddish hue to it and yeah, it is indeed rich in seasonings as well! jambalaya uses a good selection of spices and ingredients to obtain a fresh taste. though im not the biggest of fan of spicy flavor i would still give it a go because its majorly cooked with tomatoes for a sweet infuse. the menu also includes several toppings like prawns and sausages though its not as varied as mixed seafood dirty rice. both are still a mouthful of menus that would be a good deal for your lunch break, really.

last but not least, the holy crab also offers sandwiches for those who are longing for a taste of seafood but hesitant to grab a heavy portion. so please welcome rolls, a sandwich selection thats served with special creamy soup and cajun fries. the bread is lightly cooked, resulting to a soft yet crispy texture on the sides. its stuffed with a royal portion of crab meat that kinds of surprised me at first because of how packed it is! this menu truly lives up the western styled seafood dish especially when you have it along with the special cajun fries and soup. its a decent selection when youre in the mood to grab the special the holy crab taste while still having it quickly and conveniently!

the prices for these new menus start from 55k and i think its reasonable for the amount of portion you will get and the delicious experience. stop by during lunch break with a group of friends or even by yourself at the holy crab to try these unique dishes out!

The Holy Crab

Jl. Gunawarman No.55

Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta 12110

Ph: (021) 29236155

Twitter: @TheHolyCrabID

Instagram: theholycrabid

(photos courtesy: the holy crab)

Samurai Champloo

if there's an anime that successfully combined cultural assimilation with a touch of intriguing issues like politic, religion, racism, up to sexuality, then i gotta hand it on to samurai champloo (SC). SC is another work of shinichiro watanabe, the mastermind behind the legendary cowboy bebop. theme wise, it's placed on a completely different ground; while bebop toys out with futuristic spaceship and gun fights, SC is set in a historical setting, precisely Edo era Japan. the story generally centers around fuu, a fearless girl who embarked on a journey to find the mysterious 'samurai who smells of sunflower'. she decided to tag along with two skilled samurai, mugen and jin, with each of them bearing completely different personalities. mugen is rather vulgar, impulsive, and violent by nature, meanwhile jin leans more as a composed and calculated figure. its truly interesting to witness the three of them going through a wild and thrilling adventure with their diverse characteristics. even though it started off quite rocky at first, but the events they went through slowly helped them to develop their bonds which makes them come to a realization that they're teaming up as friends and not simply by chance. the 26 episodes journey are filled with rich and colorful encounters from blind assassin, colonial baseball game, illegal homosexual dutch guy, to zombies! oh, also just like bebop, SC is an episodic series. it often gives a brief recap once in a few episodes so its safe to watch it in casual chronological order.

SC aced in good production, decent animation (though there are some fighting scenes that fell quite short), and natural dialogues. it also served some good portions of slapstick jokes and satire touch on the historical background. its effort in fusing hip hop with traditional japanese culture is undoubtedly the most fascinating part of this series though. it starts off with a heavily infused hip hop themed opening, then we get to see the scenes breakdown through beatboxing bridges, hell, even mugen's fighting style embodies some breakdance moves. i gotta say that watanabe is truly lucky for he always got the best composers out there pouring their genius talent into his works (first yoko kanno and now nujabes??? DUDE!). since im a sucker for amazing soundtracks then SC effortlessly carves its way onto my heart. its such a treat to the eyes to perceive lush nature panoramas being followed by beautiful instrumental tracks like aruarian dance, for instance.

this might sound like an unpopular opinion but i do like how this series ends. its not as cathartic and impactful as bebop (i just cant help to bring these two into comparison sorry) but it leaves a nice and natural impression. this series shows that it doesnt take a death of main character to make a story 'edgy' or compelling. SC ended just how it started and its plain perfect in a sense. if anything i kinda wished mugen, fuu, and jin would stay together and board for another journey because their bond is just too great. nevertheless its such an entertaining show with creative tones and realistic premise, and its not an exaggeration to say that SC is truly one of a kind.