New Ocean Restaurant
Cuisine: Chinese, Seafood

53-7 Jalan Barat
Off Jalan Imbi
Kuala Lumpur
Ph: 603 2142 3473

As we drove along Jalan Barat trying to find the restaurant I was distracted by the sight of the many cars squeezed onto the pavement and other nooks and crannies you would not think you could park in. I was then further amazed at how the three cars holding our dinner guests managed to find spaces to park in front of the restaurant as well.

Stepping in front of New Ocean you will find a large outdoor seating area which is also home to their open air kitchen. There are also a number of large tables (one of them ours) inside where the air-conditioning. I was told that it is advisable to call and book if you would prefer to eat inside.

We had a large group and dined there twice so I am able to report back on a large range of their dishes. New Ocean Restaurant, as their name suggests, is primarily a seafood restaurant but they can cook other things just as well.

French beans and Okra in blachan sauce, cooked perfectly they had a lovely flavour and texture. Normally I don’t eat okra, as I always remember it as the vegetable that’s hairy on the outside and squishy inside, but they were cooked so well I didn’t even notice.

Vegetables in garlic sauce.

…if you want to eat the best seafood you are going to have to get your hands dirty.

Prawns fried in the shell, deliciously simple, with a ginger and soy dipping sauce.

We also tried steamed prawns on another night (but the fried ones were definitely better,  the dipping sauce was so simple but it really suited the prawn meat).

Black pepper crab and…some steamed fish, the flesh of both dishes is tender and flavour permeates every bite.

Chicken steamed with Chinese sausage and ginger, had a wonderful mix of flavours and the chicken was infused with ginger.

Buttermilk crab, this one was my favourite of the two types of crab we tried. The sauce was so creamy and the crab so succulent.

The chef pre-cracks a lot of the shell but you are given a handy little mallet or pincers to help you get to the best bits of meat tucked away in the sauce soaked shell.

And now you cannot have crab without bread for dipping in the sauce! We chose the fried variety, so soft… yes they are small, so probably best to order more than one serve for the table.

Fish paste chicken – why has no one ever introduced me to this dish before? Slices of chicken meat with fish paste spread on one side then deep fried.

Egg tofu and golden mushrooms (enoki) – one of my favourite mushrooms cooked in a thickened sauce with delicious medallions of egg and tofu mixed together. There was also an abalone dish that was similar to the earlier dish of egg tofu and enoki mushrooms, basically the same but instead of enoki there was abalone.

Sadly this was the least appetizing seafood dish, the calamari was nice and crispy, but the curry powder flavour cheapened the dish. I would have much preferred just a simple salt and pepper coating.

And who could forget dessert? Deep fried ice-cream, but in small disk shaped scoops and unlike the deep fried ice-cream at many fast food places back home, the batter was thin and light and didn’t make the dessert feel too heavy or oily.

All-in-all they were two wonderful meals. While there are some dishes I would keep away from, the crab was definitely a winner. And I think next time I won’t share my dessert with anyone. They can get their own!