Mani is a Chinese seafood restaurant at Sydney Fish Market, serving up seafood dishes like Singapore chilli mud crab with noodles, seafood spring rolls, Sichuan pepper prawns with eggplant and pandan coconut deep fried ice cream for dessert. Come along and see what the food is like!
I was at the Sydney Fish Market a few months ago when I walked past Mani on the Western end of the markets. It's a Chinese restaurant that specialises in seafood (naturally, given the setting) and it was the perfect place for me to take Laura for her birthday.
For birthdays we usually go out for crab and this was a big birthday for her so I rang ahead to see if they had mud crab. They did, but they only had large 1.8kg-2.3kg crabs which is a lot of crab for two of us. When I asked for a smaller crab, they said that they would contact their supplier to see if they could get one and shortly after they called back after procuring a 1kg crab which is nice service.
We both arrive for our booking at 7:45pm on a Wednesday night and they seat us in the outdoor section which is where most of the diners are. The service from our waiter is very lovely and patient because it takes us a good 10 minutes to decide what we want to order because the menu isn't a classic Cantonese menu, it also has influences from Shanghai and Zhejiang. The crab is a given, they bring it out and it is $190 a kilo. We also notice a lot of people have a sizzling fish platter which we are tempted by. We also notice that some have bubble teas from Gotcha next door so we head next door to order some to have with dinner.
Laura loves a spring roll and these ones are made with prawns and scallops. They come out piping hot and stuffed full of seafood without any noodles or vegetables. They bring this out with some seasoned soy sauce but we ask for some sweet and sour sauce which we dip them in.
I'm halfway through eating my spring roll when the main event arrives and it's time to don the gloves. The mud crab is the perfect size for 2 or 3 people and we added a few things to it: spinach noodles, Shanghai style crispy rice cakes and crispy mantou buns. The crab itself is full of meat and perfectly cooked with deliciously sweet crab meat. We asked for extra sauce for the noodles and add ons and they oblige. The sauce is rich and spicy and less sweet than other Singapore chilli crab sauce we've tried and the emphasis is on spicy. The crispy rice cakes give the whole dish a nice crunch as they stay crunchy and while the buns are not whole buns, they're more slices but they do the job of absorbing the sauce.
By the time the crispy prawn and eggplant arrives we are already full from the crab (and still have about a third left). The eggplant cubes are sticky and crispy with a soft, melting centre while the spiced prawns are well seasoned and very tasty. The predominant flavour is from the numbing Sichuan peppercorns. We only manage to try a couple of pieces because we're saving room for dessert.
While we are still eating the crab, they call for last orders and if we want dessert we have to have it then as the chef is going home. So in amongst the savouries, we order our dessert. There are a few desserts on the menu from Basque cheesecake to caramelised apple with crystal sugar but we have our eye on the deep fried ice cream. It comes with a choice of vanilla, hazelnut or pandan coconut (our selection). It comes out with a head of whipped cream and sprinkles but no sauce. It doesn't actually really need the sauce as we enjoy the strong pandan coconut flavour of the ice cream and the crunchy crumb outer.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like eating crab like this? And would you order dessert while you were still eating your main course?
This meal was independently paid for.
Mani
Shop E2, Sydney Fish Market, 1 Bridge Road, Glebe NSW 2037
Phone: (02) 9597 7727
Opening hours: 7 days, 11am-4pm, 5-10pm
www.manirestaurant.com.au
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