The Seafood Shack, Westminster, CA

 

 

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OMG. Oysters. Need I say more? It’s been a really long time since I’ve had oysters as fresh as these at The Seafood Shack. It’s funny. I’ve always been scared of eating anything raw, like these oysters and even sushi. Until one day I just closed my eyes and devoured them like it’s my last day on earth so I don’t care whether I live or die. 😛 And sometimes, that’s the only way to go when trying out food you’ve never had before. I felt that way with oysters. I remember my friends telling me, “just put it in your mouth.” The tabasco sauce and lemon certainly helped. A LOT.

I didn’t realize they had so many types of oysters – blue point, gold band, carlsbad, kumamoto. I was confused. I told them just bring the biggest one, which is the blue point oysters. They weren’t as big as I expected, though, but fresh nevertheless.

Seafood Shack Westminster CA, cajun crawfish, cajun clams, cajun lobster, cajun shrimp, cajun corn, cajun potatoes, cajun sausages, louisiana crawfish, seafood

I really wanted crab but they didn’t have any due to high prices. So with our big group, we went for the special of the week – a $65.99 bucket that includes 2lbs crawfish, 2lbs clams, 2lbs shrimp, 1 whole lobster, 2 corns, 2 sausages, 2 potatoes, with the “everything” flavors – butter, garlic, lemon, and other cajun spices. There’s a ton of garlic pieces in the pot so if you love garlic like me, you’re in taste heaven. I would say this is probably as good as Boiling Crab, if not better.

The service here is, however, a thousand times better than Boiling Crab’s. Our waiter at Seafood Shack is super bubbly and tells us jokes and takes care of us really well. She and other waiters would come around often to see if we need anything else, and then offer to bring us an extra bucket to make it easier to share among the group. Very considerate.

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The place is small. It looks like a shack from the outside, hidden in the corner so it’s hard to find. But it’s nicer on the inside, with TV screens showing sports games. The wait is not as horrible as Boiling Crab’s. I called ahead to make sure we have a table for our group, and even then they said it would take 15-30 minutes. I know they tried to accommodate us the best they could even if it’s clearly implied they don’t really take reservations. But a 35-minute wait wasn’t bad and totally worth it because the food is excellent. It sure beats Boiling Crab’s 1.5 hour wait. Sorry if I keep bagging on BC but beside the good food, there’s nothing positive about them to rave about.

The Seafood Shack
7681 Westminster Blvd
Westminster, CA 92683
(714) 899-6100

 

Newport Tan Cang Chinese Seafood, Rowland Heights, CA

 

We came to Newport Tan Can for dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Eleven of us. This location has been majorly remodelled to look trendy with upscale decor and having small private rooms for a party like ours. Unfortunately, the table inside these rooms only seats 10 people, and they won’t deal with “squeezing” or sitting on each other’s laps. So guess what, we all had to move outside of the room to a bigger table only so that we can seat one more person. Hmph.

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House special lobster, with pepper, scallions. Yummm! I'm still drooling...

But the important thing here is the lobster. Lobster makes the world go round. And it’s quite decadent, too! Seasonal price was $15.95/lb and we got 4.75lb. Yeah, we don’t mess around. You’ll always want to order house special lobster because it’s usually the best flavor.

They have quite a large menu varying from beef, pork, chicken, seafood, vegetable dishes, with prices ranging from $10 and up.

The items we selected were all pretty tasty. Honey walnut shrimp, basil clams, kungpao chicken (was OK), French style beef, and deep fried tofu:

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Crispy honey walnut shrimp.

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Basil clams.

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Kung pao chicken.

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French style beef.

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Deep fried tofu.

And our wonderfully scrumptious and mouth-watering feast continues:

Newport Tan Cang Seafood Restaurant Rowland  Heights CA, seafood, seafood restaurant, Chinese seafood restaurant, Chinese food, Chinese restaurant

 

Hokkaido Seafood Buffet, Newport Beach, CA

 

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Did someone say crab legs? Did someone say buffet? Uh oh, I smell trouble!

I’m crazy for crab legs so those were the first things I grabbed. My friends saw my plate full of crab legs and asked, “That’s it?” I said, “Yeah! That’s all I came here for!” I got a special dinner deal from Google – $25 for 2, which I splitted with a friend, so it was a ultra cheap for me to eat all the crab I could. I was glad that the crab was actually hot (or warm) and not frozen. OK, granted, nothing beats Vegas buffets when it comes to king crab legs, but this place is the next best thing. The meat is nice and firm rather than soft and mushy like the other Hokkaido location in Long Beach where I ate for the first time. I recommend you drizzle a little lemon on it to make it less salty. Lemon and pepper would make a good dip.

There’s also stir fried dungeness crab. It was so soft I think you can bite and chew the shell, although it’s kind of hard to separate the meat from the shell when it’s so mushy.

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And here’s my seafood-filled plate, consisting of stir fried dungeness crab, clams, salt and pepper fried shrimp, asparagus, and some scallops on the shell. All quite delicious.

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I didn’t try much of the sushi selections they have there as nothing really tickled my fancy.

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Not a huge selection of dessert, either. Just cookies, cream puffs, cakes, etc.

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The Red Pot, Garden Grove, CA

The Red Pot, Garden Grove, CA. Hot pot, meat, seafood, raw meat, raw seafood, chinese noodle, mongolian hot pot, chinese hot pot

This place used to be called Four Seasons Hot Pot but apparently they had a new owner and changed the name to The Red Pot.

To my pleasant surprise, upon sitting down, I was informed by a very nice server girl that the menu has been changed to all-you-can-eat hot pot for $20/person. I was like WHOA! BRING IT ON! 😀

A very big menu, too! All kinds of meat – pork, beef, chicken, lamb, fish, squid balls, shrimp balls – bunch of veggies, bean curd, fried tofu, etc. And of course, don’t forget the sauce bar!

You get 3 kinds of soup bases – regular miso, spicy miso, and spicy herbal. It’s more fun to get half and half. 🙂 Recently I believe they just added curry. Not my favorite flavor. Spicy herbal is the most popular and I highly recommend.

I really wanted to try everything on the menu, but my little tummie disagreed. The service is super. The girl is very attentive. She takes her time to explain everything to you and comes around often to make sure we’re enjoying the food. Nice change considering it’s an Asian-owned restaurant where customer service just doesn’t exist.

I’m just really glad I don’t have to drive up to San Gabriel to enjoy hot pot anymore. This is my newest hot pot heaven right in my hometown. 🙂