My First Bite: The Boiling Crab

I was planning to have dinner at The Boiling Crab last year but we ended up at The Shack due to the long line and grumpy tummies. Fortunately, my trip this year finally was able to fit in eating at this famous seafood place. 

There's still a line! I guess it cannot be avoided if the establishment is popular. It took us around 20 minutes to get a table. While waiting, we roamed around Little Vietnam. (It's so cool here as every country seems to have their own little neighborhood.) 

It's interesting that we cannot be seated until the server sees the whole party. I reserved a table for 4 and since we were all having fun looking at the different stuff available in Little Vietnam, we lost track of time. But luck was with us as we were able to keep our table.

Packed. 

The place was filled with people wearing bibs (which is probably one of the few places where adults wearing bibs are perfectly acceptable). 

We were handed menus but it took us less than 2 minutes to decide on what to order--shrimps and crabs. We ordered a total of four pounds of shrimps but we split it to half, one mild and one spicy. Same for the gigantic crabs. We also ordered sweet potatoes on the side. 

It was such a short wait that just gave us ample time to take photos and wash our hands. In a few minutes, our sweet potatoes were served which surprisingly went well with ketchup.

I was a bit iffy with the mild sauce as I heard that if you have low tolerance on spicy dishes, you will have a hard time. However, the mild sauce wasn't that spicy at all. I hardly touched the rice too (which N practically finished all by himself!). The shrimps were fresh and it was so easy to remove the shell.

The crabs were a bit challenging. Because it was served hot, we can barely hold it to crack it open. Both crabs were fatty and our tummies and palates were rejoicing! We had to be careful though as it could lead to you know what. 

Overall, it was a pleasant experience. It was quite similar to The Shack though. I think the only difference is that there seems to be more seafood options at The Boiling Crab. (And pricier too. We spent $112 for 4 people.)

The Boiling Crab is located a t13892 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove CA, 92843. Click here to see the complete list of branches.