Bag O' Crab (Federal Way)

The last time we visited Bag O' Crab, it was at the Kent location.  It was a pretty good experience with fresh seafood and impactfully spicy sauces.  I also found that the pricing for the set combos to be reasonable considering all that was included.  This time around, we travelled a bit further south to the Federal Way store located in a large strip mall.  As much as they are primarily a seafood boil restaurant, they have some other items to satisfy those who do not want to partake in the messy affair.

Before we got to the combos, we had a few things to start.  Unlike last time, we didn't go for the chowder and opted for the Gumbo instead.  Great decision as we enjoyed this much more.  It was thick and fairly flavourful.  There was spice from the sausage and plenty of impact from the peppers.  Naturally, it didn't compare to the stuff I've had in Louisiana, but it was fine for what it was.  We got the Cajun Fries as well and these were good.  Fries were plenty crispy with soft fluffy potato inside.  It was dusted with seasoned salt where it was a bit spicy, somewhat sweet and definitely savoury.

We got two orders of wings including the Mango Habanero and Lemon Pepper.  These were decently-sized flats with the drummettes being huge.   We much preferred the Mango Habanero as they featured barely any coating while the skin was properly rendered.  They were still slightly crispy despite the dousing of sauce.  It was a good mix of sweet and spicy where the spice could be considered medium.  As for the Lemon Pepper, the flavour was a bit muted and the coating a touch too thick.  The wings were crunchy though and the meat inside was plenty juicy.

Onto the combos, we had Combo #1 and chose 1lb mussels and 1lb head-on shrimp (you have a choice of 2 seafood options from mussels, clams, head-on shrimp and head-off shrimp).  Whatever we would've chosen, the combo included 2 pieces of corn, 2 potatoes and 4 slices of sausage.  For our sauce, we went for the Atomic in medium spice.  All the mussels were open and plenty plump.  The head-on shrimp were sweet and had a good meaty texture.  Loved the corn as it was still juicy and not overcooked.  Even though this was medium spice, the Atomic sauce had a good kick with lots of garlickiness.

We got Combo #3 with the Dungeness Crab option that also included a choice of shrimp.  For this one, we got 3/4lb of head-off shrimp.  It also included corn, potato and sausage.  We went mild with the sauce option here with the Garlic Butter.  The whole crab was really good as the meat filled all of the shell and was fluffy and fresh.  Too bad they scraped off all of the crab butter within the head shell (as it is our favorite!).  The shrimp was meaty with a bounce texture as compared to the denser texture of the head-on.  Since the sauce was mild, it was mainly garlicky while of course buttery.

The other option for Combo #3 is to have 1lb King Crab Legs and yes, we got that too.  We went for 1lb of the head-on shrimp this time around and had the Louisiana sauce in mild.  Even though it was not spicy, it still had a bite.  Plenty of garlic once again and there was some earthy notes.  The king crab legs were also full of meat and it was bouncy and briny.  Personally, I think the head-off shrimp is a better choice as they were easier to eat and the texture was more to my liking (more bouncy).  Potatoes were soft, but not melting while the sausage had a nice springy texture.

Our one main menu item that didn't have any seafood at all was the Beef Short Ribs served with rice and salad.  So don't sleep on this dish because it was actually quite good!  There was a wealth of short ribs that were well-marinated and tender (with a classic short rib chew).  I would've liked more char on these, but they were still good nonetheless.  Rice was properly textured and even the salad was decent.  I personally wouldn't go for this while at Bag O' Crab, but good for those who don't like seafood.

 

We ended off with some Tiramisu and it was more of a cake than the classic version.  Also unlike the authentic version, this had whipped cream, but it also made it lighter.  The ladyfingers could've used more moisture, but hey, this wasn't an Italian restaurant!  Yes, Bag O' Crab is a seafood boil and it does it well.  Prices are reasonable for what you get and the seafood is on point.  I like the Federal Way location more as it features more parking and the overall vibe of the mall is better.

*Partial food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Seafood had all the right textures

- Sauces were flavourful and could be spicy if you wanted it to be

- Reasonable pricing with all things considered

The Bad:

- The breaded wings were a bit too dense

- Tiramisu not really a tiramisu, but hey, it isn't an Italian restaurant

Bag O' Crab

I haven't done a seafood boil in quite some time.  In fact, it was about a year ago at Pier 88 in Lynnwood.  This time around, I was in the Seattle area once again and we made our way out to Kent for Bag o' Crab.  Not sure why we didn't go to Shoreline, as it was closer to where we were staying.  Oh well!  So, this place is much smaller in size than Pier 88 but upon looking at the menu, the pricing seems rather reasonable.  We ended getting a few combos in addition to some sides.

To start off we had the Cajun Fries as well as the Cajun Wings.  Crispy with plenty of seasoning on the outside, the fries were salty and spicy.  Inside, the potato was a bit on the firmer side, but still plenty of natural texture.  As for the wings, they were pretty large and fried until crunchy on the outside.  The skin was somewhat rendered, partially affected by the batter.  As for the meat, it was super juicy and tender.  Wings were well seasoned with some spice.

We ended up with 2 combos but before that, we had an a la carte plate of 1lb of Crawfish, Mussels and Clams each.  For this plate, we added sides of corn, potatoes and sausages.  The choice of sauce for the seafood was garlic butter and hence was non-spicy.  Naturally, the crawfish was a lot of work for just a bit of tail meat.  It wasn't particularly muddy-tasting, so that was a bonus.  The clams and mussels were fresh and all open.  They were cooked properly being buttery.

Onto Combo #3 with a whole Dungeness Crab accompanied by 1lb of shrimp, corn, potatoes and sausage.  As you can probably tell, this was in a completely different sauce than the first plate.  We chose Atomic Sauce (which is a combination of garlic butter, Cajun and lemon pepper) in medium.  This was plenty spicy for us and offered up layers of spice, garlickiness and aromatics.  The crab was fresh with bouncy meat while the shrimp had a snap texture.

We also had Combo #3 with 1lb of King Crab Legs that came with the same items as with the Dungeness Crab.  Really enjoyed the King Crab Legs as they were large and full of fluffy briny and sweet meat.  We had this in Louisiana Flavor in medium.  This was spicy enough with the smokiness and garlickiness.  Loved that the corn wasn't overdone as they were plump, while the potatoes were soft and creamy inside.  Slices of sausages were tender with some rebound.  Overall, the seafood boil at Bag O' Crab was satisfying and reasonably-priced.  Seafood was texturally on point and the sauces were impactful.  Would do this again if I was in the area.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Seafood (especially the crab) is texturally on point
- Sauces are impactful
- Pricing is fair

The Bad:
- Place is a bit more bare bones, but it is reflected in the pricing
- We found it a bit cold inside

Pier 88 Boiling Seafood & Bar

On our way back up to Vancouver, after some pretty epic eats in Portland, we stopped in Lynnwood to end this foodie road trip with a bang.  The place?  Pier 88 Boiling Seafood where the name says it all, featuring an array of seafood dishes as well as the main event, the seafood boil.  Now seafood boils are no longer a novelty because there are quite a few of them to choose from.  However, the key difference between them are the actual physical restaurant as well as different sauces and of course pricing.

As for Pier 88, the purpose-built dining room is spacious with a clear nautical theme.  Lots of room on the table to make a mess with your crab legs.  On the topic of crab, we had the Deep Fried Soft-Shell Crab with parprika aioli.  These little guys were not so little.  They were lightly breaded and fried just enough so they were crispy while still tender and custardy.  Of course there was the natural brininess that made this taste really good.

We then had another pair of fried appies in the Calmari and Popcorn Shrimp.  They have mad deep fryer skills as both were perfectly prepared.  The tender calamari rings were coated in a light and crispy batter while the same was true for the shrimp.  As for the shrimp, they were of a decent size with a buttery, yet not overly soft texture.  I particularly liked the tartar sauce that came with the shrimp.  It was creamy with nice bite from the bits of onion and pickles.

Going from deep-fried to a couple of cold appies, we had the Lobster Salad and a dozen of the Shinsei Oysters.  As you can see, the salad had a good amount of lobster claw meat atop greens, tomatoes, croutons and egg.  This came with a 1000-Islands-type dressing.  The oysters were similar to kushis and were shucked properly.  These petite oysters were briny and sweet with plenty of liquor.

So all of the appies were fantastic, but really, we were here for the seafood boil!  On this platter, we had Snow Crab Legs, Whole Live Dungeness Crab and King Crab Legs in 88 Special Sauce (Medium Spice Level).  Both the snow crab and king crab legs were cooked just right being fluffy with that classic crab rebound texture.  The live dungeness crab was also done right.  We got this in the 88 Special Sauce which was buttery and garlicky with a background kick.

On our next platter, we had a Whole Live Lobster, Head-On Shrimp, Mussels and Crawfish in Garlic Butter (Mild Spice Level).  As with the crab, the lobster was prepared properly with sweet bouncy meat.  The mild garlic butter complimented without being overpowering.  Mussels were plump and briny while the crawfish were earthy tasting as expected.  Shrimp had a nice rebound and were sweet.

For dessert, we tried both the Chocolate Molten Cake as well as the Butter Toffee Cake.  Of the 2, I preferred the latter as it was soft and moist with a rich sweetness that wasn't overpowering.  Naturally, it was buttery and no, it probably wasn't good for my figure...  However, one thing is for sure - the seafood was fresh (even the frozen ones) and prepared properly.  On top of that the sauces were delicious and the prices were fair.  Would do this again.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this post*

The Good:
- Fresh seafood (even the frozen ones)
- Prepared right
- Fair pricing

The Bad:
- Even though I feel the pricing is fair, naturally seafood is expensive, so you will need to be prepared to spend some money 

The Holy Crab

*Restaurant is permanently closed*

Fresh off a tasting at the Vancouver location of The Captain's Boil, it was back to the bibs and plastic gloves at The Holy Crab.  For the first time ever, we see a dedicated seafood boil restaurant in Downtown Vancouver.  I say "dedicated" because there are others spots that have it available on their menu, but they are not full seafood boil establishments.  Unlike the many seafood boils I've experienced, The Holy Crab has an even bigger Asian influence on their menu, especially when it comes to the preparation of the seafood as well as the available sauces.

I joined other bloggers, IGers and mainstream media in a menu tasting that included an interesting take on Shrimp.  Rather than boiling it in a sauce, they did a quick deep-fry instead and topped it off with a saute consisting of onions, garlic, pepper and loads of butter.  The result was a more aromatic shrimp flavour since it wasn't boiled.  However, the saute on top was very necessary as the shrimp itself was not seasoned.  About that saute... oh man, it was delicious being sinfully buttery and nutty with a slight pepperiness as well as sweetness.  Next up was the majestic King Crab Legs.  They were meaty and well-prepared, but smaller compared to the ones I had at The Captain's Boil.  However, with no overwhelming sauce, I could taste the natural sweetness of the crab.

When we were presented with the Clams, we immediately noticed the aggressive amount of Cajun sauce poured on top.  Once again, the clams were not prepared in any sauce, hence their natural brininess really came though.  I'm not completely sure if the sweet and only slightly spicy Cajun sauce was the best match.  I would've much preferred the butter and onion saute from the shrimp.  Looking like it was blinded by the same Cajun sauce, the whole Dungeness Crab was on point.  Since it was prepared whole, the sweet juices and brininess was retained within the meat.  I was happy eating it by itself without any sauce other than a quick squeeze of lime.  Now this crab was fresh with meat that rebounded unlike the mushy one we had at The Captain's Boil.

The most surprising dish we had was not anything boiled.  In fact, the Fish & Chips was the best thing I ate and that is including the crab!  That is not to say the crab wasn't good, it was just that the fish was flaky and almost juicy with a light and crispy tempura batter.  Even the fries were good being hot, crispy and nicely spiced.  Not to be outdone, the Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab was pretty solid too with a firmly crispy exterior giving way to the classic soft and sweet soft shell crab.  Although the pieces were on the smaller side, they weren't hard nor lacking in crab flavour and soft texture.  It need a squirt of lime though as it needed something to lighten up the heaviness.

Not that we really wanted to eat any Crayfish, but we figured that we should try it anyways.  Generally, crayfish is a lot of work for very little meat.  This wasn't any different here and it was more or less the same as previous experiences except for the lack of a greasy sauce.  Finally, the robustness of the muddy crayfish meat worked with the Cajun sauce.  Overall, I thought the Holy Crab was remarkably different than any other seafood boil I've ever been to.  From the preparation to the sauces, nothing was predictable.  I enjoyed the butter, onion and garlic sauce more than the Cajun while the fish n' chips was definitely a surprise.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- The fish and chips
- The butter, garlic and onion sauce
- Dungeness Crab

The Bad:
- Wasn't a huge fan of the Cajun sauce - too thick and tasted more like satay
- For me, it wasn't a big deal, but by not cooking the seafood with the sauce, it was less impactful