21Jun / 2023

Spot Prawn Festival – Vancouver, BC

My coworker follows a lot of travel feeds and told us about a Spot Prawn Festival and we signed up right away! I don’t usually go to these big food events but I couldn’t resist prawns! I was very happy we signed up, the food was great! Where else can you get a tasting from the best chefs? This was also where I got my sunburn on my left shoulder. It’s really odd, only my left shoulder. Anyway, on to the food!

Spot Prawn Spring Roll / Daikon Salad / XO Vinaigrette
Steve Rutherford

Starting dish! Long line since it was the first tent up after you enter. It was yummy! Perfect first dish to have.

Vietnamese Hot & Sour Spot Prawn Broth / Rice Noodles / Pineapple / Tamarind
Phyllis Tanga & Ben Kiely

I though this was good! Not usually a huge fan or sour soup but this one tasted great!

BC Spot Prawn “Thermidor” / Gruyere Gougere, Spring Onion
Bobby Milheron

Probably my least favorite dish of the festival. Unfortunately the potato cake was cold, I bet if it was still warm and crispy, this dish would have been good!

Spot Prawn with Laci-fermented Tomato Water / Heirloom Tomato Jam / Chive Blossoms
John Lance

This dish was impressive. The elements the chef and his team put into each cup. Fancy elements all in this cup and all delicious. I loved it!

Spot Prawn Ceviche / Prawn Aioli / Wonton Crisp / Seaweed
Tommy Shorthouse

This was good, nothing special. It’s hard to compare a chip and dip dish with all those other elevated dishes. I enjoyed it and was glad I got to it before they were out!

Grilled Spot Prawn / Papaya Salad / Prawn Cracker
Steve Kuan

We saved this dish for last. They were grilling the prawns in the tent for this dish, yum! Not my favorite dish of the festival but still very good!

Rain or Shine Malted Milk Chocolate Ice Cream
Homemade honeycomb (free of corn syrup) is coated In 70% dark chocolate and mixed into a Belgian milk chocolate base. Malted Barley is also added to enhance the richness of this ice cream.

Surprise treat to end the festival! I enjoyed it! A bit rich, I would have liked a light fruity sorbet to end the festival but enjoyed it anyhow.

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30Jan / 2015

Romy’s Kahuku Prawns & Shrimp – Kahuku, HI

We decided to play tourists one day during the break and it was great. I love heading up to the North Shore for a change of pace. We had a good breakfast at Sunny Side which I will share in an upcoming post, got some Dole Whip at the Dole Plantation. We even decided to try the world’s biggest maze there. Well I sort of stood in the middle as the rest of them hit all the stations in the maze. I realized my shoes had a hole in them during the maze and it was not pleasant walking on the rocky ground with that hole. Then we capped off the day with my favorite prawns plate at Romy’s.

There are many complaints that can be thrown out about this place but once you understand and know what to expect, they won’t bother you. First, there’s always a long line to order. Second, they say you can call in you order beforehand to avoid waiting. Well, they never answer their phone so don’t even bother. Third, the plates are pricey. Yes, it’s seafood plates, they are not cheap. Fourth, the wait to get your food is lengthy too. So yes, it’s a lot of waiting, then you pay a lot of money and then you wait some more. Know this and expect these things so you don’t get mad waiting. If you don’t think you can wait, don’t come here. Get plenny shrimp trucks out here.

Number 1 – Sauteed Butter Garlic Shrimp Plate
Look at all that garlic. Oh it’s so good.

Number 5 Steamed Prawns with Butter Garlic Dipping Sauce (2x)

I am not going to be the person NOT ordering double butter garlic sauces. Ahhh…this is my absolute favorite plate. I think it ranks in the top 5 of my favorite meals on the planet. I just love big prawns. The heads are so delicious and the bodies are so firm and meaty. It’s pricey but worth it in my opinion. I should not have written this post right now, I am so hungry! Wish I had this in front of me right now.

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12Aug / 2014

Shrimp and Stuff

Stuff. Lots of stuff has happened this past week. The hurricanes came and gone without much damage to Oahu, thankfully. We also got a day off from it which was great. I kind of spent the day sleeping. I got back to work today and just had a major stress out. So much work I had to catch up on! Then at lunch, I find out Robin Williams passed away. It was such a shock, it still hasn’t sunk in. He was too young to go, it’s all so sad. He’s definitely an actor I took for granted. He brought me so much laughter growing up and his serious roles were great too…it’s a big loss for Hollywood for sure.

Then I get to my car after work and it’s another scratch. Seriously guys. This is gonna sound real petty after talking about a passing, but I just no get how my car can get scratched 5 times in less than 6 months in the same parking lot. If I get to work early enough and park in my usual spot, I know my car will be good. Well, I can’t always get that spot and I can’t guarantee I don’t have to go to meetings during the day to save my spot. I just no get it. When I get in and out of my car, I am so damn careful about opening my door. I even put my hand on my door’s edge so I squish my hand rather than hit someone’s car. It seems like the people I park with just like flinging their car doors onto mine. Terrible. Anyway, the past few scratches have been on this replaceable molding on my car. Today…today was a scratch on my car’s body. Damn – I just give up already.

It’s times like this where I need to find my positive place. I need to have something that can make me appreciate the bigger things in life…the better things in life. Or be thankful for what I have. Shucks. Sorry for the rant guys. I hope you are all doing well.

Well, as the title promised, this post would be shrimp and stuff. The stuff is done so on to the shrimp! Just a quick post on a recent trip to Romy’s. We went during a weekend and the line was very very long. Of course. But what surprised me was how fast the food was cooked after ordering, usually it’s a long line to order and then a long wait. Yay! Big prawns are to die for. Sorry Darren (friend and reader).

Number 5 Prawns Plate – $19.95 (yikes!)
Oh boy, I never realize I paid 20 bucks for this. They really keep raising the price. Was it worth it? Heck yah. This is probably my favorite seafood. The head is the best part, absolutely. I get it with butter garlic sauce, so good yet so bad for you. Go big or go home!

Number 1 Shrimp Plate – $13.75
Much better price and they give you a good amount of shrimp too. You can get the number 1 with prawns too but it’s the small prawns – not the jumbo ones like number 5. They still have their stamp card! It’s just scary how much you have to spend to get that one free plate…

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22Jun / 2013

Romy’s Kahuku Prawns & Shrimp

Everyone who visits Oahu will inevitably go to the North Shore. Once you’re up in the North Shore, you have a pick of many shrimp “trucks.” For me personally, I prefer Romy’s. I don’t think the shrimp is anything special that you couldn’t get anywhere else – I go to Romy’s for the prawns. Not just the regular prawns, the bambucha ones! The only prawns I will eat there are the prawns that come with the number 5. For me, it’s worth the wait and price. This dish is not for the weak – they are huge prawns with huge heads. For me, who loves the shrimp head as much as the body…it’s heavenly. The prawns for the number 5 isn’t always there – you either get there too early or they sell out too fast. So when I do get the Prawns, it’s all the better!