I was disappointed. I searched for steamed prawns in the menu but no where to be found. :( Instead was told that their specialties were Garlic Prawns and Rice Wine Prawns. Ok. Will go with that. I was still smiling, in my heart..."...I am going to get steamed prawns, still..." (well...my impression of Garlic Prawns is steamed?).
Enter the Rice Wine Prawns 燒酒蝦 ...it came harmless BUT that's before the server told us the entire pot was filled with rice wine! Then she set the surface on fire and we got a Prawns Flambe!
In Mandarin, I asked - so when can we start eating? ..."After it's done burning....that's when the alcohol content has all vaporized" in Mandarin, she replied and continued "If you start now, I'm worried you may get drunk since it's very high in alcohol content". (Remember: entire pot was rice wine!). "Then wouldn't the prawns be over-cooked" I questioned with my little knowledge (I thought over-cooked shrimps/prawns have the tendency to be rubbery?). She said "No". I doubted it. But, we followed her suggestions.
Click to watch - Prawn Flambe! A rare sight...
Boohoohoo...all the ferocious boiling has destroyed the natural flavor of the prawns. We could not taste much of the prawns (if you know what I meant). Yes, there was a hint of wine-taste in the prawns but that was IT. The essence of prawns has all gone to that whole pot of water (after the vaporization of alcohol...we get water?). The gojiberries did not help much in improving the soup flavor. You might have thought the soup will be good but we left it untouched. Diluted and too much wine (bitter) aftertaste.
Another disappointment - Garlic Prawns 蒜泥蝦. They did not come steamed!!! And there was just too much garlic. So much that it became SO TOO SPICY! Finally, my taste bud was over-powered and destroyed by "over abundance of garlic". Again, could not get the natural taste of prawns in this dish.
I'm sorry, but I think I can cook better seafood...
TO BE CONTINUED...
This is their Taichung (central Taiwan) branch (main: Hsinchu location)
黄金海岸活虾之家 台中昌平東二路 #135
Taichung City, Chang Ping Dong Er Road, #135
Taiwan
Tag: taiwan eating, taichung, seafood, prawns, shrimps
My oh my ...
ReplyDelete1. Look at the amount of wine!
2. Look! You finally have a video in your site! You know what I am gonna ask you next ... post some video clips while you prepare the dishes and cook them, can?
Thanks :)
I think your palate is way too sophisticated for some of these dishes. You lived in CA where the seafood is usually fresh and cooked with minimal tinkering.
ReplyDeleteIn other countries, they may not be as fresh and need stronger flavors.
When I was in China last summer, the food there was inedible. Yuck! I think I must have lost 10 lbs from that trip. My parents and I sought out fresh fruits throughout the trip to snack on because most of the meals were horrible.
Haha, I think this post is funny! I don't get it why they have to use so much rice wine to flambe the prawns and overcook it? For makan or for show??
ReplyDelete好看不好吃， 对吗？
ReplyDeleteOh dear, what would Gordon Ramsay say? It looks like it's all "show" and no "substance."
ReplyDeleteOh what a disappointment! And what a ridiculous amount of rice wine to use... must be very cheap stuff if they used so much... couldn't have contributed much to the taste.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do agree; you probably do much better seafood! :)
Wow. Burnin' prawns in a sea of wine. I think they wud have tasted better stir-fried with a little wine and garlic... anyways, it's the experience that made u blogged about more food! :-)
ReplyDeleteI was thinking along the same line about the soup. It would be impossible to drink it.
ReplyDeletewow!! I never see a flameable prawn in wine!!..this is extra ordinary!!love it!!.well I guess anything cook with wine sure will overcover with wine flavour..but can go mabuk and dancing all night long with Karaoke!!lol!
ReplyDeleteYour site always makes me hungry. Time for lunch!
ReplyDeleteTink *~*~*
http://MyMobileAdventures.blogspot.com
That looks so good!!!Even the amount of wine.
ReplyDeleteV r sure you can !
ReplyDeletePuzzling thing is why then do they add so much wine in then so just to let it out ( expensive you know )
then got no more taste. strange. maybe they want you to see the sizzzzz, like yr burning video
hon, your pasta with the huge prawns looked so much better than this..despite the flambe action!
ReplyDeletewahhhh the flames look wonderful!! Great to capture it on your camera ;) Hee I think it's worth the experience although the taste is not up to your expectations ;)
ReplyDeleteholycow look at those flames! what a dramatic production to steal all your natural sweet prawn flavors. shame on them! :)
ReplyDeleteWhat are those bead-like stuff floating in the pot? Are they peanuts or soyabeans?
ReplyDeleteBTW, when I clicked on the video, I only get the word "buffering" displayed and nothing else happened. Hmm... must be something wrong with my notebook.
Just look at all that flame! It is too bad that they did not turn out too good.
ReplyDeletelovely prawns agree with you comments too!
ReplyDeleteYikes! I wudn even serve things like tht to my guess. wait! i wudn even make it for my own consumption. :P
ReplyDeletethey dont even look appetising, dont they? they really shud learn tht too much of any ingredients will kill the taste of the food.
Guess its time to wrestle in the kitchen and make them urself ya? ;)