Sunday, November 06, 2005

Red Lobster

Red Lobster
1732 King St. East
Kitchener, Ontario N2G2P1

There is only one Red Lobster in the tri-city area. The parking lot is constantly full and 40 min wait during peak hour is a norm. Normally I shy away from those chain seafood restaurants. I grew up in a small island surrounded by sea so I tend to have high standard on seafood dishes. Unless I go to relatively high-end restaurants or unless there is no heating involved, it is quite common that the seafood course I order is overcooked. Also, sometimes when the seafood tastes "fishy", it is not necessarily a good sign. Alas! I got lured by the Endless Shrimp event. (And to be honest, Red Lobster is not that bad).

There is one new item on their Endless Shrimp Event this year: Coconut Shrimp Bites. The rest are the regulars: Shrimp Pasta, Fried Shrimp, Garlic Shrimp and Popcorn Shrimp.

First I ordered Coconut Shrimp and Garlic Shrimp, followed by one serving of popcorn shrimp. The garlic shrimp was cooked nicely, perhaps the butter did the charm (the whole plate of shrimp was smothered in the butter). However, it was so salty that I had to finish one drink I initially ordered and asked for more water in order to finish that portion. The coconut shrimp was a nice surprise. It tasted just like the "Parrot Bay Coconut Shrimp" I ordered before. The shrimp was coated in batter and coconut flakes. The dipping sauce was supposed to be Pina Colada flavored. I did taste the coconut and very faint of pineapple. To me, it is not Pina Colada if without rum. Popcorn shrimp was served with the cocktail dipping sauce.

We've been to Red Lobster several times. So far we've tried New England Clam Chowder, Roasted Tilapia in a Bag, Cajun Farm-Raised Catfish, Shrimp Pasta and Lobster-crusted salmon. The food portions in Red Lobster are generous. The food is not superb but for the price you pay, it is not too bad.

My favorite item dish from Red Lobster is actually their biscuits. Apparently many people agree with me. When I google with the keywords "Red Lobster biscuit", there are whole bunch of recipes coming up.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i recently went to a Red Lobster during my business trip too!

I ordered the lunch combo with 2 small 'entrees' (garlic shrimp scampi and bay scallops) and had mashed potato goes with them.

i ate 2 biscuits and they were soooooooo good. the shrimps were covered with oil and same as the bay scallops. I just had to use some napkin to absorb the oil!!

the mashed potato is so so, i have tried better at the keg. So far I love the keg's garlic mashed potato....no other place can beat it yet.

but the worst thing had happened, I had diarrhea after eating this meal!!! and it lasts for 2 days....sigh. it was so bad that I almost swear i will never go back to that red lobster. maybe i may go back when i have the cravings for the cheese biscuits.