My rating is 3.5 stars. I'm rounding down…read more
Remember the song, Spaceman, by Bif Naked, perhaps released two decades ago? If you're Canadian, you have a better shot of knowing it. Anyway, replace Spaceman in the lyrics with ShrimpMan, and I had those revised lyrics in my head for at least a day.
I decided to check out ShrimpMan after seeing it listed on the F.O.D. app.
I got the following items:
- Chicken skewers (2)
- Beef skewers (2)
- Pork rib skewers (2)
- Oyster mushroom skewer (1)
- Broccoli skewer (1)
- King oyster mushroom skewer (1)
- Crab salad in sesame sauce
I was out running errands on Wednesday evening. After shopping at Giant Tiger in Whitchurch-Stouffville, I placed my order in the parking lot and drove down to northern Scarborough, which sounds posh... lol
I got a call from F.O.D. The woman let me know that the restaurant didn't have any crab salad. She asked whether it was okay to substitute it for popcorn chicken. I was fine with it. Done!
I got there a few minutes before my food was ready. There was plenty of parking. It's in a plaza next to No Frills. I haven't been here since I had ramen at an establishment that's no longer here. The turnover of businesses here is high, except for the bookstore.
When my order was ready, I headed inside. It's pretty. It's a hotpot place, which makes sense why I could get protein and meat skewers. The pickup area is easy. I fetched my order, thanked the woman, and headed to my car.
I got home, which takes maybe seven minutes by car, tops, and chowed down.
Here's the scoop on the skewers. F.O.D. listed them in the fried section. In my head, I thought that they would be battered and deep-fried to a crisp. All skewers were lightly battered and weren't crispy. They were doused with a chili sauce, which made everything soggy. It was disappointing. I would have preferred either the skewered meat and veggies being crispy with the chili oil, or having the chili sauce off to the side.
The other thing was that all skewers were in a single box. I had to guess what I was eating! I'm not vegan or vegetarian, but what if I were sharing this food with someone who was? Throwing the meat with the veggies in the came container may be off-putting, but I appreciated the foil that separated both.
I loved the chili sauce that was more of an oil. It had a lot of flavour and a bit of heat. There were also toasted cumin seeds, which made everything so yummy.
The meat was done well. Other than the soggy batter, everything was good. The pork rib was bone-in, so you don't get as much meat as you think that you're getting. I liked the beef on the best, but all were yummy.
The veggies were okay. Again, they tasted soggy because the batter absorbed the chili oil. I liked that I could get oyster and king oyster mushrooms. I love variety.
The best item was actually the one that I didn't order. The popcorn chicken was awesome, likely because there was no chili oil doused on it. Each morsel was crispy. I loved the five-spice powder in the batter. Excellent! I would order this item again.
It's a decent eatery. I would recommend asking for the chili oil off to the side. The skewers would work better having them out of the fryer immediately. The downside to F.O.D. is that some food item descriptions aren't detailed enough. I had no idea that all skewers have chili oil and a slight kick to them. I know now.
(90)