Richardson | June 2022

DINING FEATURE Hot Crab

BY KAREN CHANEY

Restaurant oers a variety of Cajun seafood dishes with an Asian inuence in Richardson E van Zheng, manager of Richardson restaurant Hot Crab, said he thrives when the restaurant is busy. example of the blended cuisines. “Fried rice is Asian,” Tam said. “Our [menu item] is Cajun-avored fried rice.” When customers visit Hot Crab,

“I’m running back and forth from the back to prepare the food then bring it to the customers,” Zheng said. “We don’t want them to wait too long because they’re hungry. Back and forth running is the fun part. It’s go, go, go.” Evan’s Uncle Yong Zheng co-owns the Cajun food restaurant with Shir- ley Tam. The restaurant is located in the southern portion of Richardson on Spring Valley Road, just west of US 75. In addition to Hot Crab, Yong has multiple other restaurants that encompass a variety of concepts. Yong has been in the industry for 20 years and lives in Louisiana. He has a friend who owns a Cajun restaurant in New Orleans. Because of this friendship he learned how to prepare Cajun cui- sine. However, when he opened Hot Crab in 2020, he created a multicul- tural menu for the restaurant. “This is Asian-Cajun,” Tam said. “The avor is not straight Louisiana Cajun, [as] some of the spices are Asian. It’s more tasty than regular Cajun food.” Tam points to one of the restau- rant’s most popular menu items as an

Zheng said they are often surprised by the presentation they get when they order a seafood dish. “Basically, we boil the seafood then put it in the bag, and the hot air makes it pumped up. It’s like a balloon,” Zheng said. “It’s a better presentation, and [customers] say it is so cool.” Hot Crab’s combo meals can come with a pound and a half of food in addition to the sides. The restaurant also oers chicken, wings, soup and desserts in addition to the Cajun and seafood dishes, sta said. The restaurant’s seafood options garlic butter, lemon pepper and more. Spice levels for dishes range from none at all to extra hot. “My uncle came up with the recipes. It’s a secret,” Zheng said. “We don’t know the recipes [for] the seasonings, because every time we call him and say we’re short on the seasoning, he ships it from Louisiana. We have dierent bags with dierent avors and no clue [exactly] what he puts in there.” allow customers to choose from a vari- ety of seasonings and dierent spice levels. Seasonings include Cajun,

From left, Manager Evan Zheng is pictured with co-owner Shirley Tam and sta members Sharon Chen and Paul Jiang. (Karen Chaney/Community Impact Newspaper)

1 Combo D ($26.99) includes a half pound of snow crab, a half pound of shrimp and a half pound of sausage. A lobster tail can be added for an extra $16.99. All combo meals are served with corn, egg and two potatoes. 2 Combo Cajun fried rice ($12) comes with chicken, shrimp, crawsh and sausage. 3 Nutella cheesecake ($5.50) is a popular dessert option. 3 DISHES TO TRY

“THE FLAVOR IS NOT STRAIGHT LOUISIANA CAJUN, AS SOME OF THE SPICES ARE ASIAN.” SHIRLEY TAM, COOWNER

Hot Crab 714 W. Spring Valley Road, Richardson 972-231-8989 www.hotcrabrichardson.com Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.

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RICHARDSON EDITION • JUNE 2022