The Boiler

Had a blast tearing apart shells and munching on seafood at The Boiler. I tend to ignore all these eateries with the word 'Louisiana' or 'Cajun' in the names. The kitchens never dish out authenticity that way. Those spices are in no way Cajun-like or similar to what we know in Creole cuisine. All these new local eateries take a leaf from Vietnamese-American seafood joints and seem to have toned down the spices and changed them to something so similar to our local chillies and sambal. And by this, my yardstick isn't Boiling Crab.

At The Boiler, I don't taste the fiery peppers; bet you they don't bother putting artichokes into the gravy. The feel and flavors were more Asian than Louisiana. Our 'Boiler's Bombdiggity Bag' (more than enough to share among four persons) came with a basket of fried mantou. Let's just say that The Boiler's 'butter rice' tasted like chicken rice lor, even tasted the ginger that was so pronounced. Duhh. Appreciated how the staff plonked down big plastic cups of cold water (free) without us asking. They bothered to mask the eeky metallic tang of tap water with fruits. Nice.

We winced a little at the extensive use of plastic bags, aprons and whatever used. Plastic cover for phones, plastic bibs, plastic bags for food, table covers. Haizzz. Sure, plastic makes it easy-to-clean and convenient to dispose of, like how the local zi char or seafood restaurants do it. Probably lower cost than using paper or other recycled material. Yeah, it's that or spend loads of money and energy on electricity, detergent and water for dishwashers. But surely a bit of thought could be put into using materials that are more environmental-friendly.

The one expectation we do have of all these seafood-in-a-plastic bag places- fresh ingredients. No excuses. Everything else can be forgiven if seafood aren't overcooked or over-salted. The table loved the food. Dungeness crab, juicy prawns, clams and two lobsters. The works. No cutlery, no plates. Just put everything on the table and tear them apart. Carnage. Satisfying. Chilli-spicy enough, but not so that it numbs the tastebuds. I think I ate all the clams. Apparently some people at the table didn't get to eat any. :P If you don't mind the noise, The Boiler is great for a casual meal with a whole bunch of seafood-loving people.