When I thought of Seoul Cajun Crab never crossed my mind. Seafood? Yes. Cajun? No way. Well, not anymore. Recently, some friends and I checked out one of the locations of Boiling Crab. This branch, plopped right on the edge of Itaewon, has a creaky old town feel. The place is small and bare bones, but that hardly matters once the smell of boiling seafood smacked us in the face. The aroma drew us inside to a table, saliva drooling from our mouths.
This place is no muss, no fuss. A few other patrons, bibs tied around their necks, sat at their table eagerly digging into their food. Envy didn’t set in since I knew I would soon be joining them. Crisp, clean white Paper completely covered our tabletop. I could barely endure the suspense of spicy broth spattering all that white with seafood goodness. The folks at Boiling Crab keep the menu pretty simple:
1. Big Size Black Tiger Shrimp Combo
Price: 69,000 KRW(serves 2~3 people)
Includes Black Tiger Shrimp, Rock Shrimp,Sea Conch,Mussels,Clam,Scallop,Corn,Potato,Sausage (included)
2. Snow crab combo
Price : 85,000 KRW (serves 3~4 people)
Includes Snow crab, Mussels,Clam,Shrimp,Sea Conch,Corn,Potato,Sausage (included)3. Lobster Tail Combo
Price: 85,000 KRW (serves 2~3 people)
Includes, Lobster tail, Mussels,Clam,Shrimp,Corn,Potato,Sausage (included)4. Seafood Combo
Price : 44,000 KRW (serves 2~3 people)
Includes, Sea Conch,Scallop,Mussels,Clam,Shrimp,Corn,Potato,Sausage (included)5. Korean Crab Combo
Price: 44,000 KRW (serves 2~3 people)
Includes, Korean crab, Mussels,Clam,Rock Shrimp,Corn,Potato,Sausage (included)
Orders can also be made individually for a few items as well as for extra sides such as rice, corn potatoes, crab, lobster tails, shrimp or sausage. However, you don’t really need to as the amount of food is pretty substantial. After we placed our order they started whipping things together in the back, cooked right when we ordered it. Soon, our server came back with a heaping bag of snow crab combination number two. He plopped it down on the tabletop, handed us a bucket for shells and let us rip into it. Steaming piles of crab, clam, shrimp, mussels, sausage, potato, and corn spilled out in a heaping pile of tastiness. We donned our plastic gloves and dived right in. The food is good, well spiced, and thoroughly steeped in flavor. One of my friends did note the boil didn’t use andouille sausage and of course the corn isn’t like the crunchy corn we have at home, but, all in all, I didn’t mind. So, while not a truly authentic cajun seafood boil, it’s far closer than anything I expected to have here in Seoul.
Prices:
20,000 to 85,000
Hours:
Monday~Thursday: 5PM~10:30PM (last order at (9;30PM)
Friday~Saturday: 11:30AM~10:30PM (Last order at 9:30PM)
Sunday: 11:30AM~9:30PM(Last order at 8:30PM)
Phone:
02-792-8864
010-3357-5889
Address:
63-5 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Website:
https://www.facebook.com/boilingcrab.korea
Directions:
Out exit #4 of Itaewon station, walk straight and make a left at the alleyway/ intersection just before the McDonald’s. Keep going straight and boiling crab is next to Braii Republic.
