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Shrimp
Box of J. Scott's Seafood Fest from Costco
J. Scott's Seafood Fest inner packaging
J.Scott's Seafood Fest frozen on tray
J.Scott's Seafood Fest cooked on tray

I first noticed this Seafood Fest when I went to Costco around July and the price was around $36.00. The price then dropped to $25 and dropped again to $19.95 last month so I finally decided to try some. At $19.95, it's about twice the price of the Aquastar Seafood Feast from Fry's/Kroger, but this one from Costco has more meat and no filler corn and potatoes. It came with a decent amount for the two of us: two lobster tails, 8 shrimps, 7 clams, and 9 scallops.

According to the instructions on the box, there are three different ways of cooking the Seafood Fest: boiling it, baking it, or grilling it. You can also thaw it out overnight first, but my boyfriend and I forgot to do that beforehand. So, we pretty much baked it right from frozen in the oven.

First, we melted one stick of butter and added approximately half of the given seasoning packet to the butter (the instructions say to use only half the seasoning if baking). We preheated the oven to 400 degrees F, and strayed from the instructions a little bit: we put all the seafood on a metal baking tray (without any seasoning) in the oven for five minutes to get it to start thawing and poured out the excess water. Then, we quickly poured the butter and seasoning mixture over the seafood using a spoon, and resumed baking it the rest of the way.

1 stick of melted butter
1 stick melted butter
Seafood Fest seasoning mixed with butter
Seasoning mixed with butter
Butter mixture poured over seafood
Butter mixture on seafood

It took about 25 minutes to bake the lobster tails (possibly because they were towards the back of the oven), and it took about 30 minutes for everything else.

It turned out pretty well! Nothing was rubbery, and everything had a crisp feel to it. The seasoning had a kind of salty, savory taste... sort of like a saltier Old Bay seasoning. If I ever had these again, I might do less than the half packet of seasoning because the seasoning started to seem saltier and more tiring the longer I ate.

However, the seasoning combined with everything still had a good taste, except for the clams. The clams had the strongest taste, and they started out tasting OK, but they tasted a little sour to both of us... like burnt egg yolk or something. I've never had clams before so I'm not sure what clams are supposed to taste like, but I ended up not liking the taste of these. I still ended up eating the majority of them since my boyfriend disliked them even more than I did.

Everything else was pretty good. Shelling the shrimps and lobster tails was a little time-consuming, but at least they had good meat on them. My favorite were the scallops, which had a nice sweet taste and complemented the seasoning well.

My boyfriend and I finished the entire Seafood Fest in one sitting, except for one last clam, which we just threw away. Overall, it was a fairly filling and satisfying seafood meal.

Finished plate with empty shells
My finished plate with empty shells + 1 clam no one wanted
Overall Rating:
Good
Food: J. Scott Foods: Seafood Feast (with lobster, scallops, shrimp & clams) (Frozen)
Source: Costco, Tucson, AZ
Rating (lobster): Good
Rating (scallops): Delicious
Rating (shrimp): Good
Rating (clams): OK
Rating (overall): Good

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Box of Trader Joe's Crispy Green Curry Shrimp Gyoza
Crispy Green Curry Shrimp Gyoza from Trader Joe's

I tried some frozen Trader's Joe's Green Curry Shrimp Gyoza. I followed the microwave instructions because I only wanted to try a few first and didn't want to wait 14 to 16 minutes waiting for it to bake. The instructions say to microwave the gyoza for one minute. I microwaved only three first, and they looked a little underdone after one minute so I microwaved them for two minutes.

I assumed that the shrimp gyoza would be more soggy and not as crispy when microwaved compared to being baked in the oven, but I was pleasantly surprised that they still had crunch… I guess it's because they are pre-fried in palm oil.

The overall taste and texture of the shrimp gyoza was pretty good. The shrimp inside wasn't super hard or rubbery. I could taste a nice combination of a little spice, sweetness, and pepper with the taste of shrimp. The taste reminded me of the "Thai" taste in Trader Joe's Lemon Grass Chicken Stix, except that the taste of the shrimp gyoza was a lot better, and it didn't have the overwhelming pepper taste.

After eating the three gyoza I microwaved, I was definitely craving more.

Overall Rating:
Good
Food: Trader Joe's Crispy Green Curry Shrimp Gyoza
Source: Trader Joe's, Tucson, AZ
Rating: Good

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Box of Tiger Thai Udon Noodles
Tiger Thai Udon Noodles Components

I had some Tiger Thai Udon noodles from Costco as a snack.

Tiger Thai Udon Noodle Soup

The texture of the noodles was good, and they had the usual slippery and thick texture.

The soup was OK, and it tasted a little bit like fish sauce, but it was not great. I did not like the tempura shrimp crumbles in the soup at all. The next time I have some, I will definitely not put them in the soup. One thing I did like was the different little packets that everything comes in.

Overall Rating:
OK
Food: Tiger Thai Udon Noodle Soup with Tempura Shrimp & Vegetables
Source: Costco, Tucson, AZ
Price: $10.69 per box (4 packages)

Rating (Noodles): Good
Rating (Soup Base + Vegetables): OK
Rating (Tempura Shrimp): Blegh

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