 |
 |
Shrimp Shack Lunchwagon, a closer look
Shrimp Shack Hauula official page! |
 Trip Advisor with more Shrimp Shack reviews! |
 Shrimp Shack on Yelp! |
Aloha!
7/7/11 - Aaah - nuthin' like another lazy weekend jaunt down to the North Shore of Oahu. A shrimp truck here, a shave ice there, and maybe a quick swim or lounge on the beach for good measure, all sandwiched in-between two gorgeous, very scenic drives in the cool comforts of A/C and stereo. Can't beat it! Unless, of course, you've got a little extra something strapped to the top of your car!
Big yellow has proven an invaluable asset to our recreational bag of tricks, transporting anywhere on the island almost as easily as a couple of big longboards. We took the always-beautiful drive all the way down to Malaekahana Beach Park in Laie/Kahuku, where sits a small island just off its sandy shores:
Actually, we really didn't even need the kayak. Just like Chinaman's Hat, you can walk to Goat Island (no goats, though - only birds!) during low tide! I only decided on the kayak because I haven't been here in 10, 15 years or so, and I wasn't exactly sure how things may have changed or not. Besides, an extra paddle around the area was also fun and good for exercise!
The crescent-shaped island features a beach that actually points away from Malaekahana's shore, making it interestingly sight unseen till you get there:
Finding a deserted beach like this is quite commonplace on a weekday morning in Hawaii, but can you imagine finding the entire beach to yourself at high noon, on a 4th of July weekend? Of course, there were several groups of visitors traveling to and fro, but still... what a gorgeous home we have here in Hawaii, yes?!
Here's one final shot, from a short hill on which you can see the separation from the main island of Oahu:
After a few hours of frolicking, it was time to throw the kayak back on the car and head for a late lunch, courtesy of not a shrimp shack, but the Shrimp Shack. When driving in from the Kailua/Kaneohe side, it is the first of the major North Shore shrimp trucks, and its bright yellow paintjob and prominent roadside location make it hard to miss!
The truck sits right next to the iconic Ching's Store, which apparently has been in operation for over 75 years! It is a typical general store out in the country, like a 7-Eleven, local style! The fishing section, however, is much better than your average convenience store, and aside from the normal drinks and other small snacks, there's also fresh poke items, boiled peanuts, and house-made butter mochi and brownies.
I guess Ching's has a working agreement with the truck, as a long row of tables are situated along the walls of the store. After ordering, you are instructed to have a seat with your given ID number displayed, and a kind lady walks your plates over. And if there's any doubt as to whether the store-side table arrangements are for the truck or not, you'll know once you sit down:
The menu here at the Shrimp Shack is about as user-friendly as it gets, with big, bold, clear lettering and pics so you'll know exactly what you're receiving:
Though it's no longer just about shrimp anymore, shrimp is still the measure of any North Shore Shrimp truck. Yeah, there's steak, there's mussels, there's crab legs, and whatever else depending on where you go, but these are all for second or third visits! There are, however, a couple of trucks where something outside of shrimp is good enough for me to recommend. The first is fish 'n chips at Hui Ohana in Haleiwa, and the second is clams at Bluewater Shrimp in Waikiki (there are other Bluewater Shrimp trucks around, but the Waikiki truck is the only one I know with good clams).
The ladies working here are a friendly bunch and full of Aloha, all of them being gregarious, personable, and extremely confident in their food. And why not, since the Shrimp Shack lunchwagon has been featured on the Travel Channel and a host of other promo's all over the world. Judging by hear-say from others dining beside us, word does travel far and wide, and it seems lots of visitors have heard about this place. Would its shrimp plate stand-up to the hype, though?
Having been to all of the major trucks in the past, I do have a few concerns about their signature plate, not the least of which has to do with portions. The $10.75 price is slightly cheaper than most other trucks, but I'd rather pay the extra $1 or $2 to get double or more the amount of shrimp, quite literally, at other places down the road.
And the shrimp themselves? Truthfully speaking, they were a bit small, and there was lots of "Shell stick," or the sometimes frustrating problem of meat not separating from shells without a mess of butter-stained fingers. Perhaps I'm being too finicky, but instead of shells being split right down the lengths of their backs, which makes things so much easier, they are split width-wise around their "Bellies," which didn't make any sense to me and wasn't a big help as far as extra napkins go. Taste-wise, they were fine, with all the great flavors of shrimp, lots of big garlic chunks, butter, and salt. I mean, save for a tiny splash of white wine, which I'm not sure is employed here, what else do you need, right? The texture, quality, size, and portions, however, couldn't help but leave both Kumi and I a bit disappointed.
The second most popular plate at any shrimp truck is a spicy shrimp plate. It's basically the same as the most popular variety, but comes with a good deal of heat, in addition. Most of them don't pull any punches, either, and the Shrimp Shack is no exception! There are, however, three levels of heat here - the first level uses only a chili/garlic sauce, the second adds Sriracha (or was it the other way around?), and the third level adds cayenne pepper, which imparted an earthiness that balanced well with the sharp, vinegary spiciness of the two Asian heat factors. The dusty cayenne also thickened the sauces, much like flour or cornstarch does, soaking-up and concentrating all the great flavors together. That, along with the large and generously provided chunks of garlic, made it much better for me than the regular garlic shrimp plate:
As you can see, there was another entree choice taking-up half the plate, which came from a few cuts of sauteed mahimahi w/onions. The fish was respectable and a good balance to the flavor-packed, heat-loaded shrimp, but at $15.75, probably not something I'd do again.
The last but in no ways least important element on both plates was rice. It was typical plate lunch stuff, with a few mushy areas and obviously not from a strain of great quality. Sufficient, I guess, to get the job done after a half-day of play out on the water.
Before leaving, here's one last shot of the beach right across the street, where Joe Montana and Jerry Rice were hooking-up for Da Bomb! Ok, not quite:
BTW - yup, he flubbed it. In and out of his hands!
Hey, hope you're all having a wonderful day and enjoying all this beautiful weather we've been having! I'm getting excited out of my mind with the new site I'm developing, but mum's the word until I've got something actually up and running!
Take care, and Aloha till next time!
Aku
