Newport Seafood
18441 Colima Rd.
Rowland Heights
626-839-1239
The Newport Seafood in Santa Ana, that I went to a few years after this review, is owned by a different company than the original Newport Seafood.
I normally do not want to be social around September 11th. With the 5th anniversary of Sept. 11th coming up, I changed my way of thinking. Sure I am still very angry and sadden by what happened. I don't need reminders about that horrible day. I WILL NEVER FORGET. But being angry and bitter doesn't do me any good and more importantly it doesn't honor the memory of all the innocent people who were killed that terrible day. So I figured I would go and enjoy the company of a new found, fellow foodie and the food of Newport Seafood. Great company and great food always make a great combination. Newport Seafood provided the great food and my fellow foodie provided great conversation and company. All the while I had these two songs in my mind Calling All Angels and Proud to be an American.
We ordered the Newport Special crab and the shrimp with curry sauce, white rice, and two beers was about $47 with tip. The crab is listed as seasonal price, which tonight was around $9lb.
The Newport special crab is steamed and then topped with the special sauce, green onions and jalapeno. It made for a spicy wonderful dish. The crab was steamed just right and it was the so flavorful. It was messy but worth it.
The shrimp with curry sauce was label hot and spicy but I found it a notch below mild, and I'm not one for anything over medium spicy. The shrimp were large and tender. The curry was very good with a spicy but not too spicy flavor. The onions, green and red peppers added to the dish helped add color and a crunch to the dish.
Service was good but you do get the impression they want you to order, eat and get out as soon as possible. We sat down and barely took a look at the menu when a waiter came by to take our order. But we were so busy talking, we didn't really decide what we wanted. They must have came by 3-4 times asking if we were ready. They could give us some time to actually look at the menu. The food was served quickly and was served hot.
I would go back to Newport Seafood anytime.
Update 6-25-08
I went back to Newport Seafood for their Newport Special lobster, $15 per pound. I got a 5lb lobster for three people. The Newport Special is made with lots and lots of black pepper, ginger, garlic, and green onions. But the black pepper really overpowered everything. They used finely ground pepper. course ground pepper and even half peppercorns.
The lobster was tasty but a bit tough and of course had the overwhelming pepper flavor. I did enjoy the lobster because I like pepper but next time I'll ask them to go easy on the pepper.
Service was below average since the server actually left while I was ordering. What the hell kind of service is that?
