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Business & Tech

A Case of Mistaken Identity: Renton Seafood Restaurant

Seafood restaurant "felt like a cheap date on a platter."

Chalk this review up to a case of mistiming and mistaken identity:

We set out for a Mediterranean feast at the lauded Omar-Al Khyam, only to find it closed for lunch  (on Saturdays they’re only open from 4 to 10 p.m.) The taste in our mouths for falafel and tahini shifted toward an impromptu road trip around the Renton Highlands. It’s amazing how big Renton actually is once you start exploring.  If nothing else, I was glad for an excuse to go out scouting and adventuring.

has been on my foodie radar for a while, and so when we stumbled across a few blocks away, I thought perhaps the name had just changed.

Totally different animal, as we found out.

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We entered intrepidly to find a mostly empty restaurant except for an older Asian couple chatting with the chef, and a family spanning generations gathered around a Lazy Susan. 

The requisite aquarium burbled in the background, but devoid of fish; it was hidden behind a screen near the register. We were seated quickly and politely by a young gentleman in a smartly-pressed white shirt and black pants, and our server offered us the option of ordering off their dim sum or regular menu. This is not the circling-wagon-train type of dim sum: here you order off a two-sided glossy menu. A quick look piqued our interest, so we decided to begin our meal by sampling the Steamed Prawn with Chinese Parsley Dumplings, rather than the eight-piece appetizer of Pot Stickers, which had caught my eye.

This was an unfortunate choice.

One of the golden rules of good dim sum is a rice wrapper that can hold its own, but this was sticky and tore easily when hefted with chop sticks from the bamboo steamer. Also there was little else than shrimp in these sub-par pouches; not at all resembling the emerald green dumplings pictured on the menu.

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Being that the name was Renton Seafood Restaurant, we were confused by the lack of fish choices on the menu or the pictured items on the wall. My husband detests mayonnaise-glazed Honey Walnut Prawns, which seems like a starring dish here, and since we were feeling like some heat on a soggy day, I ordered the Szechuan Style Prawns ($10.95) mainly because of the “Hot & Spicy” chile symbol next to it. Perhaps they were trying to politely cater to American palates, but the spice factor was almost non-existent. Sadly the worst part of this dish was the hide-and-go-seek prawns amidst an obstacle course of blandly flavored onions, red and green bell peppers and celery, which felt like a cheap date on a platter.

Intrigued by Mustard Green with Black Mushroom ($12.95), we were presented with this dish quickly after ordering. Our two bowls of rice arrived nearly ten minutes after our last entree, ironically after our noodle dish. Whether these were actually mustard greens is extremely questionable — and forgive me guys —but it’s hard to see why an uninspired plate of gravied Tatsoi interlaced with Shitakes should cost this much.  

I had high hopes for the Singapore Style Chow Fun, clocking in at a more reasonable $8.50. What the prices here tell you is that noodles are cheap, protein and quality fresh vegetables are not. This platter was stacked long with thick rice noodles colored yellow with curry powder, but with little sauce, spice, or flavor. Once again the pepper symbols betrayed me—there was a non-existent level of heat. Every once in a while, a small curled prawn or dried-out chunk of barbecued pork slipped in between a glutinous noodle. Thankfully the steam from the stir fry moistened the red-dyed pork chunks.   

Honestly, I would enjoy hearing if there is something at Renton Seafood Restaurant that you love, aside from the fact that they deliver to you Highland folks. My favorite thing about this restaurant is the comical mistranslations on their menu: “Dry Scallops w/Egg white Fried Ride,” “Sauteed Shredded Pork w/Sting Bean,” or the ever-so-popular “Pan Fried Shtimp w/Salt & Prpper.” 

  Ste A, 4250 Northeast 4th Street, Renton, WA 98059-5009 (425) 793-1368 ‎ 

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