PETALING JAYA, Dec 18 — It's easy to dismiss Captain Shrimp as just another food delivery place serving a menu of Tex-Mex and American eats... but that would be your loss.
What I ordered was well-executed, tasty and satisfying at wallet-friendly prices. Win!
Captain Shrimp was started by American Delilah Roger at the start of 2019; she envisioned delivering American-style dishes at affordable prices. The name was a nod towards their seafood-centric menu such as seafood boil, American and Mexican fare.
Delilah, who grew up in Louisiana, developed a love for cooking thanks to her mother. As they rarely dined out, her mother who used to teach cooking would share her skills with Delilah.
Following popular demand, they shifted their focus to Tex-Mex cuisine. The difference between Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisine, Delilah explained, was in the use of different ingredients. "Tex-Mex menus come with yellow cheese (a mix of colby and mozzarella), cumin and the use of flour tortillas," she added.
Based in Jaya One, Captain Shrimp also offers a mini catering menu, ideal for gatherings with minimal fuss.
With Covid-19, the business faced a number of hurdles. One was delivering their food in time to customers due to the roadblocks. Their regulars learned to adapt to that difficult situation by ordering ahead. Sometimes orders would be placed days in advance for easier planning.
Another hoop they had to jump through was sourcing disposable packing materials on time. As they use about 30 different types of packaging items, they had to plan their purchases by ordering large quantities ahead of time, Delilah explained.
What Delilah also learned from dealing with the uncertainties was to be persistent and conscious of her budget. She appreciates all orders, big or small, and is thankful they had a large base of regulars that kept the business afloat.
Previous plans to open a dine-in concept in Kuala Lumpur are now on hold as they approach the uncertain future with a "wait and see" attitude. She hopes to still push forward with that space near Dataran Merdeka eventually.
The menu has a mix of tacos, nachos and quesadillas to satisfy all your Tex-Mex cravings. You can also enjoy various pasta dishes and nibble on chicken wings or an assortment of breaded snacks.
For something more substantial, they offer dishes such as chicken chop, fish and chips. If you are ordering to share, their lasagna and nachos will be ideal.
The tacos can be ordered with various toppings like a vegetarian mexi-salad or three types of chicken but zoom in on their bestselling minced beef tacos. For RM17.90, you get two fully loaded tacos. It starts with soft, flour tortillas that are lightly toasted in butter.
There's a generous layer of tender, juicy braised beef cut into rough pieces that are cooked with taco seasoning, Roma sauce and onion puree. This is topped with lettuce, cherry tomatoes and a generous layer of yellow cheese sauce. It may look incredibly decadent with the cheese sauce but you will find it well balanced out with the greens and meat.
If you prefer less sauce, the mixed cheese quesadillas for RM15.90 may be a better choice. Each bite has melted cheese paired with sliced green capsicums that give a nice crunchy texture and freshness to the snack.
A generous dash of ground black pepper gives it a subtle flavour. They also have quesadillas filled with beef or chicken, if you're looking for a more substantial meal.
They also do some interesting loaded nachos with various toppings. These feed about a larger crowd of two to three people so it is best to share them.
From what we understand, the crowd favourite is their Cajun chicken Alfredo pasta. It's been their best seller since they revamped the menu back in October 2019.
The creamy pasta is topped with a grilled chicken breast marinated with corn oil, white pepper, onion powder, paprika, salt, cayenne, cumin and thyme.
However to balance out the creamy items I had ordered, I opted instead for the pasta chicken aglio olio for RM17.90. They also do a seafood version of the aglio olio pasta.
What I really liked about this dish was the pasta cooked al dente. Most places tend to overcook their pasta so it was a bonus they got the texture right. The dish is laden with softened garlic and onions that gives a more mellow taste to the pasta.
You also get shreds of purple cabbage which was another surprise but it worked. A generous seasoning of dried herbs gave the pasta lots of flavour. The grilled chicken breast that tops the pasta gives you extra protein with less oil since the pasta is already tossed with olive oil.
You also can't not have their chicken wings. There's various flavours such as Texas BBQ, hot buffalo and black pepper. Unlike those deep fried chicken wings, their version is baked making them less oily. The sauce lightly coats the chicken wings, making each bite less rich tasting but still packed with flavour. The chicken wings are RM18.50 for eight pieces.
If you prefer, they also offer mini buffet or meal box meals for small gatherings. Prices start from RM15 per person. Choose from various menus that include loaded pizza nachos, onion rings, quesadillas, tacos, cajun chicken pasta and grilled seafood salad. There's even a nod to our Malaysian flavours as they serve their breaded calamari rings with curry leaves.
As they use their own delivery riders, the charges are reasonable. Up to this year end, their promotion has delivery charges being charged from RM2. For instance, delivery to PJ's SS2 area will set you back by RM3 while Taman Tun Dr Ismail is RM5.
I paid RM6 for mine since my place is in Kuala Lumpur. It's easy to order, just WhatsApp them from 10am onwards and they will arrange for the food to be delivered by the time you set. If you're looking for supper, they also take orders up to 2am.
For Christmas, they offer two festive menus up to December 31. Their festive fiesta menu feeds five to six people for RM175 nett with pasta, nachos, breaded shrimp, grilled chicken breast and vegetables.
For a larger group of 10 to 12 people, there is the Santa mini treasure set with Cajun wings, pasta, grilled lamb and mussels. Throughout the festive season, they also offer their Christmas dessert of a corn custard pudding topped with white chocolate.
To adapt to the local market, their tagline is "Alamak, so tasty!" Delilah explained, "As most of the dishes are tasty and rare, the tagline is a combination of Malay and English since we are serving everyone in Malaysia."
Captain Shrimp, Jaya One, Petaling Jaya. For orders, WhatsApp them at 016-2505891 from 10am to 2am (last order is 1.30am). Website:https://captain-shrimp.business.site Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/captainshrimp7
