ROYAL CAPITAL SEAFOOD RESTAURANT (GARDEN GROVE, CA)

Royal Capital Seafood Restaurant
10911 Westminster Ave.
Garden Grove, CA 92843
www.royalcapitalseafood.com
Tel: 714.638.8315
$$ ($15-$30)
Cuisine: Chinese, Seafood
Sun, 06/21/2015, 11:30am walk-in
    (4 Piglets)

Lobster! Lobster! Lobster! Lobster is by far one of my favorite seafood dishes. If it's cooked right, it can be an unbelievably succulent piece of meat that leaves you feeling satisfied. This father's day, my family and I decided to treat my father (who is an old-school Chinese dad) to a decent seafood restaurant that would offer delicious lobster. The best part about the restaurant is that the people who run the place is of our Chinese ethnic descent: Chiu Chow, Teochew, Chaozhou...whichever you prefer to call us.

Royal Capital Seafood Restaurant is a true, authentic Chinese seafood restaurant nestled amongst fine Vietnamese restaurants in Little Saigon. The food is Hong Kong style cuisine with more than 200 items. The exterior and interior seems like it hasn't been remodeled since it opened its doors, but don't let that lure you away from sampling this restaurant.

The interior

Fresh seafood tanks

The restaurant boasts live fish, lobster and other shellfish for your enjoyment. The staff fish out the seafood from their multiple tanks for you to choose the size of the lobster, crab, or whatever seafood you so desire for your dish. If you're not a fan of seafood farm to table (literally), then you may want to turn your head on this one. But, you can guarantee what you're eating is super fresh.

The man and our lobster for our dish below! From farm (or seafood tank in our case) to table....

MY FAVORITE DISH. HOUSE SPECIAL LOBSTER E-MEIN (SEASONAL PRICE):  Ooh, lobster! This dish is so delicious. The big chunks of lobster is settled throughout the dish. It is lightly floured, deep fried in butter with some pepper and spices. The house special sauce is a buttery flavor blend and is downright amazing. The best part (other than the lobster) is the noodles. The noodles soak up every bit of the house special sauce creating bursts of butter in your mouth and for me...butter is a girl's best friend (next to chocolate of course)! A must order at every visit! 

PAN FRIED WHOLE FISH ($17.95): This was my second favorite dish of the day. The skin was fried super crisp and the fish was nicely moist and flaky. The dish comes with two sauces: a chili  sauce that is slightly sweet and spicy and a soy based sauce that is sweet with a slight acidic flavor. Both went well with the fish but I much preferred the soy based sauce. Another definite must order.

FRIED PEA SPROUTS WITH GARLIC ($10.95): This is a light dish with hints of garlic and a slight bitter flavor from the sprouts. Its a nice dish to accompany the whole meal to cut through all the richness of the buttery lobster. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish. It's not often I eat vegetables! 

HOUSE SPECIAL CHICKEN WITH BUTTER SAUCE ($12.95): You remember that delicious lobster I was ranting about? Well, the way they cooked that lobster is the same way they cooked this chicken. The chicken pieces are lightly floured and deep fried in butter. It is moist and has a slight crispy texture on the exterior. A good dish.

FRENCH STYLE BEEF CUBES ($14.95): This is a Chinese-Cambodian-Chiu Chow dish. The sauce you dip the beef cubes in is a mixture of salt, pepper and lime. The beef was moist and soft but wasn't one of my favorites. I'm used to a really good cut of filet mignon when having this dish and it definitely did not taste like the dishes I've had in the past. 

HOUSE FRIED RICE STICK-PAN FRIED ($11.95): A simple fried rice dish with vegetables and shrimp. It was good but it's just fried rice. How good could fried rice be?

TAPIOCA DESSERT (FREE!): Sweet, warm and delicious. The broth had a nice, coconut flavor to it. The best part? It's free!

Overall, Royal Capital Seafood Restaurant is a great place to gather your friends and family for some delicious Chinese food. The portions are large and they offer a lunch special on a number of dishes that is truly a bargain (though it is not applicable on holidays). The dessert is free and the staff are pretty accommodating. They could revamp the place but if you're just basing it solely on food, the place is legit. Word of advice: the place can get pretty crowded on weekends so go early or expect a wait.


Notable dishes: House Special Lobster E-Mein and Pan Fried Whole Fish