“I’m running back and forth from the back to prepare the food then bring it to the customers,” Zheng said. “We don’t want them to wait too long because they’re hungry. Back and forth running is the fun part. It’s go, go, go.”
Evan’s Uncle Yong Zheng co-owns the Cajun food restaurant with Shirley Tam. The restaurant is located in the southern portion of Richardson on Spring Valley Road, just west of US 75.
In addition to Hot Crab, Yong has multiple other restaurants that encompass a variety of concepts. Yong has been in the industry for 20 years and lives in Louisiana. He has a friend who owns a Cajun restaurant in New Orleans.
Because of this friendship he learned how to prepare Cajun cuisine. However, when he opened Hot Crab in 2020, he created a multicultural menu for the restaurant.
“This is Asian-Cajun,” Tam said. “The flavor is not straight Louisiana Cajun, [as] some of the spices are Asian. It’s more tasty than regular Cajun food.”
Tam points to one of the restaurant’s most popular menu items as an example of the blended cuisines.
“Fried rice is Asian,” Tam said. “Our [menu item] is Cajun-flavored fried rice.”
When customers visit Hot Crab, Zheng said they are often surprised by the presentation they get when they order a seafood dish.
“Basically, we boil the seafood then put it in the bag, and the hot air makes it pumped up. It’s like a balloon,” Zheng said. “It’s a better presentation, and [customers] say it is so cool.”
Hot Crab’s combo meals can come with a pound and a half of food in addition to the sides. The restaurant also offers chicken, wings, soup and desserts in addition to the Cajun and seafood dishes, staff said.
The restaurant’s seafood options allow customers to choose from a variety of seasonings and different spice levels. Seasonings include Cajun, garlic butter, lemon pepper and more. Spice levels for dishes range from none at all to extra hot. “My uncle came up with the recipes. It’s a secret,” Zheng said. “We don’t know the recipes [for] the seasonings, because every time we call him and say we’re short on the seasoning, he ships it from Louisiana. We have different bags with different flavors and no clue [exactly] what he puts in there.”
Hot Crab
714 W. Spring Valley Road, Richardson
972-231-8989
www.hotcrabrichardson.com
Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
