Kat's 9 Lives

With the ever growing popularity of Vietnamese Cajun Seafood in Garden Grove, I am always looking for another tasty place to try. The lines at The Boiling Crab are waaay too long and I have grown tired of that place. It is not worth the long wait and I feel like the flavor has been lacking. One late night we were driving around looking for some delicious Cajun food and unwilling to wait for TBC, I looked up Artist Crawfish Express. Some friends claimed that this is their favorite place, so I had to give it a try. It took me a while to find this location on Trask Ave. because it is tucked away next to a 76.
There wasn't that many people there at night, but service was very friendly. We kind of over ordered. What else is new? I always order to my heart's content. To start off the evening, we had some Garlic Fries that were fresh from the fryer and loaded with garlic. You can't really go wrong with fries and tons of garlic IMHO. On a cold night, this really hit the spot. The extra bonus is they sell Vietnamese Ice Coffee for those who enjoy a refreshingly sweet drink with their heavy meal.
I like that they have Crawfish Egg Rolls. Who doesn't loved fried goodies? They were nicely wrapped and fried well, but they weren't quite what I was looking for. It was more like a Vietnamese egg roll than the flavor of crawfish. For me, I was hoping to taste the savory rich flavor of crawfish embedded inside.
Being as unhealthy as we were, I wanted to try their Artist Wings. This was a lot different from other Vietnamese Cajun restaurants. They used the whole wing here and is glazed versus the other places rub the wings in seasoning then fry it. Personally, I prefer the latter style but I am glad I tried them out. It's good to know for future reference.
My friend wanted to test out her spicy tastebuds and chose to try the Clams in Cajun Garlic Butter. This turned out to be quite spicy for her. I will have to admit that I just sat back and chuckled a little. At that time I wasn't as into clams, aka clammies (what I like to call them endearingly). I thought the flavor could be heavier and have more body. The spices did overpower the overall taste that night.
For me, I wanted the shrimp because you get the most meat/body to eat compared to the weight of the shell. One thing I found odd was they didn't do a combo of flavors so I succumbed to the Texas Cajun in the end. Again, I thought the flavor was only so-so. The shrimps looked nice and plump but I was not amazed by the flavor. It was interesting to see that they are tossed and served in a metal bowl versus the plastic bags I am use to.
This is not the end. We also got a Crawfish Fried Rice, which resembles a jambalaya. It was colorful and full of content. Would I order it again? Nah. Not so impressed.
All in all the food was just so-so to me and not memorable at all. It has been a while since I went there and I am finally able to catch up and review this place. This can also serve as my own reminder when I am pondering where to eat next. While writing this post and looking at all of the pictures, I really really really want some Cajun food to satisfy this hunger but I wouldn't come to this place. I saw online that they offer frozen crawfish for $4 a lb. but I also saw some people saying that it was nasty. If you want to try and report back, you are more than welcome to. One day I might go back to give it another try but currently I will stick with Claws and The Shack. So many better choices around, so keep on searching! =D

Artist Crawfish Express
9041 Trask Ave
Ste A
Garden Grove, CA 92844
(714) 537-7260