Saucer-sized grilled jumbo tiger prawn at Linda Restaurant (335 Yonge Street) that's bathed in a sweet and savoury coconut basil sauce.
From the king cake during Mardi Gras to egg and bunny shaped chocolates for Easter, food is a large part of all holidays and celebrations in the West and the East. The Chinese love to serve shrimp or prawns during celebrations because it symbolizes happiness. Pronounced "ha," these decapod crustaceans are low in calories (depending on the method of preparation) and an excellent source of calcium, iodine and protein (although they may be high in cholesterol). As versatile ingredients, shrimp and prawns come in all shapes and sizes, but have one thing in common - they're tasty. Discover why these creatures of the sea make many mouths and bellies ha-ha-happy.
The steamed ginseng shrimp may be found on the priciest set menu offered by Ten Ren's Tea Time (111 Times Avenue Unit A1, Thornhill), but as one of the seven items you get for $18.99, it isn't just a great value, it's also tasty.
Jim Chai Kee Noodles (270 West Beaver Creek Road, Richmond Hill) basically makes one thing, and they make it well: noodles topped with excellent flavour-packed shrimp dumplings.
Shrimp swaddled in silky sheets of steamed rice-roll or wrapped up as dumplings (aka har gow) can be found at Dragon Dynasty Chinese Cuisine (2301 Brimley Road, Scarborough).
I can never resist ordering shrimp salad rolls when out for a bowl of Vietnamese pho, just like the plump and filling versions at Golden Turtle/Rua Vang (125 Ossington Avenue).
Dig into ultimate comfort with the simply prepared linguine con gamberi at 7 Numbers Danforth (307 Danforth Avenue).
Ready to go, curled and shelled crustaceans may be found flame-licked on a skewer at one of the many grills along the ever popular Taste of the Danforth.
Like jewels of the sea, sautéed shrimp can come tasteless in crystal form from Ala Kitchen (Unit 18, 21 Fairburn Drive, Markham)...
... or better as shrimp bathed in a sweet and sour red wine sauce at Empire Court (8500 Warden Avenue, Markham).
KoeKoe shrimp from Linda Restaurant - an exotic, ethereal melange of flavours that finds a dozen tender gulf shrimp hidden in a tumble of lacy fried freshly shredded coconut mixed with an equally aromatic julienne of Thai basil.
Claiming that there is no MSG in their pure fish products, every order of the homemade shrimp-paste noodles in fish soup from Omega 3 (Unit A05-8362 Kennedy Road, Markham) is not only hearty, but healthy.
Renée Suen is a graduate student at the University of Toronto, specializing in cardiovascular sciences. She has an insatiable appetite and can often be found with her camera, searching for something tasty to eat. Many of these culinary discoveries can be found on her Flickr site.
