This evening, Brian and I got to preview the newest VANEATS package with Cray Kitchen: Cray-vings. We were greeted warmly by the server (possibly manager?) running the floor and she seated us next to the window. She was so very helpful the entire time we were there (for example, she sat us next to the window so I could get good lighting! Who does that?! Love it!) – I wish I got her name. I have to warn you that I’m about 98% sure I might ‘accidentally’ make a reference to a certain Kanye/Jay-Z song throughout this review -I’d be sorry for it, but I’m not.

The Cray-vings package from VANEATS is $18.50 and for that you get:
A. 1/2 lb of Crawfish, shipped live from Louisiana
B. 1/2 lb of Shrimp, shipped from either Thailand or Ecuador
C. Cod Nuggets, 3 pieces
D. Deep Fried Oysters, 2 pieces
E. Cajun Fries

While in the process of changing the paper over the counter, I managed to snap this informative lil comic of how to properly eat the crawfish. Crawfish is definitely a southern thing, which I’ve never really got to enjoy in the States. I’m glad that such an experience is available here in Vancouver now.

Getting down to business, we were given a big bucket stocked with paper towel, plastic gloves and this lovely bib with a lil crawfish on it.

Our bag of goodies came rather quick, perhaps because we were dining on a Tuesday evening but still impressive. I couldn’t open it up right away to take a pic because it was still steaming hot. The shrimp was pretty big and very juicy. Once you peel the shrimp, it’s best to dip it into the sauce inside the bag.

We ordered the Cray mix, which is a mixture of Garlic Butter, Cajun and Lemon. Amazingly tasty.

This lil crawfish was the bulk of the meal, and Brian being the pro he is , didn’t require gloves and didn’t need an explanation on how to get the meat out of the crawfish!! We also threw in some potatoes and andouille sausage into the mix which bulked out the bag.

I also ordered Fish and Chips additionally and when it came i was like…THAT FISH CRAY. Look at this huge chunk of fish they deep fried for it! I felt like I was eating an entire fish.

When you cut it open, it’s fairly dense and thick. They serve it with tartar sauce but our server asked if we wanted vinegar – to which of course, I said yes to. I also sprinkled some of the lemon that came with our next dish to give it more flavour.

Speaking of which, the next dish was the cod nuggets, deep fried oysters and cajun fries. The cod nuggets were thick morsels of codly goodness. Surprisingly juicy on the inside and well paired with the spicy mayo.

Since I’m allergic to shellfish, I passed on the deep fried oysters but Brian said they too were juicy and tasty with the cajun spices. Underneath was a good portion of cajun fries, which were a lot tastier than the fries that came with my fish and chips dish! It literally didn’t need any ketchup at all.

All in all, this was a great experience. The waitress was really friendly, came to chat with us and also gave us some insights to some of the dishes we were tasting. I’d definitely recommend going here for the experience if you can’t head down south.

At $18.50, this is a pretty good deal if you want to try out crawfish. We were expecting a lot less in that bag of goodies, but were pleasantly surprised that it fed both of us to the point of fullness. Check out the VANEATS website to buy a pass.

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Disclaimer: I was invited to preview this VANEATS dining pass at Cray Kitchen. Anything extra I paid for myself.