Trader Joe's Honey Walnut Shrimp

To think. I was going to save this to eat with my honey for Valentine's Day. Barf. On multiple levels.


Some people know this from Panda Express. And if you've had the chance to have real Chinese food, you've probably had honey walnut shrimp at some banquet dinner. I kind of regarded it as a "meh" food, but I remember it being on the table every time I visited Taiwan and had a "big family dinner" out always at the same restaurant. And once I started dating A, I discovered that it's pretty much staple Cantonese banquet food. Chinese people pretty much never prepare this at home, mainly because you'd rather splurge on it eating out with family with cash and calories. Picking this up to review was a no-brainer. 


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This is ain't no health food. So let us close our eyes to the fat, the sodium, the sugars...and the sad part is that it MIGHT be marginally healthier than what you'd find at the restaurant. Can I also add that this is like the worst food for allergies (nuts, wheat, milk, eggs, shrimp). I mean, the only way to make this more lethal is to add a few bee stings. 


Whether you choose stove-top or oven, the directions recommend nuking the sauce. Which we did. 


I count 20 shrimp. So the claim that each package has 18-20 shrimp checks out. The shrimp comes breaded. Typical restaurant honey walnut shrimp is fried in a bit of cornstarch, so the breaded coating isn't that authentic. However, more Americanized Chinese restaurants will often use thicker, crunchier batter, so I suppose the breading here is supposed to mimic that. 


That sauce looks like something I would pour into a coffee drink. 


Candied walnuts - yeah there's not too much of it. A notes that the sauce accounts for most of the weight of this product. 


How do I say this. THIS SMELLS LIKE CHEESE. WHY. WHY DOES THIS SMELL LIKE CHEESE. WHY. Like the smell of the mass-produced, fake American cheese that comes wrapped in individual slices that I lived on for the first 15 years of my life. It smells like the artificial cheese my mom toasted on dry wheat toast in the toaster oven. It's a somewhat nostalgic smell - but not in a good way because it also reminds me of all the times that the toast sat on the counter uneaten or was left forgotten. In the car. In a lunchbox. Under a couch. Don't ask. 

Instances like these are exactly why I want to know 1) WHO decides that CHEESE SMELLING Chinese food is somehow marketable and profitable and 2)WHO in their right mind manufactures a CHEESE SMELLING Chinese food. I mean, cheese is rarely found in Chinese cuisine, and if it is found it's FAKE CHEESE. Cream cheese, cottage cheese, American cheese, powdered parmesan - it's all the same to them (also doesn't help that many are lactose intolerant). 

The main culprit? CREAM. CREAM DOES NOT BELONG HERE. Honey walnut shrimp sauce usually involves condensed milk, sugar, and honey. Never cream. I mean yeah, it adds a creamy texture to the dish - but it's like the creaminess of melted artificial cheese. Honestly, the only way I would be able to eat this is if I held my nose the whole time. But then you can't taste anything! It's lose-lose! 


I really don't get it. At all. I mean, it LOOKS like it's SUPPOSED to taste good! I mean, I can't even give an productive opinion on this sauce. Every time I try to detect what the heck is going on with the sauce, the smell distracts me and renders my tastebuds useless! Is it too sweet? Probably. Does it resemble actual honey walnut shrimp sauce? I can't tell BECAUSE IT SMELLS LIKE CHEESE. I can say moderately nice things about the shrimp - the actual shrimp is not bad. It's a decent size. The breading doesn't become soggy at all. I'm sure they would taste just fine in a different sauce. I mean why not take the contents and dunk it in any really any other sauce that I've reviewed on this blog (orange, sweet & spicy, teriyaki, "Korean" BBQ...). It would still be better! 

BTW, that picture shows the contents of the entire package. Seems like the $6.99 for 20 shrimp is right on track with the inflated restaurant prices. Go figure. Who knew that cream and condensed milk and perhaps some other random stuff would produce a toxic cheese fume. Y'all know me. I love me some cheese. But this here ain't pretty. 

It's just one of those things that is so weird, you can't help but laugh. As far as how bad it is? It's not nearly as bad as the worst TJ's food ever, but if I'm wondering how something compares to that...that ain't good. Google any recipe and make it yourself. Hit up Panda Express. Splurge at any Cantonese restaurant. Any of the above are all better than this. 

**update: I got a refund for this product. My TJ's store manager is CONVINCED that I got hold of a bad batch. I showed her the picture on my phone, and she commented at how funny it looked (could have been the lighting). Still, she suggested I give it another month or two for my repulsion to subside and then give it another try. I'll consider it...but I'm still skeptical.

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Honey Walnut Shrimp. The disgraced, cheese smelling cousin of a distinguished Cantonese banquet food. Shame shame shame. 2 out of 10. 


Comments

  1. You cracked me up 3 times in this review - so funny!

    I completely agree! I purchased 2 bags to make for a group, and fortunately tried it before I did - blech. The sauce kilked it.Now I have a bag of this in my freezer and I was googling ways to make the sauce better. Did not read labels, or realize actual cream was in there.

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    1. If you really can't stomach it, you can always return it :)

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  2. Gross!!! I could've saved you the time and effort and told you not to bother with this! Frozen fried shrimp in any capacity is nasty!!!!! If u make me levain chocolate chip cookies I'll repay u with my fresh fried he tao xia!!! With homemade sauce and candied walnuts!

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  3. I didn't really like the sauce that much either - they made it pineapple flavor, right? Throws it off for me. I'm going to try baking next time but I've just been frying them and then adding them to other things I made like baked chicken or a side with a steak. I think it would be ok if it was honey tasting instead of that weird pineapple taste. Not sure of the smell will check it out again!

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    1. Just not good. If you like this from a Chinese place. Go there!

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  4. Worst thing i've eaten from TJ's

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  5. Ahhhh just got this today and was so excited cause my husband is allergic to shellfish and this was going to be a treat for my daughter and I. Maybe I'll save the sauce for dipping and mix the shrimp with some fried rice.

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    1. You mean "my daughter and me." You wouldn't say "... this was going to be a treat for I." If you were saying "my daughter and I were going to have this for dinner" that's correct since you'd say "I was going to have this for dinner." Get it? You just split up the sentence in order to know to use "I" or "me."

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    2. This is unnecessary FlowerPower. You used more words than the original comment just to correct one small grammar error? Certainly you have something better to do if you are as smart as you try to sound.

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  6. Wish I had found this review before I bought it because it’s truly awful. Was so excited because I love shrimp and the only kind my wife likes is honey walnut so I made some of this for us and it made our entire apartment smell like gym shoes and old cheese :(

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  7. Soooo I wish I would have read the reviews before purchasing......the smell of the sauce yuck.....

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  8. This was absolutely gross. I shivered thinking about the taste and this was just 30mins ago. I had to remake something else to get rid of that taste/smell. Now I am eating something better and googling to see who the hell thinks this product from TJ's was good. I wasn't expecting it to be like the Honey Walnut Shrimps we get when we go to those Chinese banquet dinners but thinking TJ usually have pretty good stuff, it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
    Your reviews is on point 100%. When that sauce came out of the microwave, it smell so weird, like when babies barf up their milk kind bad. I have been traumatized.

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