Ready-to-Eat Crispy Squid Heads. I can't even begin to tell you how delighted I was to find this snack on my latest excursion to A. Dong Supermarket in West Hartford. I just looked at the photo on the package and was overwhelmed with the urge to buy it.
I got home and ripped open the package. A strong but clean aroma of fried clams slapped me in the face, and I peered inside the bag to find it filled with lightly breaded squid tentacle bunches, fried until crispy, fairly beckoning me to reach in and GRAB THEM AND NOM.
I managed to control myself long enough to take some pictures.
You can see how deliciously delicate the tentacles are. They're covered, as I said, in a light crunchy breading. And they are scrumptious, though not in the way that I expected them to be.
Because when I smelled their calamarish perfume and saw that they were indeed actual squid tentacles, I expected an assertive squid flavor, which is not actually what I got. No, the flavor is subtle and almost ethereal rather than bold and clammy. These tasty morsels are close cousins to those tins of French-fried onions that people dump out onto green beans at Thanksgiving time, only with a hint of seafood flavor replacing the onion taste.
Despite the gentleness of the squid taste, I found myself really enjoying them. They were crunchy and satisfying and there was just enough in the package to make a perfect snack. I am really glad that I bought two of them while I was there, so I can treat myself to them again without having to make the road trip out to West Hartford for them.
Hi Dave,
ReplyDeleteI've been reading your blog for a while and have commented once or twice but today I thought of you while I was out and about in Vernon. There's a somewhat new produce place in Vernon/Rockville on 83. They have some interesting things there other than produce and seem to be run by an Indian family. I saw a few jar products that would interest you as well as other packaged treats. I wasn't sure if you had ventured in there before. It's was previously a Movie rental place and is right between a Family Dollar and a Dunkin Donuts on Rt 83. I wasn't brave enough to buy anything other than my produce there but if anyone would try a package that they couldn't read, it would be you!
I just found your blog, and let me tell you I LOVE A Dongs!
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