I would not have known of Rocket Fresh2U grocery and restaurant delivery service if their ad had not appeared in a recent Val-Pak mailer. Advertising works! If there was a perfect food delivery service for the way we eat and cook in our household Rocket Fresh would be it! Processed food, fresh fruit and vegetables, hot entrees … seafood. Examples of what may be on sale at any time are red amaranth, passion fruit … abalone! And speaking of hard to find seafood - wow. Rocket sells live Jonah Crabs, Blue Crabs, Lobster and Giant Mantis Shrimp (1/3 pound) among many other fruits of the sea that you won’t find at your local Safeway.

I have been in contact with Ivan, an owner, but the language barrier has made it difficult to communicate. This is half my fault - I’m a dumb American who could barely get through eighth grade French. It is amusing, though, that some of Rocket’s website (the English version) is lost in translation. When I pointed out some errors and issues with the site, which Ivan is fixing or has fixed, he told me that “the web designers are Chinese.” I kind of figured that - the first receipt I got from them was totally in Mandarin. The second (see photo below) was a mashup of Mandarin and English. Speaking of which - Ivan - you owe me two lobsters! I ordered lobster that never arrived (see note, in Mandarin, in photo below), and because the Rocket website is a bit janky my account has not been credited yet. Fair enough - we’ll give this company time to keep becoming awesome.

Nirvana Wok’s most recent order: the mystery lobster, oysters, a package of spicy Sichuan mustard root, some tiny squid, a pound of Totten Inlet mussels (for $3.59), some seafood mushrooms and matcha nougat candy from Holy Bee’s bakery. And Minced Pork Tofu from Mizuki Sichuan. A very spicy and delicious mix of silken tofu, pork, fermented black bean, chili and Sichuan pepper. It came in a 32 ounce container. Enough – if you added steamed rice – to feed four people.

Other authentic Sichuan delights on the Mizuki menu include Fried Spicy Sea Cucumber, Dry Pot Blue Crabs, Chongqing Style Boiled Duck Blood Curd and Tripe, Dry Pot Fei-Chang (pork intestine), Tofu Pudding Soup with Crab Roe and Dry Pot Frog Legs. Heaven!

Rocket provides delivery from several restaurants: Engimono Ramen & Dim Sum, Mizuki Chinese Food, Mizuki Sichuan, Bistro Box, Five Spice Garden House, Little Ting's Dumplings, Annasea Poke and Holy Bee's Bakery.

If you like to eat and or cook Chinese food Rocket Fresh2U can help! Are you homebound during a pandemic and tired of fighting the crowds at your local corporate supermarket? A seafood lover who craves spicy food? This service is for you.

For those that can afford it, Rocket is providing Christmas Eve and Christmas Day delivery of a 7-8 lb. Live Alaska King Crab ($259), Fried Lobster with Crispy Garlic Hong Kong Style ($42.49) and Beijing Duck ($39.99). Also sushi combos, Sichuan style Spicy Whole Fresh Tilapia and other incredible delicacies.

We’ll do a follow-up article about rocket when we resolve the lobster situation and do another order that we will then process and donate to the food bank. And no - we won’t be splurging on the live king crab. Yes - people who are homeless and or suffering from food insecurity deserve to eat king crab just like the rest of us, but the amount of money spent on that crab could provide dozens of meals that are not crab. Stay tuned to our newsletter, and thanks for subscribing!

-Alex