The wait at Boiling Crab can be more than two hours. Sometimes people are turned away when they arrive too close to closing time. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Cracked and shredded shells pile up in front of diners. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Cindy Huynh, 27, Buc Nguyen, 26, Kim Nguyen, 26, and Nancy Nguyen, who was celebrating her 26th birthday, dine at the Boiling Crab in Little Saigon. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Baochan Tran, left, and Lisa Doan eat Cajun-style crayfish at the Boiling Crab restaurant in Westminster’s Little Saigon. The lobster-like dish that at first intimidated local diners has become a craze. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
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Tony Nguyen and Anne Vo try their hands at the crustaceans served in steaming plastic bags and then dumped on the tabletop. The Boiling Crab has lines out the door nearly every night, and about a dozen imitators have popped up in storefronts nearby. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
A steaming bag of Cajun-style crayfish, sausage and corn is popular fare in the Gulf Coast, where Boiling Crab owner Dada Ngo lived before opening the restaurant in Orange County. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Shells pile up as a group enjoys a meal. “We thought it would be fun to bring to California what we really liked in the Midwest and South,” Ngo said. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
