Instagram Food Wars: The Annual Crab Rangoon Challenge

Yeah, this is the first edition of the Annual Crab Rangoon Challenge but there are just too many Crab Rangoons to judge effectively so after some contemplation, I decided to take 'em three at a time.

Why Crab Rangoons? I love me a good Crab Rangoon. To me, the excellence of a Chinese restaurant is measured solely in it's crab rangoons. Perfect ones have the best balance of cream cheese and crab and are warm enough that the cream cheese has just a touch of melty cream cheesy goodness about it. They can be a culinary experience all in themselves or totally terrible and lacking in both crab and the necessary rangoon portion of the morsel.

When this quest will end? I don't know... but it seems like a fun and delicious holiday tradition to start. (For the record and I know I keep referencing this long forgotten Mecca of Chinese Cuisine a lot, but Easy Place Chinese Place? Best Crab Rangoons EVER. Had the perfect balance of crab and cream cheese. Or maybe that's just nostalgia for that lost semester of Chinese delivery food in my undergrad years.)

2012's edition begins at Thai Flavors:

Perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing of our trio, Thai Flavors offers the right amount of crunch and Thai Sweet Chili sauce for your dipping pleasure. The cream cheese is good and melty and there's a nice burst of crab to round it out nicely.

Next up, we throw y'all a curveball with an offering from JoJo's Asian Foods up at NewBo City Market in Cedar Rapids. (You should go there. Now. Well, maybe not right this second- but go. Soon.)

I'll give two thumbs up to the food at JoJo's but their crab rangoon (carefully saved until last) was amazeballs. Crunchy goodness and the crab/cream cheese balance was perfect. The piece de resistance: a hint of curry! Made the experience.

Finally, we've got the old stand-by: Hy-Vee. I'll give you a hint- they're probably better fresh but if you're lazy (like me) or slammed for time and crab a six pack of these bad boys out of the cooler, there's something you've got to know:

You can't over microwave these bad boys. I'd say about a minute would be perfect- don't, whatever you do, go for the maximum of 2 minutes suggested on the label. That's bad, baaaaaaad news because you risk burning them. I'll admit I'm sort of kicking myself for not getting fresh ones here but semi-fresh, Hy-Vee is still a playah in the crab rangoon wars.

So which cuisine reigned supreme? I'm going to give the nod to JoJo's this year- not only is their Asian food fresh and delicious- but their rangoon had crunch, chewiness, the perfect blend of crab and cream cheese and it's the hint of curry that put it over the top.

2012's Winner of the (now) Annual Crab Rangoon Challenge: JoJo's Asian Foods