Posts Tagged: seafood

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4
May 10

Phat in Hong Kong: Lamma Island

yachting in hong kong
During my weekend in HK, my good friend Anton organized a boat trip around the harbor. The weather was absolutely perfect, and after some swimming, beer-drinking, and all-out relaxation, we asked our skipper to take us to Lamma Island – 南丫島 for dinner. On my previous trips to Hong Kong, I had been lucky enough to make trips out to seafood meccas like Lau Fau Shan and Sai Kung. I am positively starved for fresh seafood here in Shanghai, so I was really excited to feast on Lamma.

lamma island lamma hilton
Lamma is a nice little island with temples, walking trails, and beaches. We didn’t get to explore too much, mostly staying on the main strip with the waterfront restaurants. There are also little shops that sell souvenirs and vendors hawking little snacks. On our boat-momma’s suggestion, we decided to forgo the busier, more popular Rainbow Restaurant and tried out the restaurant on the very end, called the Lamma Hilton.

lamma hilton fish display hong kong
It’s fish display was pretty impressive, with a wide array of shellfish, crustaceans, and live fish. I loved that we were with some Honkies (they knew exactly what to order) and the fact that we were rolling 10 deep. More people = more food!!

poached shrimp lamma island hong kong
We started with poached shrimp. This dish is so simple and delicious. The live shrimp are gently poached for just long enough for the flesh to firm up and turn opaque. The result is perfectly cooked, tender, and sweet shellfish that retains all of its flavor. Goes great with a little dip in just soy sauce and nothing else.

fried calamari lamma island hong kong
The fried calamari had a great crispy batter and came with a lovely sweet and sour dipping sauce.

scallop with black bean vermicelli hong kong lamma island
Cooked scallops served on the half shell with a dressing of vermicelli, black beans fermented with chun pei (spiced, dried orange peel), and green onion.

giant clam with garlic vermicelli hong kong lamma island
These giant clams were really delicious – a sweet, chewy morsel of delicious meat.

lobster yee mien hong kong lamma island
A classic Cantonese seafood noodle – lobster yee mien. The noodles are cooked in a creamy, buttery sauce with lots of onion.

hong kong lamma island grouper steamed
We shared this gigantic grouper fish, or sek ban fresh from the tank. Steamed and garnished with soy sauce and aromatics.. you just can’t go wrong with this dish.

For such a luxurious seafood dinner plus drinks, we only paid around $250HKD or $32USD per person. I can’t even begin to imagine what this meal would have cost in Shanghai!

Enjoy!

Lamma Hilton Shum Kee Seafood Restaurant – 森記酒家
26 Sok Kwu Wan
南丫島索罟灣南段26號
Lamma Island, Hong Kong
+852 2982-8241

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15
Dec 09

Phat in Hong Kong: Sai Kung Town II

After a few appetizers at Michelin-rated Loaf On, we decided to kick back with some beers and some more seafood on Hoi Seen Gai, or Seafood Street..

hoi seen gai

We had walked past a spot with plenty of outdoor seating and the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen..

Sea Urchins
A crate of live urchins! Of course we had to eat here, it was the only spot with the spiky, delicious creatures.

sea urchin
The urchin was served live in the shell – so simple and amazing dipped in soy sauce with wasabi. It was super creamy and rich, truly earning its title as “foie gras of the sea.”

scallops
Although we had only intended to stop by for beer and urchin, we were easily convinced to eat a little more when we took a peek at the restaurant’s seafood display. The scallops were just calling our names..! We had these guys dressed up with soy sauce, vermicelli, green onions, and loads of minced garlic.

razor clams
The razor clams also looked really fresh. This was my first time trying them. We chose to have them cooked up with black bean sauce and chili peppers – a nice, classic Cantonese preparation for clams. Razor clams are interesting – the texture is a bit like a cross between squid and clam. A little chewy, a little resilient, and a lot of delicious.

I forgot to pick up the business card for this restaurant, but its one of the few on the strip that is actually called “Hoi Seen Gai.” It’s towards the boardwalk and you’ll be able to spot it by its live urchins outside. Enjoy!

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15
Dec 09

Phat in Hong Kong: Sai Kung Town I

sai kung
Sai Kung Town is a former fishing village in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Famous for their seafood, they even have a street called Hoi Seen Gai, or Seafood Street! I knew I had to go, especially since Michelin recently awarded a star to a local restaurant called Loaf On (worst romanization ever, its called Look Fook in Cantonese).

We jumped on a minibus in Kwun Tong, Kowloon and about 30 minutes later we were there. Loaf On is situated at the very end of the boardwalk, past all the fancy seafood displays and outdoor restaurants. It was torture walking past other diners as they were digging into plates piled high with fresh clams and whole fish. But soon enough we made our way to our destination.

Loaf On is a very small restaurant – only four family-size round tables. They didn’t have any impressive seafood displays so I was a bit confused as to what all the hoopla was about. In my mind, the more impressive the seafood display, the more delicious the food! Right? Well, we flipped through the menu, which was actually the opposite of impressive and very lacking in the seafood department. But how could this be? I had read about the Michelin-worthy fish, which did not make an appearance on the menu. Turns out you can order any type of seafood you like, and Loaf On will run out to the boardwalk to buy your goods. We settled on a whole grouper and three mantis shrimp to start.

Steamed grouper
The steamed grouper, or sek ban, was well done. Perfectly cooked so the flesh was silky. Although this dish was delicious, can’t really say there was anything special about it. I think my mom makes it better! But then again, I may be biased.

Salt & pepper mantis shrimp
Salt & Pepper mantis shrimp. I’ve had this dish several times now, and this was by far the best rendition. Served on a bed of crunchy bits, the shrimp were well seasoned so that every bite was salty, garlicky, spicy. Yum.

mantis shrimp roe
One of the shrimp was filled with roe. Usually I rejoice at the sight of bright orange eggs, but I think mantis shrimp roe is just not that good. Its quite tough and doesn’t have a lot of flavor. It actually ruined the springy, lobster-like texture of the mantis shrimp. In the end, I picked out the roe and chomped down on the shrimp alone.

osmanthus jelly with goji berries
A lovely dessert of osmanthus flower jelly and goji berries. Very light and refreshing. And pretty!

We only had a few dishes at Loaf On in order to save our stomachs for the rest of our eating adventure. But still the bill was quite expensive – came to $200HKD (~$26USD) a head. It’s a nice restaurant – maybe a good place to take your parents, but there are much better deals to be found around Sai Kung.

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Loaf On
49 See Cheung Street
Sai Kung Town, Hong Kong
+852 2792 9966

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30
Nov 09

Phat in Shanghai: Tong Chuan Lu Seafood Market

For a port city, Shanghai has let me down again and again with its seafood. Most of the fish markets I’ve seen around town are just pathetic – offering some sad looking shrimp and near-death fish. I had been really disappointed with the seafood offerings in this city until we joined Tom & Stella on a journey to the Tong Chuan Lu Seafood Market. From the French concession, the cab ride to the market in Northern Shanghai costs about $30RMB.


Tong Chuan Lu has an impressive array of live seafood; including octopus, conch, several varieties of clams, abalone, and of course – the famed Yangcheng Lake hairy crab. Luckily for us, its the last week of hairy crab season and the females are plump with roe. We stopped into a seafood stall to pick out some hairy-clawed friends.

tying
Once you pick out your hairy crabs, the vendor will hold its legs and claws together and tie it up expertly. It’s best to bring some local friends because the “laowai tax” definitely applies at the seafood market. Seafood is sold by the jin (500g) and some things are a much better deal than others. Our clams only cost $12RMB a jin, but a whole fish can cost around $300RMB (~$44USD)!! Pretty crazy considering I used to buy whole fresh fish in NYC Chinatown for just $7USD. Be careful of shifty vendors – some have remote controls to their scales, and they will jack up the weight on you.

After we loaded up on fresh seafood, we went around the corner to a restaurant called Tian Shang Lai and negotiated on a price for them to cook our recent purchases. The total came to $160RMB (~$23USD) for five of us – including a dish of greens and several bottles of beer.

mantis shrimp
Salt & pepper mantis shrimp. The same as what I had in Hong Kong, except these suckers were much smaller and pretty difficult to peel. Still tasty though.

crab with salty duck egg
Dungeoness crab with salty duck egg yolk sauce. This dish was absolutely fantastic, definitely my favorite of the night. The crab came covered in a sauce made with crab roe and salty duck egg yolk – a combination of flavors that is super rich and full of umami. I’m becoming a big fan of salty duck egg yolk sauce.

hairy crabs!
The main course – hairy crabs! These guys were simply steamed and served with a dish of sweet, gingery vinegar.

cracking open a hairy crab
Cracking open a hairy crab. You can tell the difference between male and female crabs by the shape of their undersides. The male has a triangle shaped flap, while the female has a smooth oval-shaped flap. To crack open a male, you pull back the triangle and pop the shell off. Rip out the air sacs and you are good to go.

male hairy crab
Hairy crab sperm. Man. This stuff is really weird, I have to admit. Its got the consistency of a glue stick but is quite tasty. The orange stuff is money! Better than the best uni you have ever had.

female hairy crab
Hairy crab roe. My favorite! The bright orange roe is flavorful and resembles the texture of a hard boiled egg yolk. Much easier to stomach than the the crab sperm.

An amazing end to the hairy crab season! Til next year!

Target Chinese has a great article on everything hairy crab.

Tong Chuan Lu Seafood Market
Tong Chuan Lu Haixian Shichang
Tong Chuan Lu at Caoyang Lu
Putuo, Shanghai

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Tian Shang Lai Restaurant
436 Lan Xi Lu at Tong Chuan Lu
+86 52667877

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21
Nov 09

Phat in Hong Kong: Seafood in Lau Fau Shan

So Gee had been raving about this seafood spot way up in the New Territories since her visit to Shanghai, so hells yes I had to go! We met up with our friends Minh & Lindsay at their place in the NT and then took a 20 min cab ride to an area called Lau Fau Shan. LFS is waaay up north, you can even see Shenzhen from the coast!


LFS was originally an oyster cultivation village, and is famous for its fresh oysters.

dried oysters
Some vendors along the water were also selling dried oysters (ho si). I brought some back to Shanghai, but I don’t think my fellow airplane passengers appreciated it.

seafood market
Lots of fresh seafood in LFS. After wandering around the wet market we got really hungry, it was TIME TO EAT! LFS is famous for its amazing seafood restaurants.

pissing shrimp
We started with a dish of salt, pepper & chili mantis shrimp, called la nieu ha (pissing shrimp) in Chinese. I’ve never had mantis shrimp before – they are pretty freaky looking, like some kind of millipede crustacean. Gross to look at, but really delicious. The flesh is springy and resilient, like a lobster tail.

black bean clams
Clams stir fried in black bean sauce. A nice classic Cantonese dish. The clams were a good size and meaty. Can you see the fried oysters in the background?

fried oysters
These fresh, plump oysters were sold in the wet market next door in plastic tubes filled with water. pretty cool One of my favorite preparations for fresh, plump, meaty oysters is a roll in batter, a quick dip in the fryer, and served piping hot with red vinegar on the side. I love this dish, jaa sang ho (fried oysters) because the oysters stay juicy from the quick cooking method. These oysters in particular were coated with an extremely light and flaky breading – the same kind you find on fried taro dumplings at dim sum. Served up with a plate of fresh romaine.

hairy crab!
So everyone in China nows that now is the season to indulge in hairy crab. We decided to bump up our cholesterol levels and order some salt-baked hairy crab (yeem gook dai jap hai). This was my first time eating hairy crab and ohhh myyyy gahhhh I totally understand why people love it now. The roe of the female crab is amazing – like a cross between foie gras and the yolk of a salty duck egg. All imbued with crabby essence!

For some reason, even though Yancheng Lake, where the crabs are from, is very close to Shanghai, the crabs in SH are very expensive. They start at around $60RMB a pc, whereas in Hong Kong, I found very fresh, sizable hairy crabs selling for $100HKD / 5pcs. HK > SH!!

seafood fried rice
The restaurant we ate at seemed to specialize in all kinds of seafood dishes, we saw clippings on the wall praising a sea urchin soup – served in shell. Yum! Unfortunately they didnt have this soup so we settled on another of the restaurant’s specialities, seafood fried rice with roe. After a bite of this dish, I’ve decided that all fried rice should have roe in it! The eggs had such a nice refreshing crunch. The rice was also expertly prepared, neither soggy nor undercooked – “good wok-foh (wok fire)” as my mom would say.

We left with our bellies full and all fell asleep in the cab back. Good work, team!

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Happy Seafood Restaurant
Roundabout at Lau Fau Shan, Yuen Long
New Territories, Hong Kong
+852 2472 3450

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26
Sep 09

Phat in Ko Samet, Thailand

Vacation time!!! Destination: Ko Samet, an island just 2 hours south of Bangkok. 10 of us loaded into a van for a drive down to Banphe, where we would continue on a ferry. But first.. a little breakfast!

To me, travel = bad food, fast food, or no food. But in Thailand, food is AMAZING everywhere, even at a ferry pier that smells like dried squid.

samet-ferry
We started they day off right, with eggs served in the form of a super crispy omelette with crab meat, or khia jiao poo (yes, poo = crab). Next up, a super spicy warm salad of bean thread noodles, fresh seafood, chopped carrots, and watercress in fish sauce dressing.

samet-boat
Bellies full, we boarded the ferry for a 45 minute ride to Koh Samet. Some of us got seasick. :(

samet-beach
Finally, we reached the island, specifically, Ao Vongduern Beach. The beach is situated around a protected bay, so the waters are crystal clear and really calm. Ahhhh.

We stayed at a sweet little place Lulie’s friends booked for us – its called Vongduern Villa. I loved this place. It was on the quiet end of the beach, offered thai massage, and best of all – SERVED BOMB FOOD.

samet-padthai
Pretty much the moment we got there, we started filling our bellies. Nothing quite like some serious pad thai on the beach!

samet-roti
A short stroll along the water led us to dessert. I loved this sweet snack of freshly griddled roti wrapped around super ripe banana, then laced with condensed milk and sugar. MMMMMM. Notice a piece is missing… i was too tempted to wait to take a photo first! haha.

Ao Vongduern is awesome because although you are surrounded by a ton of restaurants, its not overdeveloped or overrun by tourists. (I only counted 3 ill-fitting speedos) Maybe we just got lucky because its the low season?

After an early morning of swimming, we were tempted by the smell of charcoal and grilled seafood. So we dried off and hit up the restaurant in the Seahorse Resort.

samet-fish
We had an amazing whole grilled fish, coated in rock salt and stuffed with lemongrass, ginger, and other aromatics. It was amazing. Super tender, simple, and incredibly flavorful! Just what i wanted.

samet-cockles
Steamed cockles and grilled pork neck helped round out the meal. Apparently grilled pork neck is not easy to find in the states, I guess because “neck” never sounds good on a menu? But man, it is so good. Amazingly tender.

Ahh Ko Samet, you were good to my belly. See you next time!

Vongduern Villa
Ko Samet, Thailand
Tel: +66-38-644260
www.vongduernvilla.com