I recently spent 10 days in Thailand on vacation, with most of it spent in Phuket where it can be a seafood-lovers dream. One of the main reasons for choosing Thailand as this year’s vacation destination was the food.
I was stopped in my tracks by this sight as I walked along the shops and restaurants of Patong Beach around dinner time. It is quite commonplace for the restaurants to load up large open display coolers with ice and fan out all types of fresh seafood – caught that very day – to tempt the tourists.
The crabs were quite beautiful with their sky blue speckled shells and legs. One of the crabs bore a black and orange stripe pattern in the center of the display. I suspect that these are the crabs that Philips Seafood, a popular regional U.S. seafood restaurant chain and packing company, uses in their crabmeat found in our grocery stores. I read that they get 99% of their seafood from Thailand. They and their employees were impacted by the Tsunami in 2005.
You can see the Asian Oysters, presumably the same species that are being considered for restocking the Bay in the far right of the image.
A continuation of the same display has a large contingent of grouper, above.
The one thing that sticks out for me in this display is the lack of meaningful size difference between the shrimp and the lobster. Those are some very jumbo shrimp. Note the beautiful green lips on the mussels to the left.
I did get to have a large grilled lobster for lunch – the species in the center. In a place where a couple can eat a substantial and delicious meal in a nice Thai restaurant for around $12 total (we once ate for $6, combined), the seafood is where they can strip your wallet. One of the lobsters in the above image can go for $70 U.S., priced by the 100g.
I would go back there in a heartbeat for the (sea)food alone. The sunny beaches are the icing on the cake.
Related items for sale - hover mouse for more information
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
