Seafood restaurants in Asia
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A
Cha Ca La Vong
The antiquated atmosphere here is legendary, and its rickety floors, overcrowded tables and gruff wait staff live up to the billing. Head straight upstairs for the full-on experience, and leave behind all expectations of a relaxed midday repast. It's a one-dish sweatshop, specialising in cha ca (fish grilled on your table with turmeric and dill, served with cold noodles and peanuts).
reviewed
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B
Zen Seafood Restaurant
The sculpted garden here is indeed quite Zen, with fountains, streams and pools. Popular with Vietnamese high-rollers looking for seafood or suckling pig.
reviewed
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C
Sea Stone Café
Very similar to the next-door Mermaid in style and feel, this chilled-out beachside café knows exactly what Western tourists want from a beach café, and the fish dishes are sensational. Equally sensational are the ocean views and the warm owners.
reviewed
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Restaurante Banza
Considered one of the best restaurants on the island, it's also one of the more expensive. Portuguese owner/chef Antonio serves the freshest seafood, with an emphasis on quality, flavour, oil and garlic. There's plenty to choose from, but the simple meals like garlic tiger prawns are some of the best.
reviewed
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Lam Tong
It doesn’t look like much, sandwiched in between the fancy-pants resorts of Mui Ne, but this family-run beachfront restaurant serves some of the best food in town. Fresh seafood is popular and affordable – the place is always busy with a mix of travellers and locals. There are also some tables right on the sand.
reviewed
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D
Hai San Van Anh
This unassuming spot has been known to overcharge foreigners, though the excellent seafood is still very reasonable by non-Hanoi standards. The gripe may be that the atmosphere is still very much of the Hanoi street variety. If you can live with that, round up some friends and order huge platters of fried squid and some of the city's best French fries.
reviewed
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E
Treasure Island
In an isolated spot in the middle of nowhere, this big, informal seafoodery is popular with Khmers and Asian tourists with a hankering for its 'Hong Kong-style' fish and seafood. Most everything is fresh and housed in tanks, just point to what you want and the staff will pluck it out. Prices are generally reasonable but read the fine print - some items are sold by weight.
reviewed
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F
Happy Seafood Restaurant
The innovative seafood dishes here are – would you believe? – the brainchild of a cocky 23-year-old who is the world’s youngest chef to receive a Cordon Bleu medal. Talented Lau Ka-lun is said to have played truant from school at age 11 so he could cook in his mum’s restaurant. Lau’s signature fried rice with crab roe, scallops and ostrich meat ($88) is literally bursting with creativity. He also does wonders with oysters, a Lau Fau Shan speciality.
reviewed
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G
Sam Ka Tsuen Seafood Precinct
The ‘village’ of Lei Yue Mun is one of Hong Kong’s prime seafood venues; around two-dozen fish restaurants line narrow, winding Lei Yue Mun Praya Rd overlooking the typhoon shelter. The area is a colourful and lively place to dine by the water at night and is always busy. To get here from the Yau Tong MTR station, use exit A2 and follow Cha Kwo Ling Rd and Shung Shun St south for 15 minutes or catch green minibus 24M from outside the station. Bus 14C links the Yau Tong Centre halfway down the hill with the Kwun Tong MTR station.
reviewed
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H
Truc Linh 2
The Truc Linh empire includes three eateries in the heart of backpackersville. Number 2 has a pretty garden setting and serves authentic dishes at affordable prices.
reviewed
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Zeebop by the Sea
Renowned for its excellent seafood – or ‘underwater treasures’, as the restaurant itself describes its cuisine – simple Zeebop, just back from Utorda’s main beach and opposite Kenilworth, is a firm favourite with locals in the know. Closed Good Friday.
reviewed
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I
No Signboard Seafood
The irony of the 30ft crustacean-emblazoned neon signboard seems to escape the diners here – they’re too busy munching plates of white-pepper crab with spring onions and garlic under a fluoro-lit marquee. There’s another branch at the East Coast Seafood Centre.
reviewed
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I-Ta-Lay
I-Ta-Lay is a tasty local joint right along the beach. Not a drop of English is spoken, but the seafood is great and there are plenty of smiles. There are also a couple of bungalows out the back for rent.
reviewed
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J
Bijin-tei
Smiling mama-san sees all at this discrete, seafood izakaya. Point to the menu items already plated – the pickled taco (octopus) is a mouthful – or ask for an o-susume (recommendation). It's on the ground floor of a building containing several snack bars and karaoke joints. Look for the sign with the shop's name on it in kanji: 美人亭.
reviewed
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Bǎolóng Hǎixiān Chéng
Enter the special seafood-filled room by the entrance where the squirming, crawling and swimming creatures are on display. Vegie and cold dishes have marked prices per serve. Seafood is charged by jīn and weighed in front of you. Order what you want and the kitchen will cook it up. Beer is only Y2. Limited English spoken.
reviewed
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K
Café Panda
Contemporary bar meals with an emphasis on healthy seafood dishes are on offer at this classy new establishment decked out in floorboards, white furniture and glass tables. The light electronic soundtrack kicks on until 2am.
reviewed
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L
Gosankeshi
Named after the auspicious carp, this is Kōchi's hottest spot for high quality, affordable seafood. Sweet, pan-fried ebi (shrimp) and delectable tai (snapper) dishes are whipped up on demand by young, affable chefs. It's in the heart of the party district and makes an ideal predrinking feast.
reviewed
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M
Hagi Shinkai
This is a popular seafood joint, a few minutes' walk from Higashi-Hagi Station. Seating is arranged around a large open tank in the floor, so you can peer at the doomed fish as you eat. There's a sashimi teishoku (¥2415), or ask for the manager-recommended Shinkai teishoku (¥1050/1890 at lunch/dinner), which includes sashimi, tempura and chawanmushi (steamed savoury egg custard). Look for the white building with the lighthouse.
reviewed
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N
Hua Hin Koti
Across from the Night Market, this Thai-Chinese restaurant is a national culinary luminary. Thais adore the fried crab balls, while foreigners swoon over đôm yam gûng (shrimp soup with lemongrass). And everyone loves the spicy seafood salad (yam tá-lair) and deep-fried fish with ginger.
reviewed
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Iyara Seafood
Iyara isn't your standard island seafood warehouse: after dining in the lovely bamboo pavilion, guests are invited to kayak along the nearby estuary.
reviewed
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O
Jek Pia Coffeeshop
More than just a coffee shop, this 50-year-old restaurant is another culinary destination specialising in an extensive array of stir-fried seafood dishes. If it is too full to get a seat, you can order from the same menu at the sukiyaki restaurant further south on Th Naebkehardt.
reviewed
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Jintako
Housed in an unassuming beige building (look for the wooden sign) on the waterfront, this restaurant serves formal seafood dinners set to the tune of the tsugaru jamisen, a version of the traditional three-stringed shamisen (guitar). Reservations are necessary – if you don't speak Japanese, ask the staff at tourist information to call for you.
reviewed
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Kandō Asa-ichi
A great option for fresh-fish lovers: select your own seafood and cook it on one of the open-air grills. Shuttles leave from hotels to the market, located on the outskirts of the town; ask your lodging for details.
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Kani-honke
The frigid seas surrounding Hokkaidō are extremely bountiful and yield some of the tastiest crustaceans on the planet. There is no better place to dine on all manner of exotic crab than at the famous Kani-honke, which serves up elaborate kaiseki ryōri (Japanese cuisine following strict rules of etiquette) centred on these juicy little critters. Seasonal set courses are priced according to the size and rarity of the crab, so simply choose depending on how much you want to spend. Don't miss the opportunity to sample the tarabagani (red king crab), which is considered to be the most expensive yet most delicious decapod known to humankind.
reviewed
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Kisuke
Named after an anime character who always arrives in the nick of time, Kisuke has built a reputation for imaginative seafood dishes over the past 16 years. Turning left into a side street off the north end of Ryōgoku Honchō – it's on the first corner. The exterior is a striking, modern design of wood and steel.
reviewed