Listly by Joanna James
As one of Thailand's most popular seaside resort towns, Hua Hin is a foodie's dream come true due to the availability of fresh seafood. Here are 10 dishes every traveller must sample in Hua Hin.
Also known as Steamed Crab Wing, a plate of Kan Chiang Pu Nueng is the perfect pick me up after a day of sightseeing. Offering diners the pleasures of a well-steamed crab without the hassle of having to deal with the shells, the dish offers bite-size portions of just the meat. A spicy seafood sauce is also served alongside the popular starter dish for diners to dip into which adds to the flavour of the crab intensely.
This deep-fried oyster pancake is another dish that's equally popular in the Thai capital but the Hua Hin incarnation of this dish is decidedly better than the Bangkok version. Oysters and raw eggs are tossed into the wok before a tapioca starch mixture is poured into the wok. A sprinkle of oyster sauce completes the dish which is served on a hot plate to maintain the heat of the dish.
As a veritable delicacy of sorts in Hua Hin, the spicy blue crab papaya salad is the perfect palette cleanser for a hearty Thai meal. The dish which is a combination of Isan province's Som Tam dish and the blue crabs found in Hua Hin, this appetizer is a delectable mix of sour and spicy flavours. Crunchy and refreshing, the Som Tam Pu Ma is served in most restaurants.
If Hua Hin has a favourite seafood soup or broth it is surely the Tom Yam Goong spicy shrimp soup. Fragrant and flavourful, the soup is infused with lemongrass, galangal ginger, Kaffir lime leaves and fish sauce to create a broth that's as spicy as it is sour.
As far as seafood custards go, the Haw Mok Talay is a delicious Thai dish that's made using fresh freshwater fish, squid, shrimp and mussels. Coconut cream and Thai red curry paste add flavour to this wholesome dish that's served in the emptied out shell of a coconut.
Garlic fried sand whiting is commonly featured in most Thai restaurants as a starter or an a la carte dish that's served alongside steamed jasmine rice. Salt water fish are abundantly found in the seas around Thailand and the fish is marinated in a batter of garlic peppercorn before being deeply fried to perfection.
As a dish that's not only served in Hua Hin restaurants but all across Thailand, Pad Thai in Hua Hin is especially delectable due to the use of fresh seafood. While those based at Holiday Inn Vana Nava Hua Hin and other similar hotels may have had their share of Pad Thai in Bangkok, sampling the Hua Hin incarnation of the noodle meal is a must.
Another popular accompaniment to fragrant rice, the green chicken curry in Hua Hin is made using green curry paste and coconut cream. In addition to the meat, vegetables such as bamboo shoots and eggplants are also infused into the dish.
Babylon snails are roasted in steaming hot chilli oil to make this traditional Hua Hin dish that's not listed in many menus.
This stir-fried Morning Glory dish features birds eye chillies and a host of sauces including oyster sauce and fish sauce before being tossed in with fermented beans.