Maggie Tulliver
Hua Hin is well noted for its excellent sea food. You come across sea food in different varieties such as blue crab and tiger prawns. Then you will be able to witness different ways of preparations: steamed, grilled, deep-fried and hotpot.
This is the all time favourite in Hua Hin. If you care for appetizers, you should not miss this spicy blue crab papaya salad. The taste is very much in the fusion of spice and sour. Som tam come from the northeast of Hua Hin. And beware! Som Tam could be addictive – very much! If you have no idea where to buy them, consult Anantara Hua Hin Resort & Spa, a Hua Hin Restaurant, for more information.
Another highlight on Hua Hin's food menu, Kan Chian Pu Nueng is a stylish dish. A crab, when it is cooked under normal circumstances , is hard to eat. You need to crack the crab and you will more likely bungle it up. A steamed crab gives you no such troubles. You can enjoy it in its full. It is simply a matter of dipping it in the spicy seafood sauce.
The scent is the first hint. It is a nice fusion of fragrant lemongrass, chillies, galangal, lime leaves, shallots, lime juice and fish sauce. Tom yam would suit any other dish you will have in Hua Hin. In fact it is a versatile meal.
Babylon Snails is a popular delicacy among tourists visiting Hua Hin. But you cannot find it easily available on the menus. If you are simply curious as to how the cuisine is prepared, the snails are done into a wok along with garlic, wild ginger, fresh peppercorns, bird's eye chillies, sweet basil and roasted chilli oil.
Au Suan is a popular delicacy in Bangkok too. Its taste depends very much on its freshness and other ingredients: oyster, raw egg and plump oysters. They are stirred thoroughly with diluted tapioca starch solution and a dash of quality oyster sauce to follow. The first sight of the dish will make you fall in love with it as it is served on a searing hotplate.
Steamed Seafood Custard is usually made with freshwater fish. But the taste depends on the variety of fish. The dish contains other seafood such as mussels, squid and shrimp. The dish gives a unique taste as it is blended thoroughly with coconut cream and red curry based and served in a coconut shell.
You can easily find this on most menus in Hua Hin. It is a good appetizer especially when you have steamed rice. The whiting is made of salt-water fish commonly found in the gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea. The fish is marinated in a garlic peppercorn batter to give a better taste.
