Seafood, Thai Style

There's nothing quite like Thai seafood, some of the freshest and most delicious in the world! Of course, on Koh Larn, all of the seafood is caught fresh daily.

order seafood by weight

While visiting Koh Larn Island, I probably ate way too much seafood, but it's so hard to resist when there is so much delicious and fresh seafood to enjoy! We enjoyed our seafood "Thai-style", which means that instead of ordering it at a regular restaurant, we visited a special sort of restaurant with rows of tables full of fresh fish, prawns, crabs, and shellfish. There, you just fill up a little plastic basket with whatever you want and pay by weight. We ate like this for two of the three nights that we stayed on the island.

horseshoe crab

One of my very favorite Thai seafood dishes is called "pla pao". A fish is stuffed with lemongrass and rolled in sea salt to create a thick crust. Then, the fish is grilled over hot coals. The salt keeps much of the moisture in, keeping the fish juicy and tender. The salt and lemongrass add a strong herbal flavor. The fish is dipped in a spicy green chili sauce (optional, but I like it!) and eaten fresh, moments after coming off of the grill.

the fish is rolled in sea salt, stuffed with lemongrass, and grilled over charcoal

freshly grilled salt fish

Pinky is especially fond of crabs, and even more so when they are full of eggs!

fresh crabs

My very favorite dish, though, is "hoi shell". The scallops are cooked in garlic and come out dripping in butter. As you say in Thai, "aroi maak" (delicious)!

hoi shell!

seafood dinner

On the third and final night on the island, we decided to do something a little bit different. Instead of ordering at the restaurant, we visited the local market and ordered fresh food to take back to the guesthouse. We wanted to enjoy our meal while overlooking the sea.

grilled salt fish at the market

Again, we just ordered whatever we wanted from the vendors who grilled it all up right there for us and packed it in a bag for us to take away. This time, we had salt fish, scallops, mussels, grilled prawns, grilled squid, a big order of crab fried rice, and a couple of Beer Chang.

grilled squid and prawns

There was no better way to spend the last evening on the island than with an amazing meal and a beautiful view.

dinner by the sea