Best seafood place @ Haikou
Tried the seafood at Ban Qiao Seafood Plaza & Dongmen market at Qilou old street.
At both places, you buy the seafood ingredients at seafood stalls & than proceed to a processing shop for them to cook. Processing fees apply.
1) /板桥海鲜广场
At this Plaza, on the ground floor, there are many vendors, stalls selling seafood. The processing shops are on the 2nd level & should elderly customers worry about climbing stairs, freak not. There's a lift.
Seafood prices are slightly more expensive vs Dongmen market. Processing fees are more or less similar to Dongmen, around RMB15 for 1jin.
Skillful, light cooking, bringing out the freshness in the seafood. We found it really suited to our palette.
Lady boss also suggested that we use the lobster head to cook porridge.
We loved the crabs best as you can really taste the freshness (一个字，鲜!). This crab is not the usual mud crab in SG. Just for the crab, it cost RMB170 for 1jin.
Total cost: For 6 of us, we spend a total of S$200 for 7 dishes, inclusive of processing fees.
There is a long stretch of wet market shops & stalls selling seafood.
At the end of a stretch, there's a few processing shops to cook the seafood.
We got oysters (RMB5 for 1), a white promfret fish, lobsters, small eel which is said to be delicious & vegetables.
The cooking style here tends to be more intense in the flavoring used, e.g. the 避风港 lobster, which is the style recommended to us by the boss, but our preference is to have lighter cooking to bring out the natural fresh taste in the seafood.
The small eel is a disappointment, hardly any taste. Also, the oysters although big are not as good as oysters from Japan or France in terms of taste.
Total cost: For 6 pax, we spend S$170 for 8 dishes, inclusive of processing fees.
VERDICT:
For cooking skills, 利丽海鲜加工 at Ban Qiao Seafood Plaza is better & all of us are very satisfied with the overall experience.
For cheaper ingredients, you may want to consider the Dongmen market (also known as East Gate market), but you also have to bear in mind, the timing, e.g. when stalls are closing, owners are more willing to negotiate.
#seafood , #haikou , #best , #chinatravel , #foodrecommendations
Having visited both Ban Qiao Seafood Plaza and Dongmen Market myself, I can share some added insights to help any seafood lover plan their Haikou culinary adventure. At Ban Qiao Seafood Plaza, the experience is not just about the freshness but also the finesse in cooking. The processing shops on the second floor have chefs who gently skill the natural flavors, especially noticeable in their garlic steamed lobster and stir-fried crabs, which bring out that unique鲜(fresh) taste not easily found elsewhere. This light cooking approach makes the seafood taste vibrant without overwhelming the palate, which I appreciated after trying more heavily seasoned dishes elsewhere. One useful tip is to try making the lobster porridge using the lobster heads, as suggested by the vendors there. It’s a hearty, flavor-packed way to savor every inch of your seafood purchase. Also, do not worry about mobility; the lift makes accessing the second-floor eateries convenient for everyone, including elderly guests. Dongmen Market, known locally as East Gate Market, offers a bustling wet market vibe with a wide range of seafood. Prices here are more budget-friendly, making it a good choice for those seeking value or buying in larger quantities. However, the cooking style tends to be heavier with more intense seasonings, such as the避风塘 (Typhoon Shelter) style lobsters. While flavorful, I personally found that this overpowers the natural freshness of some seafood. From my experience, the oysters here are quite large but did not match the subtle taste of those I’ve had in Japan or France. The small eel, touted as a local delicacy, was surprisingly bland, so I’d recommend choosing other options if you want to optimize your tasting menu. Another thing to keep in mind is timing when shopping at Dongmen Market; visiting closer to closing time often allows you to negotiate better prices as vendors prefer to sell off stock. Finally, while the overall cost for a group of six was about S$170-S$200, the trade-off between price and cooking quality is clear. If you prioritize skillful, fresh-focused cooking, Ban Qiao Seafood Plaza is your best bet. For a bustling market atmosphere with cheaper buys, Dongmen Market is ideal. Whichever spot you choose, both markets provide an authentic glimpse into Haikou’s vibrant seafood culture, making for memorable and delicious dining experiences.
