New Year Lunch on Highway One

The Vietnamese love seafood. And a number one treat is to go out for a special seafood meal. So the string of seafood restaurants south of Thanh Hoa on Highway One are onto a good thing. A big new restaurant opened just under a year ago right by the bridge among the shrimp farms. It is run by Mr Thao and his family, and uses his and his wife's name for the establishment "Thảo Thủy". Thảo's father and wife cook with the help of several staff..

January 2011

Restaurant on Highway One
Restaurant on Highway One

The experience starts with the curious spectacle of a young person gesticulating violently at the roadside, as though a dire event has occurred, Westerners might shun such disorderliness, but the Vietnamese seem attracted. Thảo Thủy Restaurant - Fresh Sea Food
Thao Thuy Restaurant - Fresh Sea Food Hailing Customers
Hailing Customers Additional Dining room by the River
Additional Dining room by the River Selecting the room to use
Selecting the room to use Despite or because of the performance we pull in and go to select a suitable room; upstairs, front, back or, as we chose, in the thatched room by the river. Ordinary outside...
Ordinary outside... ...tanks of exotic fish within
...tanks of exotic fish within Having organised a table to be placed where we want, the men go through to consider the eating possibilities in a series of purpose built tanks. The show piece is a three lb. lobster at £50 - 150 bottles of beer. Fifty pounds Stirling of lobster
Fifty pounds Stirling of lobster The expensive Mẹm fish
The expensive Mẹm fish Restaurant's Kitchen
Restaurant's Kitchen The tables ready for the meal
The tables ready for the meal We decline the luxury items and have special large sea snails (which personally I find inedible), delicious huge shrimps 8 inches long, large sea crabs and two types of fish. Shrimps and snails come first
Shrimps and snails come first The men (owner centre) drink...
The men (Owner centre) drink... Often for the men little eating is done. Drinking always has priority, three bottles (50cc) yesterday, means the women and children get choice bits while the men extol, explore, examine and argue. ...whille the women just are happy!
...whille the women just are happy! The owner's father relaxing after cooking
The owner's father relaxing after cooking Passing boat rowed by foot
Passing boat rowed by foot The table at the meal's end
The table at the meal's end The main meal over, or enough drink taken and, like a version of the mad hatter's tea party the whole company up and over to a new table for fruit, tea and those vital tooth picks.





The Desert Table
The Desert Table The exceptional prawns in a grained rice batter were 5 beers each and the whole meal around 30 beers each - cheap for what it was here, but 10 times a normal meal, and probably better value than £60 meal in Scotland.