About Ban Than to eat seafood

2(1).jpg — The sea area of Ban Than - Hon Mang - Hon Dua is famous for its precious seafood.

Fresh food

People who choose to travel to the sea often want to satisfy two things - enjoy fresh seafood dishes and immerse themselves in the peaceful, fresh scenery of the ocean.

Perhaps because of this, the famous tourist attractions of Ban Than – Hon Mang – Hon Dua are chosen by many tourists. Especially young people, they camp or organize parties right on the beach. Fish, squid, oysters… are fresh, enough to make them come back a few more times.

Le Thanh Hieu - a student from Nghe An studying in Da Nang , wandered here. Hieu said that he and his group of friends decided to choose Tam Hai island commune as one of the check-in points for this backpacking trip.

The island commune has two ferry piers, making it convenient to travel by motorbike to camp on the mountain top near Ban Than. “My group was able to buy fresh seafood at cheap prices and ask the locals to prepare dishes upon request. This is more interesting than other beach tourist destinations,” Hieu shared.

Still, the dishes of the coastal villagers never need many spices or eye-catching decorations. Simply bring crabs, crabs, fish… boiled, grilled or steamed. Because the ingredients themselves are fresh and delicious, they just need to be cooked to retain their characteristic flavor.

The cuisine of Ban Than region still maintains a simple processing style when seafood is often steamed, boiled or grilled to preserve its natural flavor. Photo: H.D

Ms. Huynh Thi Thy said that her restaurant attracts tourists thanks to its delicious food. “Although the restaurant is simple and located under a coconut forest, everyone who comes here always comes back to order food. Because the fresh seafood is caught by fishermen in the village and brought in every morning. Customers in the city are tending to return to the rustic, simple way of eating of their ancestors in the past,” Ms. Thy said.

Bring home the gift of the sea

The “secret” when traveling to Ban Than – Hon Mang – Hon Dua is to choose the spring months, when seafood resources are abundant. Old fisherman Nguyen Ngoc Tho, Thuan An village said that the reefs here are home to hundreds of precious and special seafood species.

After Tet is the season for green crabs and cuttlefish. “The crabs this season are firm, only about 6-7 crabs make one kilo, and the cuttlefish can weigh one and a half kilos, so they are very attractive,” Mr. Tho shared.

Fishermen usually return to shore early in the morning, so visitors can only buy seafood to take home if they wake up early. Or ride back to the commune center, where there is a small roadside market that meets in the morning and afternoon.

Among the specialties growing from the reefs, seaweed jam has become a product that everyone wants to bring back. This type of seaweed usually only grows on rocks for about 3 months. Near Tet is the season for harvesting seaweed jam for local people. When the tide is low, they will go to the rocks to pick it by hand. The price of 1 kg of fresh seaweed jam is about 1 million VND and dried seaweed costs more than 3 million VND. With its refreshing effect, rich in nutrients, and easy to prepare, it is not difficult to understand why this is the dish chosen by tourists as a gift from the sea.

The cuisine of the island is not only fish and shrimp. Seaweed and clams are also listed as seafood specialties. Going up Bai Bac, after about a kilometer, a large rocky reef appears. It is also the largest clam raking site in Tam Hai island commune. People here rake clams all year round, and every time the water is low, women take the opportunity to dig under the rocky reefs or on the gravel.

“There are countless clams. This is a gift from heaven to our homeland. Tam Hai clams have delicious and sweet meat, so they are very popular with tourists. Recently, many tourists have come here, they like to buy directly from us to take away to be processed, serve for camping trips or ask restaurants to process for them” – Ms. Tran Thi Bich Lien, a resident of the island commune said.

Tam Hai authorities have recognized the strengths of their homeland. “Seafood cuisine is a great advantage to attract tourists and this is also the reason why they return to Tam Hai. Seafood dishes in the island commune are not only fresh and delicious but also have quite affordable prices and there is no need to worry about the situation of “ripping off” that occurs in some places” - Vice Chairman of Tam Hai Commune People's Committee Do Kim Hung said.

A bowl of seaweed soup has just been served. Not to mention, a plate of steamed squid that is sparkling. What are you waiting for? You are invited!

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