Chaozhou Highlight: Marinated Raw Seafood
When people ask me what my favorite memory of my culinary trip through the south was, one of the highlights I always mention is the marinated raw seafood in Chaozhou (生腌海鲜). I am not one to usually enjoy raw seafood, so the fact that this was one of the most eye- and palate-opening experiences is all the more amazing!
The evening before, we had seen a huge line at this store on the busy street 开元路 just to the west of the intersection with 上西平路. It’s called Yuan Dan Jiu Liao (圆蛋酒料), literally “round egg wine cuisine,” so we actually didn’t register what the restaurant was about.
But we learned that it was a place for Chaoshan cuisine’s famous marinated raw seafood, so we returned the next day. The line wasn’t so bad when we got there.
They pass you a pad of paper with a pen to write down your order.
And then you hand your order to the server; I think there’s inevitably some discussion that happens at this stage too.
They’ve got basins full of marinated seafood in front, and then they cut or snip to make the eating easier for you.
We got four varieties. Everything’s technically “to go,” but there are a few tables behind the serving counter where you can eat in; I staked out a table while my friend ordered.
My favorite of the bunch was this “three eyed crab” (三目蟹). The texture, the balance of savory and acidity: perfection.
We also got crab full of crab eggs. This was actually partially frozen, and was a bit too salty for me.
I loved the shrimp too, cut in half. The texture was super firm, and also had that blend of salty and acidity and aromatics.
The oysters were good too, but I personally don’t like the texture of raw oysters as much.
I was impressed that we finished it all!
It was cool sitting in the back, because we could see where they did the marinating.
And we could see the ingredients too. Basically some very common household ingredients. There must be a magic in the combinations.
The hours on Dazhong Dianping say 15:00-02:00 in the morning, every day of the week. I love how late they’re open!
