1. Tu Hai - The Unique "Seafood King" of Cat Ba
Tu hai deserves to be called the "Seafood King" of Cat Ba, with its characteristically sweet, firm, and crunchy meat. This mollusk lives only in the clear waters around Cat Ba Island, making it an exclusive specialty that tourists will find hard to find elsewhere.
Tu hai - A nutritious and precious seafood dish (Image: collected)
The tu hai meat is off-white; when chewed, you'll experience a moderate firmness and the natural sweetness of the sea. Locals often prepare tu hai in many attractive dishes: steamed with ginger, stir-fried with butter and garlic, or even eaten raw with wasabi to fully appreciate its fresh flavor.
The best season for tu hai is usually from September to March of the following year, when the weather is cool and the sea is clear. At this time, the tu hai is firmest and sweetest.
Suggested places to eat delicious tu hai in Cat Ba:
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Quang Tung Restaurant at 250 1/4 Street is famous for its ginger-steamed tu hai; they always choose fresh tu hai to ensure quality.
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Phuong Phuong Restaurant at 232 1/4 Street is loved for its fragrant butter-garlic stir-fried tu hai.
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Vien Duong Restaurant at 12 Nui Ngoc specializes in serving fresh tu hai with rich dipping sauce.
2. Be Be - The Strong Flavor of the Sea
Cat Ba's be be are larger and have firmer, sweeter meat than be be from many other coastal areas. This crustacean has a hard, dark brown shell and characteristically large, strong claws. The be be meat is translucent white; when cooked, it's firm, crunchy, and has a rich, sweet sea flavor.
Mantis shrimp - Delicious dish (Image: collected)
The most common way to prepare it is to steam the mantis shrimp with beer to preserve its natural flavor, or to stir-fry it with tamarind for a sweet and sour taste. Some restaurants also get creative with salt-and-pepper grilled mantis shrimp, creating a crispy and fragrant outer shell.
Suggested places to eat delicious mantis shrimp in Cat Ba:
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Phuong Phuong Restaurant at 232 1/4 Street, the beer-steamed mantis shrimp is always highly rated by diners.
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Vu Duong Restaurant at 250 1/4 Street is known for its tamarind mantis shrimp.
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Hai Yen Restaurant at 196 Nui Ngoc Street specializes in the distinctive salt-and-pepper grilled mantis shrimp.
3. Sea Cucumber - A unique dish from Cat Ba's coastal region
Sea cucumbers are mollusks that live in the crevices of Cat Ba's coastal rocks, with a shape resembling a shiny black fingernail. This is a rare ingredient, only harvestable on calm days so that divers can reach the seabed to collect them.
Sea cucumber is processed into a unique dish (Image: collected)
Sea cucumber meat has a characteristic sweet and fatty taste, often made into sea cucumber salad with fresh vegetables, or delicious egg-fried sea cucumber. Eating fresh sea cucumber with ginger fish sauce is also a favorite choice of many discerning diners.
Suggested addresses to enjoy delicious sea crab in Cat Ba:
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Trúc Quếnh Restaurant at 222 1/4 Street is famous for its fresh sea crab salad.
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Yummy Restaurant at 235 Nui Ngoc Street specializes in egg-fried sea crab.
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Anh Nguyen Restaurant at 187 1/4 Street serves fresh, delicious live sea crab.
4. Cat Ba Groupers - Cat Ba's Premium Seafood
Cat Ba groupers are caught from the deep coral reefs surrounding the island, in an ideal environment of clear blue water. This fish has particularly white, firm, and sweet meat, favored by many high-class restaurants.
Steamed grouper with soy sauce is a traditional way of cooking that preserves the fish's natural sweetness. Grouper hot pot is also a popular choice, especially suitable for family meals.
Steamed ginger grouper (Image: collected)
Suggested addresses to enjoy delicious grouper in Cat Ba:
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Green Mango Restaurant at 256 1/4 Street specializes in traditionally steamed grouper with soy sauce.
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Huong Bien Restaurant at 223 Nui Ngoc Street is famous for its rich and savory spicy grouper hot pot.
5. Cat Hai Fish Sauce - The Essence of Coastal Cuisine
Cat Hai fish sauce is produced from the freshest anchovies in the Cat Ba sea region, through a traditional fermentation process lasting 12-18 months. The product has a clear amber brown color, a characteristic aroma and a balanced salty taste.
Cat Hai fish sauce (Image: collected)
Anchovies are lightly sun-dried before being layered with sea salt in large wooden barrels. The ratio of fish to salt is carefully calculated to create a moderate saltiness. Then, the mixture is fermented naturally, without the use of preservatives or coloring agents.
Suggested address to buy quality Cat Hai fish sauce:
Cat Hai Seafood Processing and Service Joint Stock Company at 178 1/4 Street is a reputable fish sauce producer with a transparent production process and quality-tested products.
6. One-sun dried Spanish mackerel - A rustic dish full of flavor
One-sun dried Spanish mackerel is a unique product of Cat Ba fishermen, processed using a traditional sun-drying method for only one day to retain its freshness and natural sweetness. Unlike ordinary dried fish, one-sun dried Spanish mackerel still retains a moderate moisture content. The dry weather and gentle sea breeze help the fish cook evenly and have a beautiful yellow color.
Attractive one-sun dried Spanish mackerel in Cat Ba (Image: collected)
Address to buy quality one-sun dried Spanish mackerel in Cat Ba:
Cat Ba Market, located on Nui Ngoc Street, is a hub for numerous stalls selling fresh, sun-dried mackerel. Seafood shops along Nui Ngoc Street also offer high-quality products at reasonable prices.
7. Cat Ba Shrimp Vermicelli - A Savory Breakfast with a Rich Seafood Flavor
Cat Ba shrimp vermicelli is entirely different from Hanoi shrimp vermicelli or those from other regions. Instead of using freshwater shrimp like Northern shrimp vermicelli, Cat Ba shrimp vermicelli uses large, fresh, sweet-tasting sea shrimp, creating a characteristically sweet and refreshing flavor. The crab paste in Cat Ba shrimp vermicelli is also made from fresh sea crab, not freshwater crab.
Enjoy the rich seafood flavor of shrimp vermicelli (Image: collected)
Suggested places to enjoy shrimp vermicelli in Cat Ba:
Ba Cu Shrimp Vermicelli Restaurant at 183 Nui Ngoc Street is the oldest and most famous. The restaurant opens at 6 am and usually runs out of food before 10 am due to the high volume of customers.
8. Cat Ba Squid - A Must-Try Specialty
Cat Ba squid is caught from the deep waters surrounding the island, where there is an abundant food source for squid to thrive. This type of squid has firm, sweet meat and is less fishy than farmed squid or squid from other sea areas.
Cat Ba Dried Squid (Image: collected)
Cat Ba squid has transparent skin, white flesh that is not yellow or fishy-smelling. When cooked, the squid meat retains its natural chewy texture and has a rich sweet flavor. Cat Ba dried squid is also highly valued for its natural drying process.
Suggested places to buy quality squid in Cat Ba:
Cat Ba Market on Nui Ngoc Street sells fresh squid from 5 am when fishing boats return to port. Seafood shops along 1/4 Street offer both fresh and high-quality dried squid.
9. Cat Ba Wild Honey - Essence from the Biosphere Reserve
Cat Ba wild honey is harvested from wild beehives in Cat Ba National Park, home to a diverse flora with many rare wild flowers. The product has a deep golden color, a strong aroma, and a characteristically refreshing sweetness.
Cat Ba Wild Honey (Image: collected)
Genuine Cat Ba wild honey has a thick consistency, not too runny, and when dropped into water, it sinks to the bottom before dissolving. The color ranges from dark gold to light brown depending on the type of flower the honey is collected from. The natural aroma of wild honey is very different from farmed honey.
Suggested places to buy reputable wild honey:
Cat Ba National Park producers sell directly wild honey with certificates of origin. Local specialty shops in Cat Ba town also offer reputable products.
10. Cat Ba Sea Crab - The Natural Sweetness of the Sea
Cat Ba sea crabs live in a clear, salty water environment, feeding on small shrimp and seaweed, resulting in exceptionally sweet meat. The crab meat is ivory-white, firm, and sweeter than freshwater crab.
From September to February of the following year is the best season for Cat Ba sea crabs. At this time, the crabs are full of meat, especially female crabs with full bellies of eggs. Male crabs have larger claws and more meat towards the end of the year.
11. Green Crab - Cat Ba's Seafood Specialty
Cat Ba green crabs are larger than regular crabs, with a characteristic hard green shell and strong claws. The crab meat has a rich, sweet flavor and is less fishy than other types of crabs.
Cat Ba green crabs have thicker and harder shells, and the meat is firmer and sweeter than brackish water crabs. Especially, female crabs have bright orange-red eggs that are very delicious and nutritious.
Cat Ba Green Crab (Image: Collected)
Fresh crabs have shiny shells, bright black eyes, and move quickly. When you pick up a crab, it feels heavy and firm. Avoid crabs that smell fishy or have broken shells.
Suggested addresses to enjoy Cat Ba green crabs:
Bien Xanh Restaurant at 198 Nui Ngoc Street is famous for its ginger-steamed green crabs and salt-roasted crabs. The quality of the crabs is always guaranteed to be fresh.
12. Forest Sim Wine - Cat Ba's signature drink
Cat Ba forest sim wine is made from ripe red sim berries picked from the natural forest, with a beautiful purplish-red color and a sweet, mild flavor. This is a traditional drink of the local people, often used during festivals and holidays.
Cat Ba forest sim berries are small but have a rich flavor, containing many vitamins and natural antioxidants. The sim wine after soaking has a moderate alcohol content, is easy to drink and has nutritious effects.
Address to buy delicious forest sim wine in Cat Ba:
Cat Ba regional specialty shop at 203 1/4 Street provides pure forest sim wine with clear origins and guaranteed quality.
13. Cat Ba lobster - The "King" of shrimps
Cat Ba lobsters are raised in sea cages around the island, where the water is clear and rich in oxygen. This shrimp species is large, with firm and particularly sweet and fresh meat, considered the "king" of shrimps.
The lobster meat is translucent white, when cooked it has an eye-catching red-orange color. The natural sweetness of Cat Ba lobster is very rich, often processed into grilled, steamed dishes or made into sashimi.
Address to enjoy delicious lobster in Cat Ba:
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Cat Ba Seafood Restaurant at 216 1/4 Street specializes in cheese-grilled lobster and ginger-steamed lobster.
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Huong Bien Restaurant at 223 Nui Ngoc Street is famous for its fresh and delicious lobster sashimi.
14. Sa Sung - Cat Ba sea's "Cordyceps sinensis"
Sa sung is a rare type of marine worm, known as the sea's "Cordyceps sinensis" due to its high nutritional value. They live in mud and sand at a depth of 10-15m around the Cat Ba sea area.
Sa sung contains a high protein content, many essential amino acids and precious minerals. In traditional medicine, sa sung is considered a nutritious food, good for health and strengthens the immune system.
Suggested address to buy quality sa sung in Cat Ba:
Cat Ba Market on Nui Ngoc Street sells fresh sa sung in the early morning when fishing boats return to port. The price of sa sung is quite high due to its rarity and difficulty in harvesting.
After satisfying culinary experiences, if you want to find another reason to love Cat Ba more, let the jetski show "Green Island Symphony" complete your emotions. Dynamic, spectacular and full of sea inspiration - this special show is becoming an unmissable entertainment highlight on the emerald island this summer.
Cat Ba is truly a seafood paradise with 15 diverse specialties, ranging from fresh seafood to rare forest products. Each dish carries a strong cultural imprint and unique flavor of this land. Come to Cat Ba for a memorable culinary journey!
