In most metropolitans around the world, seafood is a true delicacy. In Phuket, it’s almost a commodity. If you’re a seafood feign, that loves to gorge on shrimp of all sizes, scallops, lobsters, clams, razor clams, fish, squid, crab, horseshoe crab… you name it, there’s probably something for you.
Getting to Rawai Seafood Market
Simply put in Rawai Seafood Market in Google maps, Grab app or Bolt app. For those riding their scooter over, there’s free parking right at the pier.
Once you get to Rawai Beach, if you’re facing the pier, to your left will be a row of seafood mongers, restaurants and some shops selling swimwear and fruits. Everyone will try to hustle you, but don’t waiver just yet.
I recommend you to walk all the way down the aisle and checkout which stall has the freshest looking seafood.
Buying Seafood at Rawai Seafood Market
As a quick tip, ordering 250 grams of seafood per person is a very normal portion of food to eat. On one occasion, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we shared 3 llbs of seafood between two grown adults. Way too much food! So, if you want a little of everything, I recommend ordering at 250 grams portion when possible.
Restaurants at Rawai Seafood Market
Restaurants on-site will count the different types of seafood you have, weigh it and offer you a price based on the weight. Between us, the prices are pretty standard across the board, so you don’t have to worry about getting scammed. They will group all of your seafood in a plastic container and weigh it.
At the restaurant, you’ll choose how you want your seafood cooked. If you forgot to buy the seafood, you can order à la carte and they will hook you up, or you can run out and grab your supplies.
Dining at Khun Pha Seafood
It was a great experience. So great that we ate here 3 times! It is located near the end of the Rawai Seafood Market alley. We didn’t have to make reservations to eat there, and they had tables that can easily seat up to 10 people if you want to throw a seafood party fiesta with friends and family members.
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| Khun Pha Seafood Dining Room |
Although there was no air conditioning, they had plenty of fans to keep you cool. Once they weigh your seafood and quote you the cooking cost, you are brought over to your table with a big menu! The menu has many pictures showing you all the ways the cooks can cook your food! They typically fall into similar categories: fried, stir-fried with garlic, steamed, sweet and sour, bbq, you name it!
Here’s a couple of photos showing what they cooked up:
BBQ Shrimp with Garlic Butter
The shrimps were unreal. What you’re seeing here is 1kg of medium sized shrimps that we purchased at about 450 THB (about $12 usd), and the restaurant charged between 70-100 THB (max $3 usd) to bbq it up. Since we were just two, this was way too much for us! It was a magical experience.
If I were to redo this experience again, I think I might buy 250 grams of medium vs. large sized shrimps just to curate a comparison tasting experience for fun!
Salt and Pepper Fried Razor Clams
This was unbelievably delicious. Here we have 250 grams of razor clams. If I remember right, it was about 300 THB. What I didn’t realize when buying this was how meaty they are! So, it really fills you up quick.
Steamed Scallops with Glass Noodles
Absolutely delicious. The scallops were very large, and steamed to perfection. The vermicelli also had a nice soya touch to it, adding more umami flavors. This was topped with chopped green onions and fried garlic. Slurp, slurp!
Sea Bass with Thai Chili Sauce
This was amazing, a little spicy if you’re not into chili. The flesh of the fish just fell off the bone. This was considered a small fish by the market’s standard, and it was about 500 THB.
Yellow Curry Squid
Absolutely amazing, especially if you order rice on the side, which you can for a small buck. You can buy dead or live squid at the Rawai Seafood Market. If you buy live seafood, expect a 60% premium for that！
Stir-Fried Black Bean and Garlic Crab
A classic way to enjoy your seafood among Asian countries. This one is great with crabs as you slurp through the shells, and when you finally make your way to break the crab meat free from the shell, you can dip it in the sauce.
Thai Basil Clams
Our first time going to Khun Pha Seafood restaurant in Phuket, we were a little shy with getting our own seafood, so ordered these clams à la carte. This was about 250 THB. Delicious all the same, even if we did not bargain for it!
However, if you are open to risking food poisoning, there were many folks eating shrimp and lobster raw here! There are even folks who eat live baby squids with a shot of chili sauce and eat it in one gulp, yes their mouths also turn black!
I was a little shy, and did not want to be home bound for the next week. However, if you do spend a month in Phuket, it might be worth a try!
What to do after dining?
Rawai Beach is really not a beach where you can just flaunt your beach body by the sand banks. It truly is a working port.
Take a stroll on Rawai Pier
You can take a walk by the
Rawai Pier located at the opening of the seafood market. You’ll see locals fishing off the pier even when there are signs that say no fishing!
Walk along the entire Rawai Beach Coastline
As you walk towards the scooter parking lot, you can turn left and walk to the end of Rawai Beach. Honestly, it’s not that eventful because it’s hard to get to the sandy banks, you’ll be walking on a sidewalk and passing by other shops and restaurants. But hey, a walk is a walk!
Once you’ve digested your food…
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