Bib Gourmand Award-Winning Southern Thai Seafood
by Beer Hima, Bangkok, Thailand
Beer Hima is an award-winning Southern-Thai seafood restaurant located in one of Bangkok's northern neighborhoods. Having won Michelin's coveted Bib Gourmand award for delicious and affordable food for five consecutive years, Beer Hima is a fantastic place to try all sorts of tasty, unique, and traditional Thai seafood dishes.
This family run restaurant has brought their seafood recipes from Nakhon Si Thammarat province in the far south of the country to Bangkok to bring their delectable food to the capital.
I visited Beer Hima the other day for a phenomenal five-course seafood meal of crab fried rice, clams with chili paste and basil, cumin and garlic fried fish, prawns with bitter beans, and deep-fried softshell crab with garlic.
 |
| Award-Winning Southern Thai Seafood at Beer Hima, Bangkok, Thailand |
The restaurant's name, "Beer Hima", literally means "snowy beer". It's named after a special semi-frozen slushy beer drink that they serve along with their seafood. It's icy, cold, and very refreshing, especially if you order something spicy or if it's a very hot day.
 |
| "Beer Hima" - Thai slushy iced beer |
Stir-Fried Clams with Chili Paste and Sweet Basil
Our first dish was a plate of clams stir-fried with chili paste (don't worry, it's not spicy) and sweet basil. The clams take on all the flavors of the sweet chili paste and basil and come out super soft and delicious.
 |
| clams with chili paste and sweet basil |
The chili paste that is used as the base is rich and sweet, and packed with delicious umami flavors. The clams, like all of the seafood served at Beer Hima, come fresh every day. The clams open up when they are cooked, and, unlike mussels, they come out of the shell very easily with just a spoon or fork.
 |
| southern Thai seafood dish - clams with chili paste and sweet basil |
Cumin Fried Fish with Garlic
Next up was a platter of super crispy fish deep-fried with cumin and topped with fried garlic. They fish are so small and are so crispy that you can just eat the entire thing; there's no need to worry about the bones!
 |
| cumin fried fish with crispy deep-fried garlic |
The cumin gave the salty fish a slightly sweet, earthy, curry sort of flavor. The fish themselves are a bit salty, but the saltiness is reduced by the flavors of the garlic and spices used in frying the fish.
 |
| crispy fried fish with garlic and cumin, Bangkok, Thailand (southern Thai seafood) |
Khao Pad Bu, or Crab Fried Rice
Of course, no Thai seafood meal is complete without a plate of khao pad bu, or crab fried rice. The rice was stuffed full of pieces of sweet, fresh crab meat. Although pretty standard, a plate of crab fried rice is always a good choice.
The rice was served with the requisite cup of fish sauce and sliced chili, which I don't usually add to my dish. It also came with the common toppings of sliced cucumber, green onion, and cilantro, which add to the herbal flavors of the dish.
 |
| khao pad bu, or crab fried rice, in Bangkok, Thailand |
Kung Pad Sator, or Stir-fried Prawns with Bitter Beans
Following that, we had Beer Hima's signature dish, and the one that is featured in the Michelin guide! The guide translates the name to "prawns with bitter beans", but the Thai name really means "prawns with stink beans" due to the Parkia speciosa bean's super strong smell.
 |
| stir-fried prawns with stink beans at Beer Hima Seafood Restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand |
These beans are actually Parkia speciosa, a large flat green bean commonly known as "sator beans", "twisted cluster beans", "bitter beans", or "stink beans". The strong smell and bitter flavor of the beans is said to be reminiscent to, yet stronger than, that of cabbage. The beans share the same chemical compounds and sulfuric flavor profiles with exotic ingredients such as truffles or shiitake mushrooms. They are supposed to be very good for your health and are commonly used in Indian and Southeast Asian cuisine.
 |
| bitter beans and shrimp, southern Thai seafood dish, Bangkok, Thailand |
Don't be put off by the name, though, the flavor of the beans is something like a strong asparagus, and the scent and slightly bitter flavors are cut by the delicious shrimp meat and rich red curry paste that the whole dish is stir-fried in. There's a reason that this dish won Michelin's award!
 |
| shrimp with bitter beans (stink beans), Thai seafood dish |
Garlic Softshell Crab
Finally, a personal favorite of mine, deep-fried softshell crab with garlic. What more can I say? You cannot go wrong with this dish.
 |
| softshell crab deep-fried with garlic in Bangkok, Thailand |
The crab came with a serving of the traditional chili dipping sauce, but Beer Hima's softshell crab was so good that it really didn't need any sauce at all. The crab had a fantastic, satisfying crunch, and the fried garlic which is not only infused into the crab but also sprinkled generously on top just make this dish perfect.
 |
| Thai fried softshell crab with crispy fried garlic and chili sauce |
More great Bib Gourmand Restaurants
>> https://www.theworldofstreetfood.com/search/label/Bib%20Gourmand
Menu and Price
The menu is printed in Thai, so if you can't read the language, bring a Thai friend or be prepared to use the translation app on your phone. The staff can speak English, though, and will be able to help you. There are so many options on the menu that you will certainly find something you love.
 |
| Beer Hima seafood restaurant menu with images |
The entire five-serving meal plus two beers came out to an incredible 1300 baht, or just around $35 US dollars, which is an incredible deal!
It's no wonder that they won the Bib Gourmand award, which is given for "simple yet skillful cooking". Everything we ate was delicious, and the portions were so big that we had to take our leftovers home for the next day.
 |
| Beer Hima seafood restaurant in Bangkok Thailand menu and prices |
The restaurant is huge with lots of places to sit, and can obviously get very busy, but we arrived around 11am just as they opened to beat the rush. The staff are super friendly, and the service is remarkably quick considering that each dish is made fresh as you order it.
 |
| Beer Hima - award-winning Thai seafood restaurant in Bangkok |
What a fantastic meal! I will definitely be coming back here, especially since the price was so reasonable. This doesn't even have to be a special occasion sort of place.
 |
| a huge Thai seafood meal at Beer Hima in Bangkok, Thailand |
More amazing seafood from The World of Street Food
More of our favorite Southern Thai dishes
Location
Beer Hima is located at 12/12 Thetsaban Songkhro Rd, Lat Yao, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900. The closest metro station is on the SRT Red Line at Bang Khen Station, although it's still a short drive to the restaurant, and I wouldn't recommend walking. The best way to get to the restaurant is to take a taxi or hire a driver via the Grab app.
 |
See the map below for the exact location.
Comments
Post a Comment