"Insane" Lump Crab Fried Rice and Stir-Fried Mantis Shrimp with Garlic at Here Hai, Bangkok, Thailand
"Insane" Lump Crab Fried Rice and Stir-Fried Mantis Shrimp
by Here Hai, Bangkok, Thailand (Ekkamai)
Here Hai is a Michelin Bib Gourmand award-winning seafood restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand's Ekkamai neighborhood famous for their "insane" crab fried rice.
Here Hai opens at 10:00am, and when I arrived around 9:45, there was already a long queue. The restaurant was popular even before it first appeared in the Thailand Michelin Guide, and nowadays, it's busier than ever. I was lucky to get a seat when they opened, but everyone behind me in the line had to wait, and by the time I left, the queue was stretched around the block. I recommend arriving early to avoid the crowds, otherwise, be prepared for possibly a fairly long wait.
Here Hai's signature dish is their "insane" crab fried rice (400 THB). I paid 40 baht extra to get their lump meat crab fried rice, which was topped exclusively with the fatty lump meat from fresh, sweet, and juicy Thai blue swimmer crabs, and that was precisely what I was here to eat!
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| "insane" lump crab fried rice at Here Hai, Bangkok, Thailand |
All of the seafood served at Here Hai, including crabs, shrimp, prawns, mantis shrimp, and southern curry paste, are brought in daily from Surat Thani Province in the far south of Thailand. All of the crabs served at the restaurant are caught sustainably in accordance with a pilot scheme on marine resource conservation and are always cooked fresh, never frozen. Every dish is made with local Thai ingredients.
I only had to wait a few minutes until my "insane" crab fried rice arrived at my table.
I ordered a small plate of fried rice, which was already huge! I can't imagine how big the XL sized portion would be. The rice itself was rich, savory, and smoky from being cooked in a wok over high heat, and the giant pieces of crab meat were tender, juicy, and sweet. The dish came with a side cup of Here Hai's special seafood sauce, a tangy, slightly spicy green sauce packed with flavor.
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| award-winning lump crab fried rice with Here Hai's special green seafood sauce |
The rice was enough to fill me up, but I didn't want to come all the way out to Ekkamai without trying Here Hai's famous mantis shrimp as well.
Mantis shrimp are bizarre little sea creatures. They have the strongest striking power of any animal on Earth. Their punches can reach about 50 miles per hour, packing the power of roughly a .22 caliber bullet, and with 16 different color receptors in their eyes (as opposed to humans, who only have 3) they can see in a spectrum of colors invisible and unimaginable to humans.
The fact about their ocular perception is neither here nor there (I just found it interesting), but the power of their punch coupled with the sharpness of their claws and their incredible speed makes catching this species of shallow water tropical shrimp fairly difficult.
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| Here Hai's famous mantis shrimp |
It was my first time trying mantis shrimp. They tasted more like lobster than any type of shrimp or prawn I've had before and had a more texture more like a slightly chewy fish. The meat was richer and sweeter than I expected, which was complemented really nicely by the garlic, pepper, and green onion the dish was prepared with.
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| stir-fried mantis shrimp with garlic and pepper |
More amazing restaurants nearby in Ekkamai
Location
Here Hai is located at 112, 1 Ekkamai Rd, Khwaeng Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand. The restaurant is walkable from Ekkamai Station, but it's fairly deep down Ekkamai Road, and the walk takes about 20 minutes. Alternately, take a taxi for just a few minutes from the station.
I recommend arriving as early as possible. The restaurant open from 10:00am to 2:30pm and from 4:00pm to 5:30pm. Here Hai is closed on Monday and Tuesday. Arrive early or be prepared to wait in a long queue!
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| Bib Gourmand award-winning seafood at Here Hai, Bangkok, Thailand (Ekkamai) |
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