Dinner at China Town-Shark Fin Soup, Abalone and Bird Nest

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Dinner at China Town-Shark Fin Soup, Abalone and Bird Nest

After Maeklong Railway Market, Mint and Pim suggested to go to China Town for dinner. As a photographer I was very exited because I knew there were going to be lots of lights and movement. Very fun to do something different.

What I didn’t know but found out soon enough is that along Chinatown, we could see a lot of chinese restaurants selling shark fin, abalone and bird nest. As shark fin and bird nest and abalone are consider high-end chinese crusine, a delicacy, and you can eat these at a very cheap price in Bangkok.

To make shark fin, a shark is hunted and killed. The fin is removed and the rest of its body is thrown back to the ocean as waste.

Edible bird's nests are among the most expensive animal products consumed by humans, with an average nest selling for $2,500 per kilogramme for end-consumers in Asia.The nests have been used in Chinese cooking for over 400 years, most often as bird's nest soup.

The most heavily harvested nests are from the Edible-nest Swiftlet or White-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus) and the Black-nest Swiftlet (Aerodramus maximus).The white nests and the red nests are supposedly rich in nutrients, which are traditionally believed to provide health benefits, such as aiding digestion, raising libido, improving the voice, alleviating asthma, improving focus, and an overall benefit to the immune system.

Most nests are built during the breeding season by the male swiftlet over a period of 35 days. They take the shape of a shallow cup stuck to the cave wall. The nests are composed of interwoven strands of salivary laminae cement. Both nests have high levels of calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium.

Hong Kong and the United States are the largest importers of these nests. In Hong Kong, a bowl of bird's nest soup would cost $30 USD to $100 USD.A kilogram of white nest can cost up to $2,000 USD, and a kilogram of red nests can cost up to $10,000 USD.

Farming of abalone began in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Japan and China.Since the mid-1990s, there have been many increasingly successful endeavors to commercially farm abalone for the purpose of consumption.Over-fishing and poaching have reduced wild populations to such an extent that farmed abalone now supplies most of the abalone meat consumed. The principal abalone farming regions are China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Abalone is also farmed in Australia, Canada, Chile, France,Iceland, Ireland, Mexico, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, and the United States.

The meat of this mollusc is considered a delicacy in certain parts of Latin America (especially Chile), France, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and East Asia (especially in China, Japan, and Korea). In Chinese speaking regions, abalone are commonly known as bao yu, and sometimes form part of a Chinese banquet.

In the same way as shark fin soup or bird's nest soup, abalone is considered a luxury item, and is traditionally reserved for special occasions such as weddings and other celebrations^. However, the availability of commercially farmed abalone has allowed more common consumption of this once rare delicacy

In Japan, live and raw abalone are used in awabi sushi, or served steamed, salted, boiled, chopped, or simmered in soy sauce. Salted, fermented abalone entrails are the main component of tottsuru, a local dish from Honshū. Tottsuru is mainly enjoyed with sake.

In California, abalone meat can be found on pizza, sauteed with caramelized mango or in steak form dusted with cracker meal and flour.

Well one tips if you dont know which restaurant to go, just look inside if the restaurant is buzzing with people, that is the one you are looking for.

Nam Sing, the most prominent restaurant in Bangkok's Chinatown, known for it's Shark-fin soup 魚/鱼翅

Thailand is the largest producer of shark fin, so it is a must to try several restaurants in Bangkok with Nam Sing being the first.

The overall standard experience of shark-fin soup, bird nest or abalone throughout China Town in Bangkok during my cooking training in Thailand was something that I was not going to taste so I ordered veggie dumplings and roasted duck...but I couldn't avoid to stare at the table next to me with a family sharing a huge bowl of shark fin soup ; (

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Photos

Umbrellas-China Town and Shark Fin Soup-13
I still need to have a day dedicated to photograph umbrellas only

China Town and Shark Fin Soup
Shark fins for sale everywhere....shocking!

China Town and Shark Fin Soup-5
My camera fogged when I went from the AC inside the restaurant through the Shark Fin Soup steaming hot area....but I decided to include this shot because it completely relives the atmosphere....

China Town and Shark Fin Soup-9
The lights were reflecting everywhere in the wet street

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[D MJ Binkley]

Culinary School
The joys of travel.