Seafood in Dalian

Dalian is a harbor city where locals and foreigners flock to in the summer months for beaches and seafood. I had no idea that Dalian is such a food epicenter. My experiences at the Spanish Tapas restaurant and American International School kept me very full so I didn't have the chance to explore the local cuisine thoroughly.

I was lucky enough that on my last day in town, Ms. Wang took us out to lunch at a fantastic seafood restaurant with a great view of the sea.

Many big restaurants in China have a display area of plated fresh ingredients that can be prepared any way you want instead of a menu of dishes. This is always fun; it's like shopping at a grocery store then eating dishes immediately without having to cook it yourself! I believe there's a restaurant in Thailand that brings this exact concept to life.

Fresh Fish

Fresh Seafood

We started our feast with Ge Da (Goosebump) Soup, which is a kind of handmade noodle soup in a clear broth. This soup was packed full of flavor. The broth was delicious. The seafood dishes were good, but can't compare to the seafood meal I had in Hong Kong at Rainbow Seafood restaurant in terms of taste and quality of ingredients. The steamed abolone at Rainbow Seafood in Hong Kong was larger and more tender and the pissing shrimp had more meat and had a better texture. It's a bit unfair for me to do this comparison because Dalian is in Northeast China, so the catch is going to be different from the south. Geography plays the bigger role than execution in terms of the quality of the dishes.

Ms. Wang definitely treated us to a memorable meal!

Ge Da (goosebump) Soup; Jelly Fish Salad

Steamed Conch; Steamed Abalone

Boiled Shrimp; Salt and Pepper Pissing Shrimp

Salted Fish Fried with Potato Strips

Seaweed Steamed Dumpling