Today We're going to eat seafood in Zhanjiang, the capital of Chinese seafood. We'll buy seafood at the market ourselves and then find a place for processing. To deeply experience being locals. Ah, the joy of locals eating seafood. But before that, let's first have some fish soup. Let's start with a walk this morning. And some shrimp. Adding some pork belly. After it boils, we'll add the fish. Adding miscellaneous fish. There are quite a few miscellaneous fish. Every morning, there are fresh ones to buy. Then add some green onions. Ah, great. Still simmering. It's ready. Good. Thank you, thank you very much. Come and get my fish soup. It's also called miscellaneous fish soup. Basically, it's when fishermen catch these small miscellaneous fish and then stew them in a pot. Then they add some pork and some shrimp. It's 15 yuan and comes with a bowl of rice. Come and take a sip right away. It has a fresh and sweet taste, the freshness of seafood and the freshness of pork. And its broth is made from stewing large bones with a hint of ginger flavor, completely devoid of any fishy taste. And the place I randomly chose, basically every fast food restaurant in this neighborhood has this fish soup. I just asked who would let me film the process, and I filmed at their place. You basically won't go wrong with this. Let's try this pork belly. Fresh and crispy. It's just lightly cooked. You can dip it in this sauce. It adds a salty taste. And the aroma of peanut oil. They add peanut oil to everything here. Even in this soup, they add a bit of peanut oil. Let's try this fish. Miscellaneous fish No.1, right? I don't know what kind of fish this is. Does anyone know? What kind of fish does this look like? One bite. Delicate. It has a fresh taste. Not bad. Miscellaneous fish No.2. This fish is small indeed. The texture is very delicate. It has a kind of freshness of sea fish, even somewhat similar to cod. It just lacks the fat. Homemade fish soup rice. Let it soak in the soup for a moment. Oh, one bite. On this chilly day in Zhanjiang, paired with this steaming hot fish soup rice, it's excellent. To be honest, I'm not very good at eating this kind of fish, especially these small fish. It feels like I might get pricked if I take a few bites. Patience is key. Goodbye, boss. Very delicious. Goodbye. Goodbye. Behind us is Zhanjiang's largest seafood wholesale market. It's afternoon now, but it's still very lively. The business is booming, with fishermen everywhere selling fish, and many people buying fish. These are white prawns, right? These are farmed white prawns, aren't they? Right? These prawns are only about ten yuan per pound. Very cheap. But this is the retail area, where tourists come to shop. Let's go take a look. As soon as I came in, I found a street full of prawns. All selling prawns. The number one treasure of Zhanjiang seafood is prawns. They make up 30% of the total production in China. But there are many different types of prawns, from wild to farmed, from South America to China's mainland, there's a wide variety. And the price difference is also significant, ranging from over ten yuan per pound to as much as a hundred yuan per pound. Let's find some wild ones that are hard to find elsewhere and give them a try. Look at these tiger-striped prawns. They're also a type of prawn. Are these farmed? Or wild? All wild. Wow, can I pick this up? Wow, look, it's really big. It's as big as my hand, this giant tiger prawn. Let's get one pound of this. Eight pieces, alright. This is also a very popular type of snail here. How much is this selling for? 53 Wow, that's tough. This is a sea snail. It's 30 yuan per pound. They're still picking snails here. And there are many laid-back vendors like this. The cheapest one I've found is 35. Oh, per pound. A pound should be enough. I'm the only one eating this. I can't finish it. Alright. Thank you, thank you, boss. This fish is really interesting. Have you all seen a flatfish before? Both eyes are on one side. Very interesting. Such large oysters. They're almost as big as my palm. This one is the famous triploid. Indeed, it looks a bit different. And this smaller one is the Guandu oyster. Three for one yuan. Let's get another one. This is Zhanjiang's second treasure, the golden pomfret. The production of this fish, can account for 40% of the entire golden pomfret farming in China. Basically, if you're eating golden pomfret elsewhere, half of it is likely from Zhanjiang. This is also a pretty tasty fish. This one here. All of this is fish for sale. But I'm relatively indifferent to fish. Let's stick with some prawns, some whelks, and let's try some small blue crabs. Let's keep moving. People here also love eating crabs. How much are flower crabs selling for? 100 yuan per pound, right? Ah, this row is all selling flower crabs. How much are flower crabs? Flower crabs are 80 yuan. These are local abalones. The small ones are three yuan each, and all the way to here, the big ones are 13 yuan each. Behind here are specialty sandworms and mud crabs. Sandworms are white, grown in sandy areas. Mud crabs are from the mangroves of Lianjiang, grown on mudflats. Sandworms are probably more expensive. Let's buy some to try. Let's get some sandworms. Half a pound will do. I'll eat it by myself. Straight to cooking. Oh, sis. You're so quick I couldn't see. When are we going to eat? We'll eat in a moment. We'll eat soon. Ah, wash them. Wrap one for me again. Hehehe. Alright, thank you. Now let's go buy some sandworms, whelks, and big prawns. Let's consider getting a lobster too, though they're really expensive. Wild lobsters are over 200 yuan per pound. Let's go have a look. These are farmed lobsters. Look, 160 yuan per pound. Wow, they're lively. Oh, oh, oh, oh! Look, look! So lively! Oh my, oh my! Wow, wow, wow! There's a noticeable difference between local and non-local ones. This one weighs around 8 catties (approximately 4 kg). 8 taels (approximately 0.24 kg), 250! Wow, so expensive! Can't it be a bit cheaper? 153 is not bad. 153 is alright. This is from Hainan, right? Let's compare this one. Help me pick out a tasty one. Is this one tasty? Help me choose one. Ah, it's beautiful. Alright, alright, which one is prettier? The prettier, the livelier. Oh my, the local ones are obviously livelier. Alright, thank you, boss. Thanks, boss. Thanks, boss. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. After walking around, we've spent 468. I think it's about time to leave. Should we continue? It's getting pricey, mainly the lobsters. Local lobsters are 250 per pound. Non-local lobsters are only 150 per pound. I don't know what the difference is. So I'll buy one each to try. And of course, some big prawns, whelks, and sandworms. We've bought everything, let's go. Let's find a place for processing. All set. Let's go. Let's try this place. Junhai Hotel. Boiled for 3 yuan per pound. Let's see if they prepare it properly here. Put the lobster here, we'll order here. Steamed lobster is okay. This lobster will be boiled now. This one will be boiled. Ah, this boiling method... Mmm, this is fine too. Boiled is good. This one will be boiled too. Boiled, boiled. This one, he spit it out, so it's not fresh enough. Spit out, not fresh. These two won't do. 3 yuan per pound. Alright, alright. Okay, okay. 3 yuan. Okay. Should we take it in first? Is it original flavor? Brother, this one is 250 yuan per pound. This is sandworm. Okay, thank you, thank you. All the seafood is on the table. There are two lobsters, a pound of prawns, 8 prawns per pound, and a pound of snails. Then there's this bamboo worm. Of course, we'll start with the lobster. So, let's blindly taste them today. One is 150 yuan per pound, the other is 250 yuan per pound, but after steaming, we won't be able to tell. Let's just taste them blindly today. Let's start with this one. Wow. It's full of shrimp paste inside, shrimp head, and the tail of this lobster, wow. Very plump, take a bite. Wow. It's fresh, sweet, and bouncy, with just the right amount of sea saltiness, bringing out all the flavors. Delicious. This mouthful costs tens of yuan. Inside the head, it's all shrimp paste. Wow, let's see how to peel it. Oh, wow. A mouthful. Hmm. Contains the golden salted egg yolk of the sea, This lobster is really good quality. Just a bit expensive. Now let's try the other one. Wow, it's also full of meat when peeled, but the paste isn't as golden as the other one. But the meat is the same, very plump, a mouthful. This one feels maybe a bit firmer, but the taste isn't as fresh and sweet as the other one. It took a lot of effort, but finally peeled a complete lobster tail. Now, the performance, a bite is worth 100 yuan. Hmm. Next is the prawns. These 8 prawns for 100 yuan. Prawns are a treasure in Zhanjiang. The reason is that the aquaculture industry is very developed. But what we're eating now, 8 for 100, are not those exported prawns. The exported ones, are raised South American white prawns, only a dozen yuan per pound. It's just the leftovers of these so-called wild prawns. Let's taste them. The shrimp paste inside, are all golden. Fresh shrimp peels off in a snap, all of it comes off. And the chef's cooking skills are top-notch. Let's try it right away. Hmm. Fresh, sweet, bouncy, and full. I think eating these prawns is enough, no need to eat those lobsters. The reason they're called prawns is because prawns used to be expensive, everyone bought them in pairs, you could only buy two at a time. So they were called prawns. But now that living standards have improved, you can buy them by the dozen. They could be renamed to "dozen prawns". Next one. Blanched whelk. For this, I decided to be a bit thrifty. I bought it for 35 yuan per pound, but the regular price... were all between 45-50. This one has a slight hint of being dead. Let's give it a try. Pinch off this end of the tail. It feels quite fresh. Pulls right out. Take a bite. Oh, crunchy. Sweet and fresh, with a bounce. Boiled it's quite tasty. Let's try another one. Mm. Truly crispy and sweet. Have you noticed, all these seafood, except for the mantis shrimp with garlic, are all blanched. That's because in Zhanjiang, when it comes to eating, blanching is the way to go. Like Chaozhou's pickled delicacies, Zhanjiang's all about blanching and slicing everything. My local friends tell me, for fresh seafood like this, not eating it in its natural state would be a waste. Let's do a garlic steamed dish with glass noodles for this mantis shrimp. Take a bite. Oh. Crunchy, sweet, and fragrant with garlic. Ah. Mantis shrimp is delicious. Thank you. Goodbye, and thank you again. Goodbye. So, my seafood feast comes to an end. Zhanjiang truly lives up to its reputation as the seafood capital of China. All these seafood dishes just need to be steamed or blanched. But among all these dishes, I think mantis shrimp and whelk are the most worth trying. Oh, right. This time, 53 yuan for processing fees and 468 yuan for the seafood. What do you all think of this price? That's it, goodbye.
