Fresh ocean fish in Chiang Mai -- revisited

[BradinAsia]

There was a thread on this subject in late 2009. At that time, the consensus seemed to be -- if its not alive and kicking don't buy it.

 

After more than 4 years in Chiang Mai that still seems like very good advice. The only excellent fish we've had here was in Ootoya Japanese Restaurant. But, we wanted to enjoy their fish 2-3 times a week we would have to accept a huge increase in our monthly food budget. We'd much prefer to prepare the fish ourselves at home. So we're still here (for now) searching for a good source (fish market, not restaurant) of fresh seafood, especially real ocean fish.

 

The YouTube videos showing prawn being prepared for export in Vietnam by being injected with some kind of dodgy chemical to make it look plumper are much too scary. Also, with the cases of food poisoning our family and friends have experienced, we don't want to take any more chances with bad seafood. Can anyone recommend a good fish market with "live-and-kicking" fresh ocean fish? At this point, the main issue for us is freshness and quality, not low price.

 

There must be others on this forum who have faced this kind of problem. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

 

 

[elektrified]

" a good fish market with "live-and-kicking" fresh ocean fish?"

 

In the mountains of Chiang Mai?

[lordblackader]

I would never normally eat frozen fish, I grew up in a family that regularly fished and can tell when a fish has been frozen and for how long, but Rimping sells 1kg packets of Dory fillets for 89 baht (normally 4 big fillets to a pack.) They're delicious, I've deep fried them, crumbed them, had my Mrs put them in various Thai curries and other thai ways and it's as good as you'll ever get in terms of value for money and tasty frozen fish 600kms from the sea...and at 89 baht it works out as a cheap feed. We eat it twice a week now. 

[CMKiwi]

I'm not too sure that the 'Dory' fish the you buy here in Rimping is from the sea. Pangasius (Dory) is a fresh water fish.... similar to catfish.

 

Yes it's cheap, Makro also sell it.  But it just doesn't have the taste of ocean fish.  There have been a lot of contraversial reports about Dory fish and one can read into them as one pleases.

 

Personally I don't mind Dory and it does go well with a curry or other strong spice to actually give it some taste.

[BradinAsia]

8 minutes ago, CMKiwi said:

I'm not too sure that the 'Dory' fish the you buy here in Rimping is from the sea. Pangasius (Dory) is a fresh water fish.... similar to catfish.

 

Yes it's cheap, Makro also sell it.  But it just doesn't have the taste of ocean fish.  There have been a lot of contraversial reports about Dory fish and one can read into them as one pleases.

 

Personally I don't mind Dory and it does go well with a curry or other strong spice to actually give it some taste.

Yes, I think you are correct. We also don't really care for fresh water fish. Just our personal taste.

 

Today, at Rimping we found some frozen fish from Japan -- aji and hokke -- the same kinds we had in Ootoya. Not sure what's the English names. During my years in Japan, I learned only the Japanese names. Maybe aji is mackerel, I'm not sure, I'll have to look it up. The frozen fish from Japan is quite good. I used to often eat hokke in Japan and loved it.

 

Nice fresh ocean fish would be great, but maybe we'll have to be satified with Rimping's frozen fish from Japan until we return to the Philippines where fresh ocean fish is readily available everywhere.

 

 

[CMKiwi]

Agreed, the Phils does have some good fish. I used to frequent a local wet market and the selection was great..... even found a NZ delicacy called whitebait.  It's really just young fish (elvers).

 

Makro use to stock frozen  NZ hoki fillets with skin on. Not seen for over a year now which is a pity as it was good stuff...deep sea fish.

[moe666]

How fresh do you think any fish caught a week out from port, usually frozen. If you live close to a fish market and can buy from the local fisherman who only go out short distance then maybe you are getting fresh fish.

[lordblackader]

My bad, I had presumed that Dory meant John Dory, and John Dory is a salt water fish, I grew up catching them off the coast of NSW, Australia 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dory

 

Still tastes good for a frozen fish. If it was Basa I wouldn't spit on it. 

[BradinAsia]

11 minutes ago, moe666 said:

How fresh do you think any fish caught a week out from port, usually frozen. If you live close to a fish market and can buy from the local fisherman who only go out short distance then maybe you are getting fresh fish.

 

"How fresh do you think any fish caught a week out from port..."

 

Moe, thanks for your comment, but I have no idea about that. And that's why I started this thread. In Japan, for at least the last 50 years, fishermen go out at 4:00 a.m. and return about dawn. By noon, fresh fish (including sushi grade) is distributed all over the country. Some remote areas are several hundred km from the ocean.

 

In the 2009 thread on this subject posters talked about buying fish "alive and kicking" in Chiang Mai. Just hoping upon hope that it may still be available here, and if so, where?

 

 

[FolkGuitar]

I'm not a big fish eater (unless it's fresh sushi-grade in my favorite kaitenzushi in Kyoto,) but there are tanks of live fish at the Tannin Market (Sriwattana Mkt) off Chiang Puak Rd.  I have NO idea what so ever what these fish are, but I do know that they are swimming around the tanks!  Perhaps it's what you are looking for.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Quote

the consensus seemed to be -- if its not alive and kicking don't buy it. 

 

Seriously?  For Chiang Mai for actual sea fish, as in not farmed?    So you would be looking for someone to not just truck fresh, refrigerated (not frozen) fish up, but also lots of weight and bulk in water to keep them alive?  Just so you can seem them flipping and kicking for a minute before purchase?

 

It's far more common to ship them iced; it only takes an hour by air, or refrigerated truck overnight which is perfectly fine to keep things in good condition.

Edited March 6, 2017 by WinnieTheKhwai

[worgeordie]

Rimping, has big fillets of Red Snapper,Grouper, with skin on

so you know what it is,its not frozen,just tell the man on the counter

how big a piece you want,it's quite expensive though,but its quality,

Pangasius catfish,Dory,would never eat that,full of antibiotics,chemicals

as its farmed in cages ,usually from VietNam. 

 

Makro has frozen fillets of Grouper and Red Snapper,and they are about the

size of a Goldfish,just juveniles,would be better left in the sea till they get 

to be a few Kilo,but thats the problem the seas are getting fished out.

regards worgeordie

[opalred]

all farmed fish have to be loaded with antibiotics and hormones

to live in there cramped environment to survive

ocean fish in the north are dipped in formaldehyde to keep them for long periods 

banned in most countries

 wife and i travel  south 2 times a year buy from the fishermen fresh in the mornings 

pack in eskys and freeze when  back home 

  

 

[CMKiwi]

Some nice seafood in Hua Hin too... esp the prawns.  Bit far to go for a quick bite tho but for a weeks holiday its great. KanAir have direct flights from CNX and if your quick the fares are very low. Sometimes as low as 700 baht each way.

[BradinAsia]

3 hours ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

 

Seriously?  For Chiang Mai for actual sea fish, as in not farmed?    So you would be looking for someone to not just truck fresh, refrigerated (not frozen) fish up, but also lots of weight and bulk in water to keep them alive?  Just so you can seem them flipping and kicking for a minute before purchase?

 

It's far more common to ship them iced; it only takes an hour by air, or refrigerated truck overnight which is perfectly fine to keep things in good condition.

 

Winnie, no offense intended, but if I knew the answers to all your questions I wouldn't have started this thread.

 

I grew up in Ohio in the 1950s, only fish we ever saw was fishy smelling river fish, which I loathed. My first real experience with edible fish was in the 1960s in Japan. The fish was so fresh, one time I had shishamo sashimi (it was the whole fish),  it actually tried to jump off my plate. Certainly, not for squeamish folks. Shishamo was not my favorite, but I used to eat magurozushi 4-5 times a week. Still eat it here often. Never get tired of that. But my wife and son can't do magurozushi.

 

 

 

 

[scottiejohn]

Just how cruel can any person get for their self gratification to put any creature through the experience you wish to subject them to?

 

[jagi00]

8 hours ago, opalred said:

all farmed fish have to be loaded with antibiotics and hormones

to live in there cramped environment to survive

ocean fish in the north are dipped in formaldehyde to keep them for long periods 

banned in most countries

 wife and i travel  south 2 times a year buy from the fishermen fresh in the mornings 

pack in eskys and freeze when  back home 

  

 

Yes, seafood treated with formalin [formaldehyde] is my fear when buying 'fresh' seafood in Chang Mai so we tend to give seafood a miss. It would be great to have a good source of untreated fresh seafood here.

[BradinAsia]

3 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

Just how cruel can any person get for their self gratification to put any creature through the experience you wish to subject them to?

 

 

Scottie, do you jump to conclusions much?

 

It was my first and only time in that restaurant. I certainly had no idea that my sashimi order would be served while still alive.

I was as shocked by this as the fish was.

 

 

 

[bluebluewater]

There is a rule of thumb (for whatever those kind of rules or worth) that says that if you don't live and/or buy your fish within 50 Km of the coast then it is not really fresh fish/seafood.  I tend to agree.

 

Of course there are exceptions (the PI as all ready mentioned here where everywhere is an island) and maybe the Km is not right for all places but my experiences pretty much bears this out.  

 

Chaing Mai is a lot more that 50 Km for the coast.  I have no answers to your CM dilemma.  Sorry!

[drbill]

I don't spend much time in the high end resort hotels that have sprung up over the last ten years. If any is available fresh likely they would know.

When we go to BKK a few times a year we get ours right from the fishermen and bring back on ice. I like fish so we buy fresh water local. Lately I've been getting a few fresh water varieties from an American friend who is a retired Washington state marine biologist and avid fishing enthusiast from Mae Khong reservoir . Tasty.

[Trujillo]

Quote

 

all farmed fish have to be loaded with antibiotics and hormones

to live in there cramped environment to survive

ocean fish in the north are dipped in formaldehyde to keep them for long periods 

banned in most countries

 

I hear that these farmed fish leave chemical contrails too -- best to avoid ....

[cmtg1]

what in gods name is a chemical contrail


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[KhonKaenKowboy]

Frozen at sea is your safest bet here......avoid anything handled by the Chines.  I think the fresh fish at Tops smells horrible...I wish the beer isle were not next to it.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Frozen at sea is your safest bet here......avoid anything handled by the Chines.  I think the fresh fish at Tops smells horrible...I wish the beer isle were not next to it.

[Throatwobbler]

1 hour ago, KhonKaenKowboy said:

Frozen at sea is your safest bet here......avoid anything handled by the Chines.  I think the fresh fish at Tops smells horrible...I wish the beer isle were not next to it.

Two identical posts an hour apart. I think you need to stay away from the beer aisle.

[dvg]

Who knows were we can eat Alaskan King crab in Chiang Mai?There should be a restaurant

in the mountains,but that is a 2 hour drive.

[BradinAsia]

6 hours ago, dvg said:

Who knows were we can eat Alaskan King crab in Chiang Mai?There should be a restaurant

in the mountains,but that is a 2 hour drive.

 

Uhm... there should be a restaurant in what mountains?  A 2 hour drive from where?

[Dante99]

over medicated

 

[scottiejohn]

9 hours ago, Dante99 said:

over medicated

The poster(s) or the crab/fish?

[Dante99]

both