It doesn't get fresher

The new Sea Market in Hua Hin will cook the day's catch just the way you like it

There's a new floating market, night market and "old-time" art market in Hua Hin, but much of the diners' attention is veering to the Sea Market next to Khao Takiap.

"Hua Hin is increasingly becoming a second home to Bangkokians looking for a getaway from their hectic lives," says managing director Sasiampai Siriviroj.

"And Hua Hin is a very beautiful place, complete with wonderful beaches and scenery. It's not that far from Bangkok, either - just a little over two hours' drive."

The Sea Market comes hot on the heels of Sasiampai's previous success, the Cicada weekend night market, now three years old. He's long been aware that Hua Hin is more than just a holiday destination - it's a major source of food supplies, led by its abundance of seafood. The Sea Market enjoys a prime location beside a small canal that leads to the shore.

"The key is to get the seafood from the locals and cook it right away so that diners get that freshness," he says. "We try to keep it simple and basic here, in a friendly atmosphere with top-quality seafood."

The open-air market offers the full range of cook-as-you-like-it seafood - prawns, oysters, mussels, fish and crab. Recommended are the somtam thalay, salads like yum platu with mackerel, and kaeng som pu kai.

There's also great pla kai (soup with crab roe and fish roe), pad thai, hoy thod (mussel omelette) and many kinds of fried rice. Dried squid and shrimp and shrimp paste are also available.