Hải Sản Hà Linh

Spiny lobster kept alive in the tank until you point at it — weighed at the table, then grilled with scallion oil, steamed, or turned into hotpot and porridge.

The showpiece of the tank room — a whole king crab, legs packed with sweet meat and the shell full of roe, split and cooked to order.

Squid so fresh it is still flicking when it leaves the tank — the house signature, usually steamed with ginger or eaten raw with mustard and lime.

Armoured mantis shrimp from the tank — firm, sweet tail meat that Nha Trang cooks steam with beer or roast in salt and chilli.

Large striped tiger prawns, sold by weight from the tank and best simply grilled over charcoal or steamed in coconut water.

The everyday shrimp of the Vietnamese coast — smaller and sweeter than tiger prawns, sold live by the kilo.

Small blue swimming crabs from the tank — steamed with beer they are the standard Nha Trang table crab; the roe-heavy females are the ones to ask for.

The prized "sweet-scented" sea snail of Khánh Hòa — pale spotted shells, tender meat, usually steamed with lemongrass or grilled in salt and chilli.

Hard-shell clams from the tank, sold by weight — steamed with lemongrass and chilli they open into their own broth.

Live oysters shucked to order — eaten raw with lime and wasabi, or grilled under scallion oil and peanuts.

Reef grouper swimming in the tank until it is netted — firm white flesh that takes equally well to steaming with soy and ginger or to a sour hotpot.

Flat silver pomfret with fine, mild flesh and few bones — the fish Vietnamese families pick for steaming or frying whole.

Leatherjacket triggerfish — the tough skin is peeled off whole, leaving lean sweet meat that Nha Trang grills or simmers in a sour broth.

Big farmed-in-the-bay cobia with rich, fatty steaks and a famously good head — the classic base for a sour hotpot.

Thick-bodied eel kept live in the tank — rich, gelatinous flesh usually braised in clay pot, grilled with turmeric, or cooked into porridge.

Nha Trang's own delicacy: spiny urchins cracked open at the table for the orange roe, eaten raw with mustard, grilled with scallion oil, or stirred into porridge.

Fan-shelled scallops grilled on the half shell — the sweet adductor muscle under scallion oil, crushed peanuts and a squeeze of lime.

The long-siphoned "elephant trunk" clam — crisp translucent flesh served thin-sliced as sashimi, flash-fried, or in soup and porridge.

Ribbed "hairy" ark shells with deep red meat and a strong iron-sweet taste — grilled over coals until they open.

Big wedge-shaped pen shells — only the round white muscle is eaten, seared fast so it stays sweet and just-set.

A heavy horned conch: the firm white foot is sliced thin for salads, the softer parts steamed with ginger.

A shared pot of sour-sweet broth loaded with prawns, squid, clams and fish, kept bubbling at the table with vegetables and noodles to feed in.

Hotpot built on squid taken by hook rather than net, so the rings stay whole and tender in the broth.

A pot led by whole prawns, their heads giving the broth its colour and depth as they simmer.

Prawn, squid and shellfish tossed cold with onion, herbs and a lime-fish-sauce dressing — the plate that opens most tables here.

A Nha Trang classic: tiny silverside fish cured in lime until opaque, tossed with roasted rice powder and herbs, and rolled in rice paper.

Shredded jellyfish, crunchy and almost tasteless on its own, brought alive by lime, chilli, herbs and peanuts.

Khánh Hòa sea grapes — beads of seaweed that pop with brine — served cold against crunchy shredded jellyfish.

The same local sea grapes, this time with prawn and squid folded in — the salad to order if you want the coast on one plate.

Hand-pounded fish paste from the day's catch, fried into springy golden cakes — the town's most exported snack, eaten with chilli sauce.

Khánh Hòa sea grapes served plain and cold with a sesame-soy dip, so the little beads keep their salt-burst freshness.

Minced prawn wrapped and fried until the skin shatters — the house version of the small ram rolls sold all along this coast.

Sweetcorn kernels stir-fried in butter with dried shrimp and spring onion — Vietnam's favourite street snack, served hot in a bowl.

Thick, silky soup shot through with crab meat and egg ribbons, finished with black pepper and coriander at the table.

Abalone sliced into a clear thickened broth — a banquet soup the kitchen keeps on the everyday menu.

Geoduck slices dropped into the broth at the last moment so they stay crisp rather than turning rubbery.

Rice simmered soft in seafood stock with prawn, squid and clams — what most tables order to finish a long dinner.

The porridge Nha Trang is known for: urchin roe stirred into hot rice congee until it turns gold and faintly sweet.

Congee built on lobster shells and meat — the richest bowl on the list, and the usual way to use up the lobster you picked from the tank.

A small plain congee cooked soft and unseasoned for young children — the kitchen keeps it on the menu for families.

Plain steamed rice, priced 20,000–25,000₫ depending on the portion you ask for.

One fish, your choice of treatment: caramelised in a clay pot with pepper, or simmered into the tamarind-and-pineapple sour soup that anchors a Vietnamese family meal.

Squid seared hard and fast with pineapple, tomato and peppers so the rings stay tender under the sweet-sour glaze.

Prawns and pork belly caramelised together in fish sauce until both are glazed dark — a home dish that eats a lot of rice.

Chicken stir-fried hard with pounded lemongrass and fresh chilli until the aromatics catch and turn fragrant at the pan's edge.

Pork belly cooked down in its own fat until the edges char and candy — the northern home dish that Vietnamese diners judge a kitchen by.

Clams opened in a tamarind broth with pineapple, tomato and rice-paddy herb — sharp, light and meant to be spooned over rice.

Rice fried hot with prawn, squid and crab meat, kept loose and just-smoky from the wok.

The Cantonese classic as Vietnam cooks it — diced ham, prawn, peas and egg through every grain.

Fried rice carrying flakes of salted fish — a small amount goes a long way, giving the whole plate its savoury backbone.

Rice tossed with muối é — the toasted salt and Vietnamese basil seasoning of the south-central coast, herbal and faintly numbing.

Egg noodles fried with prawn, squid and greens until the strands pick up the edge of the wok.