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Seafood Market

Posted by Stuart at 11:44 AM on February 09, 2003

If I walk into a restaurant that is full of tourists, I know that I am about to be ripped-off. Unfortunately I didn't make this observation when I walked into the Seafood Market and Restaurant on Sukumvit Soi 24 in Bangkok. Otherwise, I would have at least known what I was in for.

Instead, when I entered the restaurant, I was overwhelmed by everything else OTHER than the tourists. The place was huge, with gigantic plastic fish hanging from the ceiling as if they were swimming in schools in the ocean. The back of the restaurant looked like a grocery store, with the idea being that you shop at the market for the seafood you want, and then they cook it to-order for you.

As we were picking out the food, I started to get used to the place and noticed that the place was packed with tourists: Japanese, Korean, Middle Eastern, European... Sure enough, when we paid for the bill for tuna sushi, crab meat, shrimp, and a grouper, the total was 1,500 baht. They charged us another 500 to cook it. So, that means the grand total was 2,000 baht (US$50) for 3 people. Compare that to the fact that I usually spend about 200 baht (US$5) just for myself for an ENTIRE DAY, and you can see what kind of markup we were dealing with.

Even though dinner wasn't worth 2,000 baht, it was still tasty. Oh well, it was an experience for sure. I just won't be returning.