Nguyễn Mỹ Hà

It’s been a while since our last visit to Cát Bà, during the break after the pandemic's first wave in 2020. This time, we found a very different town. When you go to the sea, one of the great joys is enjoying a meal outdoors with the sea breeze.

However, the seaside road that runs through the town no longer offers those refreshing sea breezes, as a new beachfront villa project has sprung up along the shoreline, making the area feel surprisingly enclosed.

Nevertheless, Hải Yến Restaurant is conveniently located near the town centre, and we stopped by to sample the fresh seafood we saw in the tanks.

The order was quick and efficient: half a kilo of shrimp and half a kilo of clams, one steamed, the other grilled, along with a dozen fresh oysters served sashimi-style. Then we settled into the dining room and began to order rice, vegetables and soup from a plastic menu.

The first meal we had at Hải Yến was simple, starting with a dish of deep-fried squid nuggets, a famous delicacy of the region. They were delicious, tender and fresh. Then we had the steamed shrimp, which also tasted fresh and retained its flavour. 

Then came the main courses: mackerel sautéed in tomato sauce, followed by an egg omelette to accompany the rice, some sautéed greens with garlic and, last but not least, a bowl of sour soup.

We had sour clam soup, but I insisted that we try the sour barnacle soup on our next visit, and everyone agreed it was one of Cát Bà's most distinctive dishes. I had tried to make it at home, but it never tasted nearly as good. 

Cát Bà actually means "Lady Island", and Cát Ông means "Master Island", but you rarely hear about the latter. While Cát Bà is famous for its fish sauce, it also has many specialities that reflect the wider coastal culinary scene, such as Côn Đảo coconut ice cream and Hạ Long iced yoghurt.

During our stay, we ate at Hải Yến several times, and the waiters remembered us and were very attentive each time.

On one return visit, we had oyster sashimi, which they called "milky" oysters because they were quite big and plump.

We were tempted by the big crabs we saw in the tanks, so we decided to order crab in tamarind sauce, one male crab and the other female crab with roe.

The finale of the seafood feast was surprisingly light, with a big bowl of shrimp congee shared among us.

In Cát Bà, there are other seafood specialities such as grouper, lobster and horseshoe crabs. They are available in the restaurant's tanks at Hải Yến, but we could not find time to try them during this visit.  

The restaurant manager also offers trips on Lan Hạ Bay, including afternoon tea on the boat and visits to an ancient fishing village. We joined the boat trip to the Three Peaches Islands, where we ended up being the only visitors walking on golden sand, feeling like explorers discovering a hidden corner of the bay.

Hải Yến is quite spacious, and it can serve many people at the same time. Next to us, a bus brought a large family, which took up three tables of six people.

A typical local tourist group during summer arrived hungry, knew exactly what it wanted and placed its orders almost immediately.

This restaurant could certainly deliver quickly and satisfy their taste buds, making us confident that it could handle even the hardest-to-please diners. VNS

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Hải Yến Restaurant 

Cát Hải Special Zone, Hải Phòng City 

Tel: 0982-768-678

Comment: Price ranges from VNĐ200,000-500,000 per person including VAT. There is no need to book in advance if your party is fewer than 10 people.