Sanya Dining -- What to Eat
Sanya's abundant, pollution-free seafood resources are attributed to the bounteous South Sea which encircles this city. Abalone, sea cucumbers and sea urchins are three kinds of local rare seafood. In addition, shrimps, crabs, fresh fish, trumpet shells and other exotic foods are common dishes served in any star-rated and common restaurant in Sanya. Fresh is the most accurate word to describe the local seafood.
Resort Golden Palm, Resort Horizon, Gloria Resort, Sheraton Resort and the other star-rated restaurants assembled in Yalong Bay each have their own high-class dining-rooms that serve top quality seafood dishes. Therefore, visitors have the convenience of tasting a variety of seafood without having to leave the one restaurant. Of course, the price of the dishes in this type of restaurant is higher than in other ones.
Sanya also has some restaurants that serve various seafood dishes at a reasonable price. Among them, Chunyuan Seafood Stall is the most popular one where more than 40 private stalls are assembled in one area. At night, throngs of locals and tourists come here to eat the locally harvested seafood. An important fact to remember is that each person must choose their seafood before coming here because the food is only cooked or prepared in each stall. The seafood can be purchased in the market close to Chunyuan and sometimes you can ask help from the stall-keepers who are willing to help you choosing some quality seafood. Usually, you have to pay CNY4 per kilogram. On the other hand, there are two ways to eat seafood. One is Dabianlu (similar to eating hotpot) and the other one is fried dishes. Dabianlu is recommended because the original fresh flavor of the seafood can be preserved.
Address: Located at the north end of Hexi Road.
Tips: 1.Because there is no regular bus which can directly reach there, most of the visitors get there by taxi. Also, the taxi fares are not firmly set so please bargain with the driver to agree on your fare before you get into the vehicle.
2. When some taxi drivers see visitors in Sanya, they will try to take advantages of this and take them to stalls other than Chunyuan. (Some of their bosses will encourage them to do this so the boss as well as the driver can earn some 'extra' money.) To avoid this happening to you, please let the driver clearly know that you are aware of this less-than-honest practice. The other method is to tell the driver to take you to number 168 which is a restaurant facing Chunyuan.
Mingji Stall, which is noted for seafood gruel and fried seafood, is another recommended place to eat seafood in Sanya. You must try the Lailiao shrimp which is quick-fried with chilies.
Address: No.48, Yuejin Road.
Bus: First, you can take the No.2 and 4 buses to get to Binhai Cinema and then go south to the crossing. Turning to left, you will find the restaurant. If you take a taxi, it will cost CNY 5 from the city center.
Additionally, the local high income people often eat seafood in Dadonghai Coconut Seafood City because of its delicious specialties and comfortable environment. The price is higher than in Chunyuan and other stalls.
Bus: By taking the No.2 and 4 buses to get to Dadonghai City Hotel, you will find the restaurant at the opposite side of the road to the hotel.