Here Hai (Original shop, Ekkamai)

Here Hai puts seafood at the centre of a meal in Ekkamai. The original two-floor restaurant uses seafood from Surat Thani, with crab fried rice as its best-known dish. Wok cooking and the rice’s smoky aroma are as much part of its identity as the crab meat.

There is more to explore beyond the rice: mantis shrimp stir-fried with garlic and pepper, crab with basil, and clear-broth seafood tom yum. For vegetables, there is stir-fried cabbage with fish sauce and pork crackling; it is not a vegetarian preparation. Together, these dishes show how garlic, chilli and herbs feature in the seafood cooking.

Fried rice comes in individual portions and sharing sizes, including platters for four to six people. A useful approach is to choose the rice size first, then add one or two accompanying dishes, rather than order a large platter for each diner. Less chilli can be requested, helpful for groups with different tolerances.