Seafood and bongwater

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I got a message a couple of days ago... my friend Vlad would be in town for a couple of days. I am always looking to spend more time with him, so we made plans to meet up for dinner tonight - just after he lands. We figured they would appreciate some casual, local Canto fare, so I booked us a table at our new favorite neighborhod joint Lucky Ship (船嘉•福).

The owner behind this joint also owns a seafood supply business, so this is one of their strengths. Foursheets and I love this place for a variety of reasons. Besides the fact that they are very pet-friendly with their outdoor seating, We also love the daipaidong (大排檔) atmosphere as well as the classic dishes.

Chaozhou cold threadfin with rice (潮式凍馬友魚飯) - one would think that with the majority of Chinese in Thailand descended from Chiuchow immigrants, the cold "fish rice (魚飯)" would be more familiar to our visitors. I was wrong. But happily this turned out to be well-received. I do love it when they do it the new style, cut into pretty, bite-size chunks instead of having the fish served whole.

Boiled kuruma prawn (白灼竹節蝦) - my friend loves shrimp and prawns, so these live prawns were just perfect for him.

Syun's stirfried dish (船嘉•福小炒王) - this is hands down my favorite dish here. There's so much wok hei (鑊氣) and those Chinese chives, sardine fry, dried shrimp and more are just so, sooo tasty!

Deep-fried pork chops with shrimp paste (蝦醬炸排骨) - I love it when pork chops are coated with shrimp paste batter. The flavors are just so punchy.

Lucky Ship's crispy chicken (船嘉•福脆皮雞) - Not bad lah... and I love krupuk.

Salt and pepper mantis shrimp (椒鹽泰國大瀨尿蝦) - since my friend looooves any kind of shrimp and prawn, I decided to get these giant mantis shrimp with roe. Who's a happy boy?

Crispy fried fresh pigeon (生炸脆皮乳鴿) - I wanted some red meat to go with our red wine, but I think by this time we had all had enough to eat. That was a shame, because these were definitely pretty tasty.

Seeing that the restaurant was just next to home, I brought along a few bottles for this casual meal... with two bottles of bubbly bongwater for my bongwater-loving friend.

Romain Henin Le Gamin du Terroir, dégorgée le 16 Septembre 2025 - this was a little warm at first so there was a bit more body than I was expecting. It drank much better than I had expected, but still too young and the palate felt too diluted.

Chavost Eurêka! - the acidity was higher, and this was nicer with a longer finish.

2002 Konsgaard Syrah - started drinking 1 hour after opening without decanting. The nose was very fragrant, with mint, eucalyptus, and woodsy notes. Drinking well as expected.

It was really good to see my friend, as we don't really get enough opportunities to catch up. I was fortunate enough to see him on a few occasions earlier this year when he was in town, and hopefully I'll catch up with him in Bangkok soon!