PATONG, July 5 — Shouts of “come, buy, cheap, lobsters” accompanied a strong dank smell as we walked into the large double-storey Banzaan Market complex in Patong, Phuket.
The sight of rows of stalls, dripping fishy, smelly water onto the grey cement floor, is also something to behold as they offer every shellfish, fish and seafood imaginable, all neatly arranged on trays or barely alive in tanks and buckets.
“Cheap, cheap, cheap lobsters” the vendors would call out as they held out “live” lobsters, imploring walk-in customers to pick from their respective stalls.
The Banzaan Market is a local wet market with a small section of dried goods such as dried chillies and spices, a section offering fresh vegetables, fruits and flowers and finally, the seafood section which is the liveliest part in the whole floor.
Though most locals in Patong shop there for the vegetables, the seafood section seemed to be dominated by mostly tourists who can be seen haggling over the prices of the fresh raw seafood with various stall owners.
This is because they are picking the ingredients for their meal which can be prepared for a price at the food court upstairs, on the first floor.
On the first floor of the market complex, located just opposite the Jungceylon Mall in Patong, are two different sections: one selling clothes and souvenirs while another is the food court.
The food court is like a hawker centre except that each stall offers to cook the fresh seafood you buy from the wet market downstairs.
Again, like the wet market downstairs, the moment a visitor walks in with a large bag of raw seafood, there will be a chorus of “come, we cook seafood, good” from the row of stalls.
All patrons are required to purchase a cash card at a counter first before they can order as the stalls do not accept cash.
The seafood can be cooked any way you choose, from the Western-style of baking the lobsters with cheese to the Thai-style of simple steamed lobsters with a refreshing lemon chilli sauce.
The market is open from 7am onwards while the stalls are open from 11am until 7pm daily.
On weekends, there is a night market right outside the Banzaan Market complex, at the carpark, and this is also where you can pick and choose from the wide array of fresh “live” seafood and let the stall cook it fresh for you.
Unlike in the market, these stalls sell “live” seafood and cook it for you too so you are spared the hassle of haggling over the seafood and bringing it over to another stall to haggle over the cooking costs.
The menus are quite similar too as they offer the usual Thai-style fare of tomyam, curries, pineapple rice and also the more Westernised cheesy baked seafood.
Since it is a night market, don’t limit yourself to just a meal of seafood as there are plenty of stalls selling a variety of food from crispy thin pancakes to skewers of roast chicken and pork, creamy coconut ice-cream and various kuih (sweet snacks).
So, if ever you are in Patong for a holiday and crave something local, don’t forget to drop by the Banzaan Market for some fresh seafood and Thai-style meals that are reasonably priced.
As with most of the places in this tourist town, don’t forget to haggle in order to get the best prices.
