Fish tent

This guy is not a fish bandit - he's just trying to protect himself from barbecue smoke and traffic fumes

Saturday night we walked down to this pretty famous open-air seafood place across from our local market, under a big tent. When you order, they bring your fish over for you to inspect, and then they put some kind of amazing secret paste on it containing lemongrass and I don't know what else, and throw it over hot coals.

The firing line

They also serve vegetables, rice and noodles, so it's quite a big operation. I especially like the kailan, which is kind of like kale, fried up in a big wok with chopped garlic.

It's a no-frills environment, with long tables, plastic tablecloths, plastic stools, and jars full of napkins and utensils. Waiters are constantly flying past with plates of rice stacked all the way up each arm. There's at least three kinds of chili sauce on the table, but the fish is so good it doesn't need chili -- which is a radical statement, coming from me.