Queenies.

Hi,
Where can you buy Queenies in Udon. Tried a lot of places, but no luck, over the last five years.
Just reading my local paper from back home. The Manx Queenies won top prize at the sustanable seafood awards, at Billingsgate Seafood school. Judged by industry experts,food journalists and supermarket seafood buyers. I used to eat them every week, very good. Made me hungry just reading about it. Tried to get some queenies here but no luck. The only place i have seen them on a menu was when i was in the Phill. in A.C. last year. Ordered some, would you believe it. Came out, fried in batter and over cooked, yuk, tasted like s**t.

I take it you are referring to 'Scallops' douglas?
If so I have seen them in a number of the Thai food markets around town - not always, but often. Ban Hoy does have them sometimes in its inner 'fish' area.
I have not (from memory) seen them on their own on a restaurant menu but in a couple of Thai places where I have tried dishes with 'seafood' as the ingredient (in Pad Thai for example) then they have been part of the 'mix'.
I agree that coating them in batter is not something that would encourage me to try as a dish.
Quickly fried in butter with garlic & chillies (or ginger) is my preference way.
Maybe one of the sponsors will take the idea on board for you??

BH:


That would be the "wet" markets, or, some other supermarket style place?


I love them but haven't seen them.


Properly battered and fried scallops are a wonderful thing, not unlike a proper Briut battered and fried piece a cod...


BR

Have seem then at Makro, frozen seafood section.

Also, Relax Home restaurant has on menu. Served in the shell with cheese or some type of topping/sauce. Don't recall it's been a while, but they were tasty.

The outdoor markets Red.
They used to be sold (everyday) at the market on the main road on the way to BB Resort/Englishman's Retreat. However it has been a while since I have been to that particular market.
The front of the Ban Hoy market is mainly fruit & veg, but if you go into the dark behind this there is quite a large live fish market in there. The scallops I have seen in the markets were never still in their shells, unlike the other shellfish available, so I am not sure where they actually come from..

I like scallops but my wife loves them. She orders them every chance she gets but mostly in Bangkok restaurants. She calls them hoy shell (like the Shell Oil sign).

Tx U, BH.

Hi,
Bob, no, not scallops, i meant Queenies.

Not this Queenie?


Queen Scallops (Queenies)

Queen Scallops – or ‘Queenies’ – from Manx waters are renowned as a seafood delicacy. A medium-sized member of the scallop family, the Queen Scallop (Aequipecten opercularis) has a shell of roughly 7cm in diameter. The mollusc feeds on plankon and is mostly found in 40m below the surface, though it has been found in much deeper waters. King and Queen Scallops are now the mainstay commercial catch of the Manx fishing fleet. Stringent government restrictions on scallop dredging ensure that Queenie stocks remain healthy from year to year. Smaller and sweeter than King Scallops, Queenies are available all year round.

Queenies are a popular feature on the menu in Manx restaurants, and are most commonly served with garlic, herbs and lemon, and sometimes chopped bacon. The Island’s first Queenie festival http://www.queeniefestival.com will take place 2nd – 9th August 2008, culiminating in a Marine Day (‘Festival of the Sea’) on 9th August in Port St Mary.

Hi,
Yes you are correct, Shado, I did not explain it correctly. Been used to calling them Queenies and not scallops, for so many years now, hard to change, and far tastier than the Kings. If you went to a cafe and asked for scallops you could get the king ones, that are not as tasty.I might put the kings in batter but the queens, it is a no-no. Would do it Shado's way, very lightly fried, without the bacon, very nice IMO.
Used to do some diving and it suprised me how far these critters can propel themselves through the water, in one leap.
They have turned to these in Manx waters as the herring, was being fished out. And have set up Breeding Beds out at sea, marked, and you are not allowed to fish or dive there. They have been doing this for many decades now, used to fly them out to France and other countries. Got this from the fishermen when i was talking to them ages ago. The main thing they said was more money in it. Made them smile.

I think the chances of finding a cold-water scallop (Queenie) in Thailand are slim to none. Maybe some of the top end restaurants in BKK might import them, but I'm sure they would cost dearly. Might just have to do with second best and eat the warm water variety. Probably no prize winners, but I've had some pretty tasty ones in Bangkok. You don't see them often, but they can be found. My wife seems to be able to find them and along with those big green mussels and oysters, she can pack away a lot of shellfish. The Landmark buffet on Sukhumvit is one of her favorite places to eat; unlimited trips to the seafood table.

No idea whether they are kings or queens but Makro have them in the fresh sea food section, both in the shell and in pots without. The shell ones are 90bht kilo and the pots are 58bht approx 1/2 kilo .They also have them in the freezer section as Rito said .Also they have frozen green mussels from New Zealand .

If they are in the shell TB then they should have the roe with them & apparently....

Red roe is that of a female, and white, that of a male.

So if they have red roe they are almost certainly female - but (rather like some Thai females in Bars) whether they started life as a female is open to question...

The scallop family is unusual in that some members of the family are dioecious (males and females are separate), while other are simultaneous hermaphrodites (both sexes in the same individual) and a few are protoandrous hermaphrodites (males when young then switching to female).

Whichever I still think they are a fine starter quickly cooked - the scallops I mean...