Ham Ninh Crab Supper: pick it live, eat it over the water

Ham Ninh is a fishing village on the east coast, at the foot of the hills of the same name, facing the mainland across shallow water. Depending on the road you take it is somewhere between 14 and 20 km from Duong Dong. The village works early - the boats come in between about five and six in the morning - and by the afternoon it is a different place: quieter, the nets out to dry, the light low and warm over the water.

The village is best known for its blue swimmer crab: small, with a pinkish shell spotted with white, and firm, sweet meat. The way to eat it here is at a floating restaurant - a wooden dining room on stilts over the water, with live seafood kept in net pens beneath the floor. You choose what you want, it is weighed in front of you, and the kitchen cooks it while you watch the water go dark. The old wooden pier that used to be the village's photo spot has been closed because it was damaged, so we walk the lanes instead.

Not every dish is on every evening: it depends on what came in that morning. The guide agrees the order with you before anything is weighed, so there is no surprise on the bill and nothing is cooked that you did not want.

• Private - the default. Your group only, from two to twelve, with your own table and the menu built around what you like.
• Joined group. Shared with other guests at one long table, with a set menu of crab and four other dishes. Runs once three guests have booked, maximum twelve. If your date has not reached three guests two days before, you choose private at the private rate, another date or a full refund.

The dry season, roughly November to April, is the easiest time: the sea on the east coast is calmer and the evenings clear. In the wet months, and above all in September, rain is heavy and some floating restaurants close on rough days. We check the day before and tell you if the evening needs to move.

• Anyone allergic to shellfish.
• Vegetarians - this is a seafood supper.
• People hoping for a sunset over the sea: Ham Ninh faces east, so the sun sets behind the hills, not over the water. For a sea sunset, see Squid Night.
• Anyone who prefers not to see seafood chosen live from a pen.