The other day I accompanied my colleague, Ales, on a shopping trip to the fish market in the Muttrah harbor neighborhood of Muscat. He loves to cook and he regularly buys fresh fish here. It's basically a large covered tiled concrete slab on which local fishermen display their catch. The vendors lay out a plastic mat and pile up their varied stock. Ice doesn't last long so they sprinkle water over the fish every so often to keep them fresh.
That day we ended up with a large tuna...
...which Ales proceeded to carve up in his kitchen at home, yielding 4 divine fillets. If you aren't into butchering your own fish there are helpers along the back that will do it for you.
There were several varieties of tuna, plus kingfish, hammour, parrotfish, many other species than I cannot name, prawns and shrimp, what looked like eels and a few tropical fish I've only seen in aquariums, never on a menu! Sometimes there are lobsters or small sharks for sale.
That day we ended up with a large tuna...
...which Ales proceeded to carve up in his kitchen at home, yielding 4 divine fillets. If you aren't into butchering your own fish there are helpers along the back that will do it for you.
A trip to this market should be on every tourist's list, though be warned it is a messy, smelly place, not for the faint of heart. It is, however, frequented mostly by locals, and plenty of expats take advantage of the great selection of truly fresh seafood.
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