If you love seafood, Sanya is not to be missed. Sanya tables overflow with the familiar and the exotic. Like most island diets, traditional Hainan cuisine has been influenced over the years by local resources, weather and the environment. Abundant abalone, sea cucumber and sea urchin together make up Sanya's "triangle of ocean treasures", their high nutritional value (all are low in calories and cholesterol, but high in protein and good fats) making them local favorites. Add some qing crab, xie clam, oyster, lobster and fresh shellfish, and you've got a seafood feast you won't soon forget. Caught fresh from the ocean or brought in from nearby Beibu Fish Hatchery or Nanhai Fish Hatchery, Sanya seafood is taken out of the water mere moments before it hits your plate, and many restaurants keep glass tanks, allowing customers to pick out their soon-to-be meal.
 
Seafood is cooked in any number of ways. Light fish and crab are steamed; heartier varieties are often fried, while anything and everything can be cooked in hotpot.