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Tales From My Travels: Sai Kung 2014

LukyJess

By LukyJess
in Food Traditions & Culture

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LukyJess

LukyJess

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Posted

This is a trip I took with my good friend, Jenny, and her family. They were going to Hong Kong for their cousin's wedding and took me along so I could explore. On my last day, they graciously invited me to join their family friends' summer hideout near Sai Kung... a floating fishing village.

Sai Kung 1.jpg

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The little homes have just the bare necessities but the kitchen is the most important section.

Sai Kung 2.jpg

 

While enjoying the sunday afternoon basking in the sun, I was offered to fish and we prepared hooks with shrimp as bait.

Needless to say I didn't catch anything exciting...

Sai Kung 4.jpg

 

I did get to pull out the blue crab trap!

Sai Kung 5.jpg

 

Towards the end of the day, we took the boat back to shore and headed toward the town of Sai Kung, a fisherman village.

Sai Kung 6.jpg

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The village has an awesome boardwalk comprising many seafood restaurant that display their menu in large tanks.

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Close-up on the cuttlefish:

Sai Kung 10.jpg

Mantis Shrimp (the nice ones):

Sai Kung 11.jpg

Mantis Shrimp (the mean ones - they are kept in plastic bottles because they are said to be so aggressive the fisherman don't want them to destroy (yes ... "destroy") one another or break their enclosure:
(Here's a comedic account of why the mantis shrimp is so fascinating: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp)

Sai Kung 12.jpg

This is a HUGE crab... his body alone was bigger than a football I am sure. I would not like to come face to face with one of these guys snorkelling...

Sai Kung 14.jpg

 

This post is too long so I will continue in the next.

  • Like 10
LukyJess

LukyJess

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Posted

Ok so to finish up this post:

 

We went to dinner at the Hung Kee restaurant, where you get to pick what you want to eat out of the tanks.

Sai Kung 15.jpg

We must have ordered 12 courses but here are some highlights:

Chicken feet were tried...

Sai Kung 16.jpg

Crab with Scallions and Ginger:

Sai Kung 17.jpg

Noodles with fresh Lobster:

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Neat little snails cooked in a broth:

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Barbecued duck:

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The mantis shrimp... TAMED! and headed towards my tummy:
Sai Kung 21.jpg
They're honestly pretty ugly once cooked, looking like giant grasshoppers or insects of the like, but they are the best tasting shrimp-like creatures I've ever tried!
 
After dinner we went for a little stroll on the boardwalk where I creeped up to a family eating oysters bigger than I ever seen, they must have been at least 12 inches long and 4 wide... I was in awe:
Sai Kung 22.jpg
 
And that is all I have for Sai Kung! 
Hope you enjoy!
 
Posting all this on here has been reviving memories and I so wish I was back exploring more of China... and the food, gosh the food in Hong Kong and China... so good!
  • Like 15
Thanks for the Crepes

Thanks for the Crepes

Posted
Posted

Thanks for sharing this with us, LukyJess.

 

I'm absolutely sure I'm not the only one fascinated by your reports and photography of your travels.

 

The link to the Oatmeal site didn't work for me, and since I'd been there before, (possibly led there by one of huiray's posts here on eating in China) I wanted to put a working one so folks who are interested could find out more about these intriguing and apparently delicious animals:

 

 http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp

 

It led me to find a bunch of different sites on mantis shrimp, because some of the claims were quite incredible, but I found out everything said in the comic is true. I also eventually found a site where someone had videoed the deployment of the mantis shrimp's armament.

  • Like 3

> ^ . . ^ <

 

 

LukyJess

LukyJess

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted (edited)

Thanks for sharing this with us, LukyJess.

 

I'm absolutely sure I'm not the only one fascinated by your reports and photography of your travels.

 

The link to the Oatmeal site didn't work for me, and since I'd been there before, (possibly led there by one of huiray's posts here on eating in China) I wanted to put a working one so folks who are interested could find out more about these intriguing and apparently delicious animals:

 

 http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp

 

It led me to find a bunch of different sites on mantis shrimp, because some of the claims were quite incredible, but I found out everything said in the comic is true. I also eventually found a site where someone had videoed the deployment of the mantis shrimp's armament.

 

 

Thank you for posting the link, I didn't realize it wasn't working!

Edited by LukyJess (log)
Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted

Thank you for the excellent writeup! I'm curious about how people eat dishes like the crab. It looks like it's still in the shell, but the food in the dish looks sauced. Is it finger food?

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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LukyJess

LukyJess

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Posted (edited)

Thank you for the excellent writeup! I'm curious about how people eat dishes like the crab. It looks like it's still in the shell, but the food in the dish looks sauced. Is it finger food?

 

Hi Smithy,

 

We ate using hands and chopsticks... they do provide nutcracker-like type of pliers to break the shells.

You can see the handles of the pliers on the right side on the photo with the lobster.

The mantis shrimp have softer shells so scissors are provided.

Edited by LukyJess (log)
patrickamory

patrickamory

Posted
Posted

This is great… I've seen mantis shrimp live in Flushing markets - man are they unsettling creatures. What do they taste like?

 

How do the fisherman know which ones are well behaved and which ones will destroy one another? The ones I saw definitely looked hostile to the max.

LukyJess

LukyJess

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

This is great… I've seen mantis shrimp live in Flushing markets - man are they unsettling creatures. What do they taste like?

 

How do the fisherman know which ones are well behaved and which ones will destroy one another? The ones I saw definitely looked hostile to the max.

 

Hi Patrickamory,

 

I found that the mantis shrimp taste like enhanced shrimp... almost like a mini lobster or langoustine (Norway lobster?) but more delicate... very tasty...

 

The fishermen fish all sorts of crustaceans; they can tell apart different species of mantis shrimp by their corresponding colouring and patterns on the shells, also shapes, etc. I am not 100% sure what species these were, as my cantonese is non-existent. I will find out and get back to you!  :blush:

KennethT

KennethT

Posted
Posted

Thanks for these photos! Really takes me back... A few years ago, my wife and I spent a week in HK and went to Sai Kung for a day. We also had some mantis shrimp, but the place we went did not provide scissors, so it was difficult to peel them, and we left disappointed by them as I also think they were a little overcooked and the meat stuck to the shells. This reminds me to try them somewhere else on out next trip to the area!

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