Eating Seafood In Sai Kung (2007-02-22)
How can first time visitors to Sai Kung not try their famous seafood? So we did. We went to the most famous restaurant there to experience what we saw celebrities experience on travel shows. Posted on the restaurant's signboard were pictures of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Mr Donald Tsang, Jacky Chan and a number of Hong Kong stars who have eaten there and posed with the owner.
The lady who sold us the live seafood from the restaurant's tanks
was most helpful and courteous. She never once pushed expensive
seafood on us and even told us not to get too many at first in case we
couldn't finish it. She said we could always go back and get more
if there's not enough. She was great.
After we got our seafood, we were given the choice of eating
outdoors or inside by an equally courteous waiter. We decided to
sit outside even though it was a tad nippy but we liked the idea of
eating by the sea. Our food came one at a time as requested by KL
even though I don't think they cooked them one dish at a time because
the subsequent dishes weren't piping hot. But at least they
stayed warmer longer in the kitchen than sitting on our table I suppose.
The poached prawns were sweet and succulent. I don't know how
you can muck up this dish as long as the prawns were alive and jumping
before they hit the wok. All you need is a dish of soy sauce with
chili for dipping and it's a winner. The steamed scallop with
garlic, scallions and rice vermicelli was a bit too garlicky for my
taste and the scallops were tiny. I thought we had bought clams
instead of scallops,
I guess I got the Cantonese word for the two mixed up.
Ah well, should have looked at our purchase instead of just saying the
seafood's name.
The most anticipated seafood--Peeing Prawn-- came next. We
requested it cooked Salt & Pepper style but the dish tasted nothing
like it. It did taste like Cajun, perhaps from the healthy
sprinkling of Cajun spices on the prawn. The prawn looked really
big in the tank, that's why we only got one but it shrank a lot
when cooked. The meat shriveled even more inside the shell.
There's not a whole lot of meat left for eating, so I sucked on the
shells and ate the crisply fried leg bits. The last dish was
razor clams in black bean sauce. The chef sliced the meat before
stirfrying so it didn't look like a
certain male anatomy when
presented. The sauce was okay but the dish lacked the smoky taste
of high heat wok frying which is quintessential in good Cantonese
cooking.
I would rate our meal just okay. Perhaps I was anticipating
too much so the food didn't sit high on my awesome food scale.
And it was
expensive. We didn't buy a large quantity of the four different
types of seafood and the bill came to HK$440/US$55 including
tips. I'm not sure I'd return, I can eat very very well (meaning
a lot more food including fresh seafood
and meat) for half that price and twice the taste in many
restaurants in the city.
Chuen Kee Seafood Restaurant G/F, 51-55 Hoi Pong Street, Sai Kung Tel:2791-1195
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