STRANGE Seafood in Hong Kong!! RARE Seafood Tour from Fish Balls to Fish Stalls!!

[Music] when you heard like raw cuttlefish were you thinking this I didn't know what to expect it looks so elegant no I excited let's go for it Hong Kong a city of over 7 million started as a humble fishing village long ago hello sir now it's a seafood obsessed culture getting this are pretty expensive probably yeah where you can find the world's most exotic delicacies all in one place so he just gives me these he just totally trusts I'm gonna pay him well yeah you better today me and my guide Virginia are exploring seafood you'll only find in Hong Kong Oh some fish balls where the hell do you find a machine like that two fish stalls they look so weird dining on the most unique creatures found in the ocean Hong Kong is a food lover's paradise boasting one of the highest number of restaurants per capita ratios in the world taking pride in their dim sum and succulent roasted meats plus restaurants that make an appearance on Hong Kong's Michelin Guide today we're exploring some of Hong Kong's foodie roots dating back many years long before this place became the third most competitive economy in the world this is a birdie market aberdeen wholesale fishing market [Music] Aberdeen wholesale fish market has the longest running history in Hong Kong these days fully one-third of this city seafood makes its way through here long before the Sun rises this place is a hive of activity with fishermen offloading the catch of the day to traders who collect organize and display their best offerings in my boats and other stuff they came in just like you they came in on a plane and then it would get in from a truck coming the local offerings include mainly fish oh my goodness this fish it looks like it has a lipstick on they have eels do you throw this into a hot pot or something you would probably steam it on top of maybe last noodles and black beans Oh yummy they have shellfish she's got crabs more crab was this called a bread crab whoa he's alive or dead he's probably half alive right now that's me and then it's little arms open up like this it's got some little pinchers it's so cute and it's so nice to you it's so nice it's just letting me do whatever and shrimp oh they caught some plastic please don't tell me our oceans have gotten this out of control with each other look at that guy I was wondering how they got it in there there's like a there's a split the plastic is cut here the word takes a moment to swing by and inform us which means it's very powerful so can I hurt you oh yeah what does it feel like oh and I hold it right there considering these alien looking creatures can generate enough force to knock my teeth out they make you just a little bit nervous but that doesn't mean they're not delicious either way I'll find out soon enough this one is definitely not from anywhere near here this is a Hui dog little refugees roughly I think with this particular a food bigger is indeed better seafood from all around the world from the deepest depths of the ocean is caught and imported to this market luxurious fine-dining seafood experiences are a staple of the city and that means seafood usually is in high demand you think this is a pretty expensive probably yeah do you like spiny lobster more Canadian lobster the seafood here will supply restaurants seafood vendors and other middlemen around the city a select few Aberdeen's fish leave the market and end up here in Kowloon city we're after a decades-old process they'll be transformed into one of Hong Kong's most iconic dishes mr. Lam has 40 years of experience making fish balls he's one of the best and he knows it so he said that people have you know immigrated to the world once they get off the plane they will come over here and get his fish oh that's awesome I like to hear that he's got balls I think here there are no fillers and no BS just a loyalty to the decades-old recipe that separates Hong Kong fish balls from everywhere else in the world I know we're not a Hong Kong fresh but we are the fastest growing food entertainment in the world which is pretty good not too much I told him you had almost four million drivers he said that's not much yeah well thank you for appearing on my dinky Channel but we're up and coming and I appreciate your appearance it means a lot to us and I think with someone like you and your food maybe we can really boost the numbers anyways let's jump into it these iconic balls start here you must first squeeze the fish quickly and efficiently pressing out its meat leaving behind skin and bones the skin will get fried and the bones will be used for a fish stock this is my first-ever mechanical fish dress that I've ever seen it's only for the purpose of squeezing out this fish where the hell do you find a machine like this these tools tell the story of Lambs love-hate history with the cast iron beast breakdowns are inevitable and when it happens he's ready to show you my hat Wow he makes it look easy but that's harder than you would think well you did pretty good I mean you know 90% give you a bike you're giving him grapes now I can't believe he said corn millions not that much hey he's like a - only why'd you translate that category limbs balls require three types of fish blended together using this machine then put in a pounder along with ice and salt the ice ensures that proteins keep their shape after 45 minutes it's become a consistent smooth paste as a fish ball master what is it tank to make a superior fish ball in comparison to any factories or stuff you might see at the wet market we use high quality fish obviously every factor you will have it a little bit different so he can comment on what other products they might be putting into their fish it could be drugs well I was going with flour but the paste is added to a portioning machine that uniformly shapes each ball I don't know how it works but this is its sole purpose saving limb from shaping each ball by heat historically fishbowls was stuff like that used from leftover fish this is probably more high-end these balls are boiled and then in a step unique to Hong Kong they're deep-fried creating a more golden color and a thicker skin on the outside now these balls are finally ready for your mouth first of all I was expecting these to be put in a broth or something like that they've been one done in just water not even a broad they put curry sauce all over it is it 100% protein or a certain service some other stuff no there was no flour it's just all fish treatments straightening [Music] hmm oh yeah that's incredibly meaty which sounds obvious but it's got kind of a skin on the outside it's just fun to chew through it's like its robust thick dense meatball if you go to another place at me or may not had filler it doesn't have the same else to it there's got more bounce for the ounce these are awesome I'm impressed I love that it's just 100% pure fish and it's so warm in my body next we're going to side cone I'm excited it's a very scenic area at the coastal area that's enough let's just cut and go there now from fish balls to fish stalls next fight come town [Music] this area is typically a getaway for locals and tourists alike for the past few months Hong Kong has seen a dramatic decline in the number of tourists and travelers it's hell on the economy but at least there's no lines right here I love this it's kind of a market on the water this guy has a boat with everything in it so how does this work so what you can do is you can come and buy your seafood take it to one of the restaurants and then they cook it for you for a charge you can buy at the restaurant as well but some people like to do it here it's cheaper vendors dock here every day from dusk till dawn or at least until they sell out before giant seafood restaurants before massive fish markets this is how things were done you talk a little bit about the history of Hong Kong and azhar relates to see hood we have a couple of early clams in Hong Kong the first one being the punty so they are the name is Hong Kong and then the Hakka and they took a lot of the land that was farmable so the third clan that came on where the tank had and they had no farmable land so what they decided to do was to work and live on their boat and that's still sticking around here today as we see right before us a lot has changed but some of that still lingers on I'm in search of that mantis shrimp we saw earlier at Aberdeen this boat man is fresh up but there are plenty of others to challenge no sir guy what do you recommend what's like a hot seller right now I prefer whoa that's a nice-looking grouper how much is that 250 actually I've got my eyes on these mantis shrimp it's 200 for 3 I have a question though I noticed they're not in a plastic bottle and they're not fighting each other it comes in a bottle but obviously for selling purposes for aesthetic purposes they've taken that bottles listen I want three big succulent mantis shrimps please what about those three beauties Wow beautiful yes please don't use your hand to tell you the trim oh right okay we got to be safe he just gives me these he just totally trusts I'm gonna pay him well yeah you better yeah all right so he put some money down here this is like the money area I think he's got a money bucket yes oh there it is so perfect thank you all right we got our shrimp ease it would be impossible to leave this city without irresponsibly racking up credit card debt at one of Hong Kong's Michelin guides best seafood experiences this is qu n ki it's been around for 30 years I'm kind of blown away by the selection here the fish I've never seen scallops Kui Doug different shellfish clams lobster varieties I've never even seen before as a kid stepping out of my trailer house and stepping into a Red Lobster was a thing of magic seeing how the 1% really lived laying eyes on red lobsters fresh lobster tank felt like another world a world of opulent luxury oh man oh man we have come a long way fan my inner 12 year old is screaming with joy there's more seafood here than my small town aquarium and you can eat all of it select whatever your heart desires they'll take it away in a moment later it'll appear at your table steamed poached or walk from this here it looks super funky it's a type of lobster this is one of the most strange-looking crustaceans I have ever seen it's called a slipper lobster which is genetically engineered in China oh it's a lobster the whole time so we're gonna get that then one other fish a fish that's not cuddly-looking at all the cuttlefish how is that this is a creature it can really change its skin tone if you tap one they will actually change color boom and if you touch it they have like a skull oh it's hard if not mushy like I thought it would be so I think we get one of these okay here something I've never seen before cuttlefish served wrong remove the cuttlefish ink sack wash cut then slice it into nearly paper-thin portions on the side soy sauce and wasabi awesome texture firm Lego chewiness to a low sting of wasabi that is delicious and there's so much of it if I had it without you telling me what it was I wouldn't have known it was a cuttlefish yeah it's a bit similar to squid I think even more firm and somehow more luxurious thank you yeah thanks buddy that's not it the parts not used for sashimi will get fried in a mix of Szechuan chili sauce pepper egg yolk and flour is there anything hard in there it's all soft right yeah he took off all the hard bit it's a bit rubbery I think I definitely prefer they see me more I think it's still delicious it's got a nice little red coating on there definitely more firm than a squid lips good I think there's more of a crunch and there's much more of a chew totally next these looked awesome in the water now it doesn't look like anything the whole mantis shrimp is deep-fried and wok tossed in a secret seasoning and also garlic so this is called typhoon shelter style people used to eat it on fishing boats that just means putting it in a huge mound of garlic fried of minced garlic I'm gonna try digging one of these guys out right now should I be putting more garlic and garlic it's the best part I have no idea how to eat this you have to give it a massage first it actually separates it from its meat a little bit more do you want me to teach you or not yes Roger shrimp and then afterwards cut through on the bottom and then you peel it oh yes good food takes effort wow that's a beauty look at that yeah step one all the garlic we put on top was in fact pointless cuz gonna take it off now step two flex it about to loosen up thigh meat yeah I feel like getting looser oh I don't even think I need a scissors yeah burn but look at my plate area let's swing over to her plate area I'm gonna say we're both not good at fine dining oh let me put on some garlic interesting nice and meaty but a little fishy to me but you think it's fishy yeah it tastes like what it looks like a little bit weird I really all the god I love mantas hey cool cameo next this is what I really wanted to build up to here the weirdest lobster you will ever see the lobster is chopped in half seasoned and fried then walked tossed with salted egg yolk sauce and more egg yolk pout all wall and made my voice crack it's so interesting so succulent wait can I smell it first yeah that's allowed I got a whole lot of egg yolk the salted egg yolk creamy and nice in some ways but it's gritty and overpowering too I'm gonna give it a little scrape it is definitely like a lobster tail it's a bit like sinewy people in Hong Kong they don't get the biggest line but they get the medium-sized ones because then the meat is a little bit more tender and I think it's because the bigger it is than the Simon there's no dude I mean a grandpa lobster over here what do you expect well we did a really good job today we ate so many weird unique and various types of food in Hong Kong some things I've never seen in some things I've never tried if you're at home right now we're on the toilet watching this show first of all thanks for watching second of all I hope you had as much fun as I did experiencing us eat all this unique seafood here in Hong Kong apparently the hub of international seafood was that a real left yeah genuine nice let's end on that genuine laughs when it comes to food Hong Kong is a city of tradition and progress a little bit of old and a little bit of new for a few bucks you can fill your mouth with flavors unique to the city or you can go all out you bring your cravings and they'll take care of the rest [Music] there's no doubt history is being made right now in Hong Kong if you're planning on visiting the city I suggest you enlist the help of Virginia and her tour company humans with a chance of fish balls to make the most of your time from food tours to private tours and all the help you need navigating the city from researching and shooting to editing and mastering our 10-person best ever food review show team works hard to roll out the highest quality travel food entertainment twice a week if you like what we do here please consider supporting our patreon patreon allows fans of the show to contribute a monthly sum and receive a load of extras like early video releases private q and a's and beyond to learn more about our patreon check out the link in the description box down below and if you can't give or don't even feel like it that's okay too we're just happy you're here well there it is guys that is our Hong Kong episode did you like it if none don't say anything if you did let us know in the comments down below Virginia huge thank you to you please give me an awkward handshake guys we will see you next time thank you so much for watching and as always Oh beep you're supposed to stay on screen oh my god how many times

Channel: Best Ever Food Review Show

Views: 5,497,843

Keywords: hong kong, hong kong food, hong kong seafood, hong kong safe to travel now, hong kong safety, hong kong tourism, best ever food review show, sonny side, slipper lobster, fishballs, hong kong wish balls, where to eat hong kong, hong kong street food

Id: -kyqE2Nq3pc

Length: 17min 44sec (1064 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 24 2019