Tai O Restaurants

Now if you're a true foodie in Hong Kong, you'll know that that the best seafood to be had over here is in Tai O. Contrary to belief, you won't find good seafood in a neon-lit floating restaurant stupidly named after an elephant. The glitz is just expensive razzle dazzle for the foreigners. Tai O is for the more discerning local. Every local worth his salt knows that the seafood in Tai O is sold for a quarter of city prices and is far fresher than those sold in the city since it's caught just off the nearby waters.

But be forewarned, eating in Tai O is not a straightforward process!

You'll need to endure a bum-rotting ride on the MTR, squeeze yourself in a slow-moving bus to get to the backwaters of Lantau Island and go on a wild goose chase to get the freshest seafood! If you're still determined, read on and find out how to eat the best seafood in Hong Kong, bpacker style.

The poor fish was still wriggling hard and gasping for air in the plastic bag. Guess it has not entered his head that he was to be dinner. This sounds cruel but the fresher the fish, the better he will taste. No chinese will eat a fish that has been dead, frozen for months and made into a fish stick.

Now if you're a true foodie in Hong Kong, you'll know that that the best seafood to be had over here is in Tai O not in some neon-lit floating restaurant stupidly named after an elephant. The glitz is just expensive razzle dazzle for the foreigners. Tai O is for the more discerning local. Every local worth his salt knows that the seafood in Tai O is sold for a quarter of city prices and is far fresher than those sold in the city since it's caught just off the nearby waters.

Now, the most important task is perhaps buying the fish. Why? Well simply because the Pièce de résistance of any Chinese seafood meal is the FISH. And the Chinese are particular about their fish.They'll do anything to get their hands on a fresh fish and they'll have to eat the fish whole, head, tail and all. Having said that, we scoured the whole village for the freshest fish available. To do so, just buy it off the boat! We managed to find a fisherman selling live fish by the footbridge entrance of Tai O.

Whole, fresh fish were swimming literally in the boat. Groupers, SeaBass, Snappers, you name it! We settled a large Flower Grouper and bargained for a reasonable price. The fisherman was in an agreeable mood so he scopped up a wriggling fish for us, bagged it and gave it to us from his boat using a long stick net.

Well, I deliberately put this picture here so that you can see what the poor fish looked like as dinner. It was steamed with spring onions and soya sauce sauteed with garlic. Delicious!

We grabbed our prize catch with glee and examined the poor fella for signs of diseases. In the meantime, one of us dropped some change into the net and gave it to the fisherman.