August 16 2006 - Dried Fish

On Monday I met Sandy in Central and she took me to the dried food markets in Sheng Wan. Remember when Daniel and I took the tram and went to the Western Market, and we found that street of dried things and I wondered what they were? Well now I know! With Sandy, we went walking further west on Hong Kong Island. There were blocks and blocks and blocks of those shops. Here is a short summary of what those shops contain:

Bird’s nests, in all kinds of colors, shapes and sizes

Ginseng

Shark’s Fins (but Sandy said most of them aren’t really sharks)

Fish Stomachs (bags and bags and bags of this stuff, in various shapes, sizes, qualities and consistencies)

Deer antlers, sliced, ground, etc.

All kinds of dried mushrooms

Dried figs, nuts, and seeds

Dried scallops, again, bins and bins of it

Dried abalone – this apparently is considered a great delicacy. Depending on the quality, it could be incredibly expensive – we saw some that was $38,000 HK for 3 pieces (yes, that’s over $5,000 US!!).

Wonderful-smelling dried flowers and leaves, for making tea.

Dried sea cucumbers – nasty, black, moldy-looking things, that Sandy said were “very good”. Hmph!

A type of sea weed that looked like black hair, shaped into a stiff black cap! I couldn’t imagine eating it.

There was more, but these were the main things. Sandy said that most of the items are used in soups and teas, and are believed to have various medicinal qualities. She said that now Chinese are starting to learn that some of these things have no scientific basis and that fresh fruits and vegetables are actually better for them. I’m curious about it though; I know some studies have been done that indicate that some things do have medicinal value.

Sandy wanted to buy some fish stomach, but since she was with me she couldn’t get a good price. I told her I would hide, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

She is going on a vacation to Tibet next week, and won’t be back until after I leave for the US. I am going to miss my Cantonese lessons; they’ve turned into much more than just language lessons!