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

When you heard raw cuttlefish, were you thinking this? I didn't know what to expect. It looks so elegant. So excited. Let's go for it. Cheers. Hong Kong, a city of over 7 million, started as a humble fishing village long ago. Hello, sir. Do you want to do some... Yeah! Now it's a seafood-obsessed culture. Do you think these are pretty expensive? Probably, yeah. Where you can find the world's most exotic delicacies all in one place. What is this? Whoa! I've never seen it either. From North Korea. I didn't... So he just gives me these, he just totally trusts that I'm going to pay him. Well, yeah, you better. Today, me and my guide Virginia are exploring seafood you'll only find in Hong Kong. Oh my goodness. From fish balls. Where the hell do you find a machine like this? To fish stalls. It looks 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 Aberdeen Market. Aberdeen Wholesale Fishing Market. Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market has the longest running history in Hong Kong. These days, only one third of the city's 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. 60% is from local, and then about 40% is import. Some stuff that comes in by boat, and other stuff, they came in just like you. They came in on a plane, get in from a truck. The local offerings include mainly fish. Oh my goodness. This fish looks like it has lipstick on. They have eels. Do you throw this into a hot pot or something? You would probably steam it on top of maybe glass noodles and black bean sauce. That sounds good. That's so yummy. They have shellfish. He's got crabs. That doesn't sound good. More crab. What is this? It's called a bread crab. Whoa. Are these alive or dead? He's still alive. He's probably half alive right now. That's me. And then its little arms open up like this. It's got some little pinchers. It's so f***ing 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. Because they don't want them to fight with each other. Look at that guy. I was wondering how they got it in there. There's like a... There's a slit. The plastic is cut here. The owner takes a moment to swing by and inform us. Which means it's very powerful. So, can it hurt you? What does it feel like? Oh, it had a hole. It went right through. Considering these alien-looking creatures can generate enough force to knock my teeth out, they make me 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 geoduck. It's from North Korea. I didn't... I don't know how. My God, they're like little refugees. Personally, I think with this particular seafood, 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 this city. And that means seafood usually is in high demand. You think this is pretty expensive? Probably, yeah. This one's from Indonesia. Do you like spiny lobster more or Canadian lobster? Obviously, Canadian lobster. But if he stops, maybe I'll say him. Is he prettier, the other side? Yeah, actually. I think he can tell if it's a boy or a girl by the... The seafood here will supply restaurants, seafood vendors, and other middlemen around the city. A select few of Aberdeen's fish leave the market and end up here in Kowloon City. Where after a decades-old process, they'll be transformed into one of Hong Kong's most iconic dishes. Good morning, sir. Mr. Lam has 40 years of experience making fish balls. He's one of the best and he knows it. So he says that people have immigrated or moved to all other parts of the world. Once they get off the plane, they will come over here and get his fish balls. Oh, that's awesome. I like to hear that. He's got balls. I think that was inappropriate. 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 Hong Kong press, but we are the fastest growing food entertainment in the world, which is pretty good. Oh, he says that's not too much. I told him you had almost 4 million subscribers. He said that's not much? Yeah. Compared to what? Well, thank you for appearing on my Dinky channel. 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 press that I've ever seen. It's only for the purpose of squeezing out this fish meat. Where the hell do you find a machine like this? These tools tell the story of Lam's love-hate history with the cast-iron beast. Breakdowns are inevitable, and when it happens, he's ready. He's going to show you what happens if he doesn't have the machine. He can do it by hand. Wow. He makes it look easy, but that's harder than you would think. Well, you did pretty good. I mean, you know, 90%. I'll give you an A-. You're giving him grades now? I can't believe he said four million is not that much. He's like, A- only? Why did you translate that? Lam's balls require three types of fish, blended together using this machine, then put in a pounder along with ice and salt. The ice ensures the proteins keep their shape. After 45 minutes, it's become a consistent, smooth paste. As a fish ball master, what does it take to make a superior fish ball? In comparison to any factories or stuff you might see at the wet market, he uses high-quality fish. Obviously, every factory will have it a little bit different, so he can comment on what other products they might be putting into their fish balls. Mmm, 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 Lam from shaping each ball by hand. Historically, fish balls was stuff that you 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 warmed up in just water, not even a broth. They've put curry sauce all over it. Is it 100% protein, or is there some other stuff? No, there was no flour. It's just all fish. Straight meat? Straight meat. 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 this robust, thick, dense meatball. If you go to another place that may or may not add filler, it doesn't have the same bounce to it. It's got more bounce to 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 Sai Kung. I'm excited. It's a very scenic area. It's a coastal area. That's enough. Let's just cut and go there now. From fish balls to fish stalls. Next, Sai Kung Town. 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 can 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. Can you talk a little bit about the history of Hong Kong as it relates to seafood? We have a couple of early clans in Hong Kong. The first one being the Panties, so they are the natives of Hong Kong. And then the Hakka, and they took a lot of the land that was farmable. So the third clan that came on were the Tangkas, and they had no farmable land. So what they decided to do was to work and live on their boats. 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 boatman is fresh up, but there are plenty of others to check. Hello, sir. What do you recommend? What's like a hot seller right now? A grouper. Whoa, that's a nice looking grouper. How much is that? $250. Actually, I've got my eyes on these mantis shrimp. I think this is $200 for three. 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 them out of the bottles. Listen, I want three big, succulent mantis shrimps, please. What about those three beauties? Whoa! Beautiful. Yes, please. Don't use your hand to touch the shrimp. All right. Okay, we got to be safe. He just gives me these. He just totally trusts that I'm going to pay him. Well, yeah, you better. Cash only. Always remember that. Cash only. Yeah. All right. So he puts the money down here. This is like the money area. I think he's got a money bucket. Yes. Oh, there it is, sir. All right, here you are. Perfect. Thank you. All right, we got our shrimpies. Let's go. It would be impossible to leave this city without irresponsibly racking up credit card debt at one of Hong Kong's Michelin Guide's best seafood experiences. This is Chuen Kee. It's been around for 30 years. I'm kind of blown away by the selection here. The fish I've never seen. Scallops, geoduck, 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 live. Laying eyes on red lobster's fresh lobster tank felt like another world. A world of opulent luxury. But now, man oh man, we have come a long way, fam. 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, and a moment later, it'll appear at your table. Steamed, poached, or wok-fried. This here 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. Was this genetically engineered in China? Hello, hello. Closer. This is as close as I'm... Hello, yeah, it's for you. Oh, f**k, 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. Ooh! It's hard, it's 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 raw. Remove the cuttlefish ink sac, wash, cut, then slice it into nearly paper-thin portions. On the side, soy sauce and wasabi. So good. Awesome texture, firm, like a little chewiness to it, little 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, but I think even more firm and somehow more luxurious. Thank you. That's so good, yeah, thanks, buddy. That's not it. The parts not used for sashimi will get fried in a mix of Sichuan 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 bits. It's a bit rubbery. I think I definitely prefer the sashimi more. I think it's still delicious. It's got a nice little bread coating on there. Definitely more firm than a squid. A squid, I think there's more of a crunch, and this has more of a chew. Does that make sense? 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 minced garlic. I'm going to try digging one of these guys out right now. Yeah. I'm going to put that on your plate. Holy moly. Should I be putting more garlic on too? Yeah, the garlic is 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. Can I get extra garlic on mine? I want to throw it everywhere. Do you want me to teach you or not? Yes. Massage your shrimp. And then afterwards, cut through on the bottom and then you peel it. Oh, let's see it. Good food takes effort. Wow, that's a beauty. Look at that. Thank you. Step one, all the garlic we put on top was in fact pointless because we need to take it off now. Step two, flex it about to loosen up thy meat. Yeah, I feel it getting looser. Oh, I don't even think I need a scissors. Yeah, look at that. Quick look at my plate area. Let's swing over to her plate area. I'm going to say we're both not good at fine dining. Oh, let me put on some garlic. Interesting. Nice and meaty, but it tastes a little fishy to me. Oh, you think it's fishy? Yeah. It tastes like what it looks like. A little bit weird. Oh, really? Oh, my God. I love mantis. 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 wok-tossed with salted egg yolk sauce and more egg yolk powder. Oh, wow. It made my voice crack. It's so interesting. Oh, yes. That looks so succulent. Wait, can I smell it first? Yeah, that's allowed. Oh, 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 going to 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 ones, 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, then the cook time is longer. It's an old dude. I mean, a grandpa lobster over here. What do you expect? Wow, 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 and some things I've never tried. If you're at home right now or 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 laugh? Yeah, genuine. Nice. Let's end on a genuine laugh. 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 this city. Or you can go all out. You bring your cravings, and they'll take care of the rest. Happy birthday to you. 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, Humid with a Chance of Fishballs, 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 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&As, 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 not, 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, peace. You're supposed to stay on screen. Ow! Oh my god. How many times?