So the first fish to be caught was this very unhappy fellow. Probably this filefish never thought that the shrimp morsel was going to be his last meal for ever. Now he is going to be a meal for me!
The second fish to be caught was this little scrappy scorpionfish. I heard they taste quite good, but I was thinking a much larger one would be better.
We are in small fish mode folks! This juvenile "sun beam" as they are called is about the size of a large damsel. Speaking of damsels, I tried luring huge sergeant majors to my hook, but they were way too smart!
After some hard battles with the little fish, it was lunch time - my favorite time of the day! The old lady picked us up again with her boat and we ended up at her house - a floating platform house!
The lady and her daughter got busy preparing food for us. Included in the meal was this steamed fresh grouper! Man, fish never tasted so good!
Some vegetables and roasted duck that we bought from the restaurant earlier in the morning.
And one more dish - black pepper beef ribs! Man it smelled and tasted so good!
And here we are sitting Indian style with friends ready to chow down!
While we were eating, the lady of the house was busy setting up traps to catch rabbitfish. Old molded bread was used as bait to lure the unsuspecting little guys into the trap. Once they enter, they cannot get out.
Some swimming crabs on hand. These were already ordered from a group of tourists.
Soon after the great meal, we went back to the fishing platform. My friend hooked on a live shrimp and caught this grouper!
It was getting late in the afternoon and I guess the owner of the platform (grows fish) showed up and started chopping some small fish.
Upon a closer look, it was anchovies!
The fish started going crazy after the guy dumped in handfuls of chopped up chovies! Remeber the little silver fish called the sunbeam that we were catching? Well, these are bigger versions - around 12 inches long.
Like all good things come to an end, the sun was setting and it was time to head back. Here is what we caught for the day. Two filefish, a rabbitfish, a grouper, bunch of small scorpionfish, small beams, and a squid! We released the little beams in the end.
So the jack of all trades old lady picked us up again and we were off!
We got back to the wharf and sure enough, there were fishermen still trying their lucks!
After a quick taxi ride, we ended up down this alley.
Here is the best part of this trip. So this restaurant cleans and cooks our catch for a small price! How cool is that? Never heard such a thing in the US, but I loved the idea!
First plate to arrive on our table was this, scorpionfish and shrimp (the shrimp is our leftover bait). Maybe I was hungry, but it sure tasted good!
Here is one of the scorpionfish, not looking so scorpion like!
This soup was made from the scorpionfish and the shrimps! Delicious!
Oh man! The steamed squid with garlic was just insanely delicious and beyond! I never knew squid could taste so good! Makes my mouth water just remembering it!
And here is our collection of "aquarium fish" The one on the left is the grouper. The one next to it is a filefish. The third one is the rabbitfish. And the one on the far right is another filefish. I have to say that the rabbitfish tasted the best of the three, then the filefish and then the grouper.
Guess what fish this is. If you guessed filefish, you are going to Disneyland!
Me chowing down on a filefish!
You heard of Reef Central? Well this is Pets Central. After done eating, we walked around the neighborhood and I spotted this building. Hong Kong people love their pets!
I declare Hong Kong dog lover capital of the world!
We continued to walk around the wharf area and came across this entrance.
Inside was a fresh seafood market.
Napoleon wrasse chuncks for sale!
Lobsters anyone?
Mantis shrimps are really tasty!
The poor guys, they get stuck inside these bottles until they get sold - and then it is off to the wok or pan or pot!
Cuttlefish looking like aliens.
Looks like the black and white zebra maxima clam!
So here is what the inside of a scallop looks like. The white meat you eat is the abductor muscle.
Kids playing with a huge horshoe crab on the street. It was meant to attract attention to the restaurant that serves it.
A lobster holding station.
Big groupers anyone? The chances are, these are from Indonesia, although they could have come from the Philipines.
Another seafood vendor showcasing the live goods!
Here is a side view picture of the seafood market. To the left is the bay.
So here is how it works. You go buy the live seafood from the vendors and then take it to the next door restaurants. For a fee, they cook it the way you want it. Pretty exciting and something I want to try next time. The prepared food looked so good!
We continued to walk and I took this picture from a pier. That neon fish is a napoleon wrasse!
Ah good old Mickey D's! Reminds me of the good old days when I was a youngin!.
So it was getting late and it was time to head back to the hotel. But before we got on the bus, we stopped at this place for desssert.
A late night snack before bedtime! Way cool!Conclusion
Ok guys that is it for today and this concludes this fishing series. It was a great day and I will never forget the beautiful tunicates. It was lots of fun for guys like me that really like being out on the water. Going to a restaurant and having them cook your catch was just the icing on the cake! I love Hong Kong!!
My next post will come from Singapore. I will be attending and meeting some friends and business associates at the Aquarama 2009. The international trade show runs from May 28th to the 31st. Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
Eddie
