Locals can’t get enough of this Hong Kong cuissssine, however it’s not for the faint-hearted.
When our resident world visitor and press reporter Ikuna Kamezawa goes to a brand-new nation, she makes it her objective to discover regional specials and covert gems not discovered in your typical manual. Her current journey to Hong Kong was no various, however with lots of areas that might have been thought about ‘hidden gems’ in the previous having now end up being widely known and popular, she’d need to work a little more difficult to discover someplace really understood simply to residents.
So after what seemed like an eternity travelling through the streets of the Hong Kong streets, Ikuna came across a little restaurant called Se Wong Hing. Ikuna isn’t proficient in Cantonese, however all over the shop the character 蛇 might be seen, which in Japanese reads as hebi, or snake.
Yes, Se Wong Hing (or ‘Snake King‘) is a shop specialising in snake meat. Snake is eaten in many places all over the world, but outside of Okinawan snake wine, in Japan snakes are about as commonly found in toilets as on dinner tables. So for Ikuna, this was a real novelty, and a great opportunity to try something you’d never ever discover in Japan.
The menu sought to include 2 set meals — set A, which was HK$140 (US$17.83), and set B, which was $173; quite costly for a lunch break meal, however around typical for supper. Ikuna wasn’t sure of the distinction or what would be coming as part of her set, and to be sincere she had really low expectations regarding how tasty her meal would be. But you just have one life, and she understood that if she didn’t a minimum of offer snake a shot, specifically from a restaurant called ‘Snake King’, she’d regret it later on.
So, she bought set A and went within to take a seat.
Ikuna was a little assured upon going into the Snake King restaurant, as it was complete with other consumers, calmly wolfing down their bowls of snake. There was a lot of composing on the walls of the shop which she couldn’t check out, so chose to presume it was discussing all medical advantages and high dietary worth.
She likewise chose to neglect the white racks on the right…
… which had the words 毒蛇 (dangerous snake) composed on them.
Not 3 seconds after making her order, Ikuna was offered a bowl of soup. A bowl… of snake soup, in a thick, starchy broth!
The broth appeared to have actually originated from this big silver container discovered outside the shop. There was a container for the soup, and likewise a container filled with prepared rice to accompany Ikuna’s soup.
Soon the rest of her order showed up — in addition to her bowl of snake stew, she likewise had a bowl of a thinner snake broth, and what appeared like takikomi gohan — experienced rice with a mix of meat, veggies and other garnishes.
Ikuna hadn’t been anticipating to get 2 bowls of snake soup, however she hadn’t actually made sure what to anticipate, so she got stuck in immediately, all set to do fight with the Snake King.
First off was the snake stew in the thick broth. Snake meat is quite pricey, however a really generous assisting was contributed to this soup, which likewise consisted of sliced kikurage mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and ginger. The stew tasted remarkably good. The snake meat had a good texture to it also and looked and tasted comparable to chicken neck. The broth was thick and flavourful, and Ikuna enjoyed it a lot.
Next up was the bowl of thin snake broth. Ikuna noticed this one may be more medical than the previous bowl, and it did undoubtedly taste more bitter. Instead of snake meat, this bowl appeared to include snake extract rather. Ikuna didn’t especially enjoy this broth, however valued the possible health advantages she’d obtain from consuming it.
Finally, the bowl of rice. It was topped with an abundant sauce, in addition to intestinal tracts, peanuts, and green onions, and Ikuna couldn’t get enough of it. But as she gobbled it down, a bead of sweat diminished her forehead, and she understood that she’d been sweating non-stop because her very first bite of snake soup. Is this the wonderful recovery power of snake soup? Had she been unconsciously served a few of the dangerous snake? She wasn’t sure, however as she took her last bite of the rice bowl, she was definitely soaked in sweat.
Taking on the Snake King is no simple accomplishment, and something novices need to not hurry into gently. But at the exact same time, snake soup is a special that’s been liked by the individuals of Hong Kong for centuries, and is absolutely worth attempting a minimum of when.
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