I can’t believe I haven’t shared this meal with you yet! For all the squawking I do about the beauty of the Italian and island cuisine, the Chinese have got it going on.

Tai O fishing village on Lantau Island, Hong Kong.

A few things I admire about Chinese cuisine? In addition to what I wrote when I first returned from Hong Kong…

Chinese food in China, including the Chinese counterparts of American favorites, don’t have all the salt, sugar, and preservatives found in our food. Noticeably so. From what I sampled, chocolates (specifically, KitKats and McD’s milkshakes), Yoplait yogurt, Sprite, and Starbucks Vanilla lattes are less sweet. McD’s fries are less salty. Instead of alcohol, hot jasmine tea and hot water are served at meals. I saw an occasional Cream Soda and at one meal two bottles of red wine were split amongst our party of 12. For dessert a beautiful platter of melon and a bowl of lightly sweetened pureed squash were served.

…I forgot to mention that they typically use the whole animal and plant. Or in the case of this post, fish. Here in the states? We create a whole lot of unnecessary waste. (A really good way to combat this waste? Earthworms! Some restaurants are even getting in on it.)

I remember the first time a whole cooked fish was placed in front of me. It was at an authentic Chinese restaurant here in the Bay Area with Jetsetter’s family. Now, growing up catching fish in my backyard I knew what they looked like. I wasn’t a total naive foodie like my Arizona cousin who had never seen cornstalks before our trip to the Midwest. At eleven years he still thought corn was naturally kerneled and supposed to be kept frozen. (And that cows didn’t lay down until they died.) Still, here I was in college and surprised to see the fish’s shimmery body still intact with a shiny eye staring straight at me from the plate.

Was I expected to eat the skin? (Yes.) I’d heard somewhere that the cheek and eyes were considered a delicacy. (Yes and yes.) And how was I supposed to attack it with chopsticks? (Just do it!) Usually, you know, when you gut and filet fish the head, tail, and bones are removed. On the island we use these scraps for crab bait, but I know in many supermarkets and homes they’re just tossed out with the garbage.

During my February trip to Hong Kong I had multiple more encounters with whole fish. The most memorable? Jetsetter’s family took us to a local fish market right on the water.

There we selected our still-swimming entrees to be delivered to a nearby restaurant just across the alleyway where they would be prepared for our dining pleasure. Jetsetter’s dad insists that this is the way to eat seafood in Hong Kong. All the fish is local, caught just off-island and you know you’re eating fresh when you see it still swimming. This way you can negotiate the best price, too. (We Asians are , after all, all about finding a deal!) The other option is to go directly to the restaurant and have them pick out the fish for you, but you’ll likely be overcharged. Plus picking out and paying for your own fish on the spot means you only have to pay the restaurant for preparation and additional ingredients.

Hello, dinner!

And just a short while later, it was served:

Garlic Clams

Prawns two ways

Remember that fish in the net? Well, here it is. And they definitely used the whole fish. We got three entrees out of that guy. (Watch out for bones!)

More clams

And because we Americans love our chicken, it was included two ways

Sweet and sour style

Cheers!

Tea and lemon finger bowl to cleanse sticky fingers

Dessert – a beautiful array of fresh melon. Sure beats cheesecake, huh? (I’m not joking.)

Dessert – slightly sweetened squash puree.

I think it’s a hit!