Net gains: a new wave of seafood spots
Shellfish types in for a treat as a number of Western-style seafood eateries open in the city, writes Vanessa Yung
seafood, Hongkongers know what they like. Squid sashimi with wasabi and soy sauce, spicy wok-fried typhoon-shelter crab in crispy garlic, and steamed grouper drizzled with sweet soya sauce - the list goes on.
But while there's an abundance of good Cantonese-style cooking in the city, in the past there haven't been many affordable international outlets. Luckily, an army of seafood restaurants has opened across the city to fill the gap.
An extension of co-owners Leslie Li and Sandy Fletcher's home delivery business, Exotix Venue in Tai Kok Tsui serves produce that redefines freshness and cleanliness. The petite corner shop dishes up sashimi-grade goodies that are revived and depurated using an Australian-imported fish-farming system in their Sha Tin base.
"Basically we reclock the seafood that's been shipped live to Hong Kong back to zero, just like it's fresh out of water. It's to let them [excrete] all the stuff they withhold during transportation," says Fletcher, an accountant-turned-chef. "We adjust the temperature, lighting and salinity of each tank individually. Each system is separate from the others, so if there's any disease in one tank, there won't be any cross-contamination."
As many people are still reluctant to make purchases without seeing a shop front, says Fletcher, the eight-seater eatery that opened four months ago serves as an entry point for customers to get a taste of everything, from New Zealand Tua Tua clams to French blue mussels and Boston lobsters before ordering.
Their crunchy razor clam sashimi is good alone or when spiked up with a Thai spicy sauce. Mud crabs from the Philippines, which have pure white gills from depuration and plump roe from rehydration, is turned into an enticing Gejang (Korean marinated crab) dish using sake, soy sauce and fruit.