Shia Wong Hip

A different and weird experience but nonetheless excellent food. We had the snake soup, turtle soup, snake fry and took home some snake wine. Must try for food aficionados.

Wow I felt like I got dropped on the set of the movie «Big Trouble In Little China!» Shia Wong Hip (SWH) is old school. The stereotype of an esoteric Chinese curio shop!
This brick and mortar business has had a mention on CNN and TripAdvisor. Workers are used to the curious tourists and generally friendly. It is smack in the middle of Sham Shui Po. If you don’t pay attention, you’ll easily walk past it since it’s somewhat hidden behind the sidewalk vendors on Apliu Street.
The shop is old and looks it. The space is tight and cluttered, yet SWH still manages to set up 3 to 4 tables to serve customers with. It’s not uncommon to have to share tables with other customers here. The kitchen is tucked away in the back. As you walk in, you will see cages with snakes inside. There are two wooden cabinets that I could see and both are like ancient artifacts with tons of drawers. Each slot has two Chinese words «毒蛇» in red labelled on it. You guessed it! Venomous snakes! Our table was only inches away from these live venomous snakes in these drawers with really flimsy looking locks. Let’s just say we kept one eye on our food and one eye on those drawers.
SWH’s menu is obviously serpentine-​centric: soup, tempura, stir fry, wine. But wait! They even serve baby mice wine! I have no idea how that worked but *gag*. Really glad that I ate before seeing this special menu item.
According to the locals, snake soup is supposed to have medicinal and nutritional value. Best time to consume is in winter. I was told that in order to bring out the snake flavor, add a pinch of lemongrass and white pepper in your bowl. My soup was not as brothy as I had imagined but full of savory substances. The snake meat had been deboned and came out very tender. Tasted like chicken?! We ordered the sticky rice as well. It was different but in a good way. Definitely not something I can eat often. It was rich and filling. All in all, the whole experience was a bit too exotic for me but I’m glad everyone else enjoyed it. We all had a great time.

** My first Unilocal Hong Kong reivew **
For me a trip to Hong Kong is not complete unless I have some snake soup. This snake specialty restaurant is located in the heart of Apliu Street electronics flea market in busy Shum Shui Po district and is tucked away behind the vendor stalls. It was recommended to me by a HK foodie friend of mine. I was told this place has been open for business for over 35 years. Their walls are lined with newspaper clippings and photos of famous people that have eaten there. There are some snake skin handbags and wallets for sale on the shelf. Behind their counter, there are some old wooden drawers that are probably full of snakes inside. There are also glass jars of preserved snake wine and other artifacts that give this restaurant a very distinct character. We got there around 2 pm and sat at a round table with two other couples. There are only a handful of tables in this restaurant. We ordered two small bowls of snake soup and some stir fried sticky rice. The soup was piping hot and was at our table within minutes. The flavour was very good and it went very well with the sticky rice. The combination of snake meat, shredded pork, wood fungus works well together in this thick broth. It was very savory and delicious, just add a little bit of white pepper and I was in heaven. I definitely will be back. Yes, it was that good!