HONG KONG STREET FOOD | Eating Snake Soup with the Snake Queen of Hong Kong
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- Опубликовано: 4 фев 2025
- In this video we meet the SNAKE QUEEN of HONG KONG, Chau Ka Ling, at her restaurant in Hong Kong's Sham Shui Po neighbourhood, and learn from her about this centuries-old dish and her experiences in this historical industry. We then try snake soup for ourselves!
Shia Wong Hip's website: www.shiawonghip...
Video Credits
Written, produced, filmed, edited, animated, hosted and original music by Sam Evans
Videographer and Executive producer: Vienne Leung-Evans
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Love the documentary style of vlogging about Hong Kong food culture, it was fascinating to hear the lady talk about her snake shop history!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I've had snake soup twice in Hong Kong and it's one of the best soups I've ever eaten. I was quite surprised by its deliciousness b/c we have preconceived notions of what snake would taste like. The texture is similar to chicken, but tastes sweeter, and the way it is prepared HK style, is simply spectacular. Since leaving HK, I've not had it anywhere else in my travels or residing city. In HK, it is a popular dish to eat during wintertime b/c it is believed to be warming to the body, similar to lamb claypot.
Couldn't agree more Minnie, snake soup really is delicious despite our preconceived notions of what snake should taste like! Another testament to the high level of cuisine present in Hong Kong culture.
How much did it cost you?
$50 for a small bowl, $80 for a large bowl.
It's way better tasting than Eel here in New Zealand. It's a very white meat but very stringy
i haven't been able to go back to hong kong for 5 years now and have recently discovered your channel - absolutely delighted to see this video of you trying and highlighting one of my favourite spots in hk! a bowl of snake soup + glutinous rice from here is one of my favourites meals of all time, so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Tammie thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed the video! It is a fantastic spot and one of the true old-school snake soup places in the city that we really hope people try to destigmatise this wonderful dish. That’s a long time you haven’t been back to HK, but hope you can get back soon now the restrictions have finally lifted!
She seemed like a real character with a lot of business smarts. Good to see she's branching her business out to adapt to the times.
Thanks for watching man, and yes she is such a cool lady with business smarts too! Highly recommend snake soup if you ever come across it!
I lived in HongKong from 1978-1981 and visited Golden shopping Centre that then sold copies of Apple II hardware and software. We used to watch Chau’s Farther doing his dance With a live snake then remove its gall bladder and auction it off to the highest bidder. Thank you for bringing back so many memories.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, I bet Sham Shui Po was a very different place then to what it is now- although it is still one of our favourite neighbourhoods! Glad this video brought back memories, and more videos coming soon!
This makes an excellent wintertime appetizer. Nice commentary. The lemon leaves and the wontons make the soup more intense!
Agreed! Thanks for watching and commenting!
very informative indeed Sam, I never knew that Hong Kong is the only place in the world that you can order and eat snake soup easily, without the need to call and wait for a few hours or days before heading to these snake shops. Hong Kong used to have a number of these shops keeping snakes and selling snake soup. Apart from being a very delicious soup, the bile of snake can also cure a number of illness, including cancer ?!! Of course Sam you won't promote that without valid fact checks........ Thanks again Sam, for taking time researching , interviewing and making this VERY interesting program.
Thanks as always Johnson for your wonderful and thoughtful comment. It is too bad that many of these snake soup shops are disappearing like so much of Hong Kong's traditional culture. Thank you for the information on the snake bile, who would have thought that snakes could be so useful at healing the body!? Glad you enjoyed this episode! :)
Fascinating. Lived in hk for a decade and never knew all this. She seems really nice. Love your enthusiasm
Thanks for watching, and glad you enjoyed the video! Yes, Chau Ka Ling is so passionate and down to earth, and a pleasure to meet!
Another great video Sam, we love this one particularly becoz it’s about our favorite snake soup for winter. Ms Chau’s story is indeed interesting, her sounding knowledge on snakes and how to make the delicious rich snake soup is real legend. It’s true that Hong Kong is the only place in the world that have genuine snake soup that can be ready to eat fresh and hot. We miss HK and the unforgettable good taste of snake soup.
Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed it! Couldn't agree more about Chau Ka Ling's story being an interesting one full of expertise. I hope you can make it back in HK in the not too distant future and enjoy another bowl of snake soup for yourself!
Awesome videos, keep up the good work. This is television quality videos, loved hearing the interview with the owner telling her back story.
Thanks for watching and for the kind words, Chau Ka Ling was a pleasure to interview and an absolute character!
Another exceptional video! Love the owner's interview. I love snake soup. I had it when I was a kid in mainland China. I still vividly remember how tasty it was. Hope I can taste it again one day!
She's such a character and was so pleasant to be around. Yes, I genuinely found it delicious too - let's hope HK restrictions ease so more people can come here and enjoy this local gem!
Love your videos. I grew up in hk. Moved to America when i was 16. I learned so much about my home town from your videos. I look forward to visiting, seeing the places and trying the food you recommend. What i love most is that you avoid the tourist hotspots but instead show places where the locals go.
Thanks Stephen, it makes me happy that you're enjoying our videos! Yes, it's certainly our approach to uncover 'real' Hong Kong that a lot of people may not know as much about. That's the part of HK culture that fascinates me. Hope you live somewhere in the States where you can get good Cantonese food!
Another great video Sam. I can't wait to have snake soup again. I love learning the history of these unusual foods and hearing the stories of the people who sell it.
Thanks as always Darren, highly recommend this dish as it was genuinely delicious and not what I expected at all!
Nice to have another post from Hong Kong Hoods. I've seen all the previous episodes and have been waiting a new one. I've had snake dishes in a village north of Hanoi. We ate every parts of the snake. Great experience but would not try again although I would try this soup when I get to HK.
I like your low key style of presentation and story telling.
Thanks for watching Matt, and thanks for sharing about your snake eating experience in Vietnam. I think you'd like the snake soup in Hong Kong as it has such a light flavour and is the perfect winter warmer. Do try it when you get to HK!
Snake soup is pretty tasty. Reminds me of my childhood, it's very rare now to have snake soup as the shops selling snake soup is scarce. Just a reminder, your body gets pretty hot after eating a bowl, so don't do it in summer. Perhaps not for the faint of heart, but i recommend you to give a go on the snake bile juice with chinese wine, not aphrodisiac if i remember correctly, but it is very good for your respiratory system. If you have the appetite, perhaps have a bowl of glutenous rice (糯米飯) after the snake soup. You will be so warmed up. Exceptionally ideal on a cold winter night (not that you have one very often now in hk)
Thank you so much for the information Gildas, that is very helpful, and you certainly seem to have experience eating snake soup! It was a pleasure to try this traditional dish, and although not super cold outside when we tried it, it was a little chilly- and so the soup warmed us up nicely!
Very good vlog to introduce this unique soup. Thank you for your video. 👏👏
Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed.
I was going to this 蛇王協 every time when I was in Hong Kong , the soup was very nice
Agreed, it's pretty delicious stuff. Thanks for sharing!
Another excellent video! This definitely a must do when I eventually get Hong Kong. Thanks Sam😋
Thanks as always Davy. Can’t recommend it enough!
Thanks for introducing this delicacy to the world! Looking forward to trying it one day!😊
Glad you enjoyed the video, and definitely recommend it!
Damn Sam, going the "exotic" route. Love it!
Exotic indeed! Highly recommend it if you get the chance 😊
Love your video ！ imformative and enteraining ！
Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed!
I ate at this shop about twice or thrice a few years ago with my pals during our travel. Delicious!
It’s great isn’t it!? Perfect for winter, was really pleasantly surprised at how good it was!
@@HongKongHoods Ha, yes, and it seemed to warm me from within after eating; felt extra alert after eating it too. I was there when they still had the snake tank or cage at the front of the shop. Guess they must have removed it long ago as I didn't see it in your video. I also had the bull's penis soup with my pals during one visit; quite an 'experience'.
@@mlee1767 Wow, I'm impressed, you really dove into it there! Great stuff, and glad you enjoyed it. Not sure if I'd have the stomach to tackle the bull penis haha!
Sam, I love watching your show, you and your lovely wife makes incredible videos, love it, keep up the. Great work, love you guys and Virginia Chan!!! Yah !!!
Thanks for watching Ricky and glad you’re enjoying the channel! More videos on the way very soon!
really great video!
Thank you!
Interesting video. I want to try that soup , if I get a chance. Great channel by the way.
Thank you and welcome to the channel! We definitely recommend trying snake soup.
Wooo so exstrim eating Snake 🐍 soup 🍲🍲🍲🍲 with Snake 🐍. Queen I think I never eating this soup 🍲🍲🍲
Glad you enjoyed it. I didn't expect snake soup to be delicious, but it was very tasty! I may try and return there this winter!
Good production !
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Sam, I don’t know how you don’t gain 20 pounds eating all those delicious foods in H.K. I would love to try the snake soup. My parents have tried it when we used to live in Hong Kong, and they always tell me it taste like chicken.
Haha I have to do a lot of jogging to keep the pounds off, otherwise I'm sure I'd be carrying many extra pounds by now! I would agree with your parents in that it tastes like chicken, and certainly recommend trying it on your next visit to HK!
Another good video. Have a good weekend 🙂
Thanks for watching, and you too!
my favourite food, yumm!!!
Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed it!
Wow you are so brave to go snake shop. I can’t go inside cause I very scared snake. I ate snake soup long time ago but no more now. I miss Hong Kong so much. Anyway I love your video 👍👍👍
Thank you for watching! Haha snakes are definitely scary, but the soup was truly delicious 🐍 Glad you enjoyed!
This is way better than the one I had in China back in the late 80's. My dad tricked me into drinking it saying it's chicken until the head popped to the surface in this little urn.
Oh wow, that sounds hilarious and traumatising! I promise, no surprise snake heads here!
Great video Sam, Ive had great Se Gang in Ngau Tau Kok and after they served a lighter, thinner soup as kind of a follow up dish, any idea what that could be?
The place was called Se Wong Pong for any who are interested. Cheap and cheerful, little bit ghetto but I love that. Delicious food.
Thanks for sharing Ben! I’ll look into that place although haven’t heard of it before, so I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you about the soup!
I believe you were ordering their meal set, which included snake soup (thick soup like Sam's ), Glutinous rice with preserved sausages and meat, follow by a snake broth to help washing down the sticky rice.
The food is seasonal, most popular during colder weather. The business is not good during summer time.
Thanks for watching. Yes, snake soup shops tend to do much swifter business in the winter months.
Hey Sam. While it was interesting to know about Snake soup and history behind. The passion we could see in Miss Chau's words and expressions were even more interesting. Her knowledge about the food culture in Hong Kong also embodies the true spirit of Hong Kongers. And as you correctly summarised, the lack of willingness is a big reason for these type of restaurants dwindling.
Thanks as always for watching and for your great comment Satish, much appreciated! Yes, Chau Ka Ling's passion is really something to behold, and talking with her, it became clear that snakes and snake soup is her life! As you say, a great reflection of the passion in Hong Kong's food culture, and so it really is a shame the numbers of these places are dwindling!
Very interesting video you made, the topic is well-researched and the content is entertaining. Snake soup stores used to put cages of snakes on display at the front entrance but I guess that can be offensive to some of the customers.
Thanks for watching and for the kind comment, this one was a very interesting subject to research and film. Thanks for sharing that tidbit about the snakes being in cages- yes, I think that may scare some customers off these days!
You are so brave!
Thank you! It was delicious!
Dude, awesome clip & information on the snake soup thing.
But honestly, I did not try the concoction at all during my childhood days on the streets of HK 🤪🤪🤪.
Even though I am a 100% canto individual 😄😄😄
Thanks as always for watching and commenting. Haha totally get why you might not try it... but I recommend it if you're in the area. It's really, really good!
I'm a big fan of you🎉🌟💎
Thank you!
There are lots to share here. Chau Ka Ling may not take over her father's business there if she does well in school and she stated that she doesn't recommend any younger generation to do this kind of works like her. Hope her next generation can keep that business going assuming if one of her children didn't have higher score in school education. From my knowledge, black mamba is the most lethal compare any other type of venomous snakes. Although this type of snakes mostly existed in Africa, I wonder if Chau ever order black mamba to prepare her soup. Thanks goodness she was bitten by a different kind of snakes that still took her 3 months to heal. From some of Hong Kong local, they start eating snake soup when autumn wind appear. That's why Chau said is also a remedy to prevent catching cold and flu in the winter time. Right know is spring time over there. It would have been a good timing if Sam did this video in October or November. He doesn't look too excited before trying the soup, but glad he found it delicious still can't tell if he really enjoy eating it or not.
Thanks as always for watching and for your in-depth comment! We also hope that Chau Ka Ling can somehow keep this business going after she retires, as it would be a shame to lose this kind of traditional business in Hong Kong! I am not sure about black mamba, but I suspect not, as she traditionally has imported snakes from China and these days Malaysia.
Snake soup is nice!
A delicious(sssss) winter warmer!
I live this video :) Do they offer some "snake" alcoholic drinks, have you tried them?
Thanks for watching! I believe they do serve snake alcohol here. I’ve had a kind of snake alcohol, but in Taiwan rather than Hong Kong!
Always curious why the soup is prepared to imitate 'yui chee' (shark fin soup). I have never acquired the taste or craving for this delicacy, and not likely to ever, due to lifelong ophidiophobia. Even the thought of eating eel gives me pause. Still, another engaging vlog entry, Sam.
Thanks for watching despite your fear of snakes John! Hope it didn’t unsettle you too much!
@@HongKongHoods Stay safe, my friend!
Love Hong Kong
We do too!
It’s sorta like chicken meat I ate the snake soup when I was living in Hong Kong 40 years ago lol 😆 It was very good soup ! 😁🤤🤤🤤
Agreed- totally tastes like chicken, but maybe slightly more aromatic and a little softer! Yummy
lovely 😍
Thank you!
When I was a kid in Hong Kong in the 1960s, instead of lemon leaves, the condiment was chrysanthemum petals.
Oh, sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing that detail!
By the way would love to see you try turtle soup next!
Thanks for the suggestion, we'll definitely keep it in mind!
@@HongKongHoods The turtle essence soup (aka black soup) is essential in complimenting the snake soup. When I eat at a snake soup store I always order both......
@@vampyrelycan99 Thanks for the input! I will try to remember to order it next time!
The main reason to have snake soup is the croutons 😂😂😂
The croutons are very yummy, that's for sure!
@@HongKongHoods i remember back in the old days, they used to provide white chrysanthemum petals as condiments for snake soup too 😂
@@uncleken3599 AFAIK what you said still happens to certain other stores. BTW I add the croutons mainly to the turtle soup and not the snake stew......
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🙏😊👍
😋😋😋😋😋👍👍👍👍👍
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Not very snake soup store is created equal. That one in Ap Liu St is considered one of the best (almost de facto)......
In prepping snake soup one crucial point is to debone the snake meat properly and effectively; any bone fragments that end up going into the soup stew means the shop's reputation is over. I've been to one such store in WC and to this day, I still have it blacklisted......
Thanks for sharing that information- this is very important indeed! Hope you enjoyed the video and that it made you hungry!
There's a snake in my soup!
🤣 🤠 🤣 🤠 🐎
When she was young, she wanted to handle snake, her mom and dad disagreed, now that she's older with kids of her own, She don't want her kids to handle snakes. hmm....
Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed the episode. Yes, although Chau Ka Ling really wanted to handle snakes as a youngster, she recommends youngsters not to get into the trade unless they’re very passionate about it!
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💪🙏👍 Thanks for watching!
I've had snake soup before. I think they just taste like chicken, not offensive at all!
Agreed, a rather delicious winter warmer!
When King Charles III visited Hong Kong he did also tasted snake too.
I didn't know that. Thanks for the information!
snake is kinda bland, so it's really the flavor of the other ingredients. I've only had it in Taiwan when I was a kid.
Thanks for watching! Snake certainly isn’t as intensely flavoured as I expected, that’s for sure. Certainly recommend heading to this place the next time you have a snake craving though!
Agree! AFAIK snake meat is often mixed with chicken meat to raise the flavor profile in the soup stew.
Snake is very tasty and a white meat. It's a little stringy tho
Agreed- not stingy when it has been boiled for hours in soup though- nice and tender
@@HongKongHoods I think its boiled with a little rice wine and bird's nest. I had it once or twice which was pretty nice.
How do They still Alive and look healthy after eating snake yakkkkk???????
Snake is actually quite nutritious!
snake soup! no wa i onteven eat eels coz they look like snakes and i hate snakes!
It's one of the foods that is mind over matter, for sure!
Snakes eat rats.
So why would you want to eat that?
Not all snakes eat rats. Snake tastes good- truly. Thanks for watching!
Snake soup is so-so. Okay, but nothing special. Sea cucumber is worse as is shark fin.
I really liked snake soup, but fair enough!
@@HongKongHoods Possibly that's just me as snake has great flavour. There are lots of unusual things to eat in Hong Kong like frogs legs as well which is okay but I don't think the taste is special and probably worse than snake where they cook the soup quite well. You've tried chicken feet - to me it's great with the black bean sauce as Dim Sum, but cooked otherwise, I'm not so fond of it. Shark fin soup is largely tasteless to me. Sea cucmber is jelly-like and I'm happy to live without it. If you do ever come across them and sample them, it will be good to see in your thoughts in your videos.
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@@sowhodecidedthat3924 I think you make good points - I've never had frog here but I probably wouldn't be in a huge hurry to try it even if I saw it! As for chicken feet, hot is good, but room temp or cold, and I can't do it! I agree completely about sea cucumber!
🤢🤢, I'll stick with eel.
Haha snake isn’t for everyone! Thanks for watching!
I do hope the snakes they use for preparing these dishes are properly farmed. And god knows what they use as feed for these snakes.Snakes typically eat rodents. You are what you eat as the saying goes.Literally eating rodents
Going off what Chau Ka Ling said, the snakes are farmed in hygienically and responsibly. Never a truer adage… I guess I’m a reptile rodent now!
@@HongKongHoods U r a reptile-rodent diplomat.👍
😝 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕞𝕠𝕤𝕞
Thanks for watching!
I think she spoke for a little too long. Zzzzzzz
I think you mean “Sssssss” 🐍
@@HongKongHoods Good response. lol. I enjoyed the vendor's story and thought it was very interesting. Thank you for this vdo 👍