Lamma Island

After a week of bad weather in HK, we finally had some sunshine. So, we took the oppurtunity to visit the fishing villages in nearby Lamma Island. We opted for a short trek to work up an appetite for its well-known fresh seafood.

We took a ferry from HK Central to Yung Shue Wan, north of the island and slowly made our way to Sok Kwu Wan. I thought it was an uneventful uphill walk (about 50 mins) and the haze limited the scenery from the viewing points. Also, I guess being hot and humid did not help either. On hindsight, I would have taken the ferry straight to Sok Kwu Wan and do a smaller circuit around the nearby villages.

We were drenched in sweat by the time we chanced upon the view of Sok Kwu Wan bay area. It was a lovely sight of its numerous floating fish farms, though I felt the following picture did not do it justice! A view by the shores of Sok Kwu Wan. It was fascinating to see a some-what traditional village with its junks and 'sampans' against the high-rise towers sprouting from HK main island. We were really excited when we saw the the red sails of a traditional fishing junk from afar as we were told that their numbers have dwindled down tremendously. Much to our disappointment upon closer inspection, it was in fact a tourist attraction (claimed to be the only spot in HK to have preserved the local fisherfolk culture and history). And yes, you have to pay to gain admission and you'll be treated to several activities i.e. sail raising, net throwing demonstration etc. And no, as you'd expect we didn't go for it!
After the walk, we treated ourselves to some fresh seafood. We were overwhelmed by the many seafood restaurants along the main street but finally settled for Rainbow Seafood Restaurant. The food was really good and fresh though they certainly need to improve on its customer service. A few of the staff we encountered were not at all helpful and had a perpetual frown on its face. If we were go head back to Lamma Island, I would definitely opt for a different restaurant!

Patrons are invited to select their own seafood straight out of the tanks - that was how fresh the food was! A colourful display of lobsters in one of the aquariums.
The boss fishing for our garoupa.
You probably can't tell but we think we should come clean. The reason this fish got a close-up mug shot was because the other half had been stripped bare to its bones! We were too busy stuffing our face to worry about such trivial things like taking photos!! Bamboo clams (also known as razor clams on account of it looking like the old-school razors before Gillette had a brighter idea) with black bean sauce. I thought this was the most enjoyable dish today.
Crabs with honey and pepper - really good and a new style of cooking. That said I still much prefer my favourite sweet and sour chilly crab, or the recently discovered deep fried version with salted egg (mmmmm...yum).