19 November 2009

Do Chinese people eat fish alive?

added by The Chinese guy
Dear Chinese Guy

I saw this on a news website, is it true that Chinese people eat their fish and animals alive like this? in that it looks pretty gross to me, surely they don't right?

Ken M





Dear Ken M

The answer to this question is NO; the video that is posted on the link you sent to me is actually Taiwanese. Presumably the visitors to this restaurant are Hong Kong or at the outside Guangzhou the laughing isn't a laugh of joy either as in Taiwan they speak a heavily accented version of Mandarin. If you understand Cantonese you can hear that they are rather shocked that the fish is still alive and moving. They are actually quite horrified at this.

If you run through the video:

  • At 0.01 seconds a woman says "Eh its moving"
  • At 0.09 seconds they all go "Whaaaa," which is an expression of shock, as in wow you've dropped a lot of money there Would be "Whaa, lay deet chor kam dor cheen!"
  • At 0.14 a woman says "Its very scary," "(Why) is it like that?"
  • At 0.23 you can hear them say we should order something else.
  • At 0.46 a woman says you are so black (dark) about this.
  • At 0.47 a woman again says its horrible and disgusting. (hung bo).
  • At 0.57 just before the end discuss how this is possible.

Added to the fact that fish eaten like that costs an obscene amount of money it is highly unlikely that this is a common occurrence that people eat fish like that. Yes fish that Chinese people buy from markets is still moving and alive but it is often gutted and killed before it is taken home. You can confirm this by visiting large Chinese supermarkets, such as Wing Yip or Chi Yip in Manchester . The fish is very much alive as this is proof that it is fresh. Compare this to say my local fish market in Manchester that looks a bit like this.





If you have a look at the above photo, you will notice the fish of all kinds is dead, from the scallops to the winkles, even the crab in the background. Crab and lobster are often kept alive to keep them fresh. The crab in this picture has been boiled so that the fishmongers can prevent it from going rotten too soon. This is so they can perhaps sell it as a economy product as the price between live and dead crab is like night and day.

Think about it the fish above can be dead for a VERY long time and those who are unfamiliar with buying fish may well buy something from unscrupulous fishmongers and buy something that is less than fresh. I'm not saying all fishmongers are bad as it varies but un-fresh fish can make you very very sick.

In addition to this people in Hong Kong like to buy fresh, the older generation will go out and buy fresh groceries everyday of the week even Sundays, fridges exist but the eating habits of Chinese and mostly Asians is completely different to that of Westerners. Although we might think this is wasteful in time the fact is that Hong Kong is so packed and crowded that people will invariably pass their local butcher and or fruit and vegetable supplier on a daily basis.


The Chinese Guy.
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3 comments:

  1. michigan charter fishingNovember 17, 2010 at 12:35 PM

    Fishmongers are bad as it varies but un-fresh fish can make you very very sick,I liked your blog it’s very interesting, your information had helped me very much, Please keep on posting the related information regarding this Article.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousDecember 6, 2010 at 12:51 AM

    Dear Chinese Guy,
    My girlfriend believes all Chinese people like fish. Do you know of any Chinese people who don't like fish who can prove her wrong?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 21, 2010 at 5:01 AM

    yeah, i do, one of my friends hates fish and he is 100% Chinese. In the end, to each its own.

    ReplyDelete

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