Dried Seafood Stores – Unimaginable Ingredients Put In Cantonese Cuisine

Name (English): Dried Seafood Street
Name (Chinese): 海味街
Address (English): Des Vouex Road West, Sai Ying Pun
Address (Chinese): 西營盤德輔道西
Address Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/rGavYs7TWQW8gMEq7
Address longitude and latitude: 22.287893329558887, 114.14367700551003
Nearest MTR Station: Sai Ying Pun Station Exit A2
Nearest MTR Station Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/SjpFWgyN5i2hEhPF7
Nearest MTR Station longitude and latitude: 22.287746999143195, 114.14425195871968
How far from the nearest MTR Station: 1-minute walk from Sai Ying Pun MTR Exit A2
Opening Hours:
MON 08:00 – 19:30
TUE 08:00 – 19:30
WED 08:00 – 19:30
THU 08:00 – 19:30
FRI 08:00 – 19:30
SAT 08:00 – 19:30
SUN 08:00 – 19:30
Recommended Time to Visit: After lunch hour
Accessibility Note: Easy access yet limited space for wheelchair in stores

Who says the famous Dried Seafood Street only attracts people with its wide variety of lavish dried goods? The pungent briny aroma hovering at the place also leads the way for curious souls. Spanning over a section on the Des Vouex Road West, the “Hoi Mei Street” – the Cantonese name of the street literally meaning “the flavors of the sea”, is lined with dried seafood vendors with every item laid out in paper boxes or bamboo baskets. As unique as it can be, you can often find not only fascinating moments of how they run the business but also the unimaginable ingredients that would be put in Cantonese cuisine.

This hub of commerce started in the mid 19^th century has a similar history to the adjacent Nam Pak Hong (shops that trade goods including herbal medicine from northern China and southeast asian countries) but focuses more on the dried seafood. Workers back in the days would sundry the goods on the rooftops of a three-storey building and sell on the ground floor, while they live in the apartments in the same building. Soon after the gentrification has taken place, such practice no longer exists but you can still see baskets of salted fishes being sun-dried beside the road on a sunny day. The vendors also like to hang clusters of dried goods in the air to catch your attention. 

Apart from the dried abalones, fish maw, and oysters, some of the goods do look bizarre like the cordyceps from high altitude grasslands, the controversial shark fins (please don’t buy), donkey skin, and even deer fetus! You might also be confused when you take a look at the price tags, which they price the products differently using the Chinese weighting units – “Catty”(斤）& “Tael” (兩）. If you happen to bring some exotic food home, work out your math and watch your wallets as their prices can be sky-high. One catty (605g) of fish maw costs $3000 whilst one tael (37.8g) of high quality cordyceps could cost over $20,000, which is more than gold in the same amount!

Ever wondered what sort of delicacies could be made out of them? “Fat Choy Ho See”(髮菜蠔豉): braised dried oysters with black sea moss – punned on the auspicious saying of prosperous business in Cantonese. It is one favorite dish households would make for Chinese New Year.

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