Travel Bug Within

A travel blog inspiring mid-life adventurers to chase their wanderlust and explore further

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • Australia
      • New South Wales
      • Northern Territory
      • Queensland
      • South Australia
      • Tasmania
      • Victoria
      • Western Australia
    • Fiji
    • New Zealand
    • Asia
      • Bali
      • Hong Kong
      • Japan
      • Thailand
      • UAE
      • Vietnam
    • Europe
    • Iceland
    • Ireland
    • United Kingdom
      • England
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • USA
      • Hawaii
  • My Adventures
    • Solo
    • Family
    • Single Mum Travel Tales
  • Travel Advice
    • My Top Five or Ten
    • Hotel and Restaurant Reviews
    • Book Reviews
  • Other Stories
    • Feature profile and lifestyle stories
  • About
    • About Me with the travel bug
    • Contact
    • Why the name Travel Bug Within
Home » Destinations » A quintessential Hong Kong experience

A quintessential Hong Kong experience

May 29, 2018 By Jennifer Johnston Leave a Comment

Last updated 30 April 2020

A line of customers stands patiently outside a nondescript shop in the Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po district. In the northwestern section of the Kowloon peninsula, Sham Shui Po is one of Hong Kong’s most authentic neighbourhoods. This shop is brightly illuminated, thanks to a row of fluorescent lights embedded in the ceiling –  highlighting the shop’s jumbled mess. The walls are plastered with coloured pieces of paper filled with Chinese symbols. The shelves on either side of the shop’s walls hold an odd assembly of plastic bags, jars, utensils and bottles. But despite the shop’s dishevelled appearance, the laminated topped tables and chairs crammed into its small interior are filled with patrons eating something steaming hot from small bowls.

What’s in them I wonder?

Patron enjoys his soup at Shia Wong Hip restaurant

Curious, I stop to peer into a perspex box at the front right of the store. Like the walls of the shop its also covered in various pieces of paper. Above the Chinese characters are two words in English: snake soup. The box’s front is scratched and filthy, making it difficult to see the contents. Finally, I make out the body of a snake curled up next to a small tree branch, lying on top of old pieces of newspaper. This is the ‘snake tank,’ the drawcard of Shia Wong Hip, a ‘restaurant’ famous in Hong Kong for its snake soup.

Filthy perspex snake box

I am with my friend Josephine, a Hong Kong local, who asks if I feel like trying snake soup, saying she enjoys eating the warming broth. Not being the adventurous food type, I decline her suggestion. I ask Josephine what she likes about snake soup. “It’s a soothing comfort food for the Hong Kong Chinese to eat, especially during winter,” she said. “We aren’t able to make this kind of soup at home, so there is always a market for customers who love snake soup.”

I’m guessing not too many people have access to a steady supply of live snakes at home!

Shia Wong Hip customer holds a snake
credit image Caleb L Trip Advisor

If you’d like to read my story published in Air Niugini’s in-flight magazine please download the PDF via this link: Paradise Air Niugini in flight magazine May 2018 pp96-97 SnakeSoup story

Snake Soup at Shia Wong Hip
photo credit Shia Wong Hip website

Filed Under: Adventure, Destinations, Hong Kong, Solo Tagged With: #Hong Kong, Shia Wong Hip, Snake Soup in Hong, snake soup in Hong Kong, try a delicacy in Hong Kong, where to find snake soup in Hong Kong

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Who is Travel Bug Within?

A mid-life adventurer sharing stories about interesting places in an honest and occasionally sarcastic way.

I hope to tickle your wanderlust and encourage you to explore further via Travel Bug Within

Jennifer x

Logo of the Australian Society of Travel Writers

For feature stories click on the bird logo linking to my personal website

Copyright Jennifer Johnston 2014 • Site by Swish Design