eating snake

While I consider myself quite well versed in the cuisine of China there are some less common dishes I have not tried. Amongst them is food made with snake. For most Westerners even the thought of eels as food is not all that appealing. Not me. I love eels.
the snake master handling a poisonous snake

the typical snake shop's sign says "snake master" follow with his surname - Lim 林 in this case

 the wooden cases of snakes - the labels say poisonous snake

the most valuable part is the gall and heart from poisonous snakes; it is believed for the health benefit; not so with the meat and it is used to make a viscous soup
he is cleaning the snakes with the skin peeled off

a small bowl of snake soup - the common perception snake meat must taste gamey but it cannot be farther from the truth; snake meat, like frog meat tastes milder than chicken breast; the thin green slivers are lemon leave which you put into the soup like you wound put lemon juice on a piece of fish

 condiments

a small cup of wine made with snake gall and herbal medicine

While this shop in Sheung Wan has a very long history as well as the old world decor, both the snake soup and the wine are not that good.

this other shop called Snake Master Leung 蛇王良 in North Point is much better; it does not have the snake cages in the shop; it is very clean and tidy

there are only 3 tables in the small shop; the overhead sign lists 5 different set meals all comes with a bowl of snake soup

 the bottles of snake and herbal wine has customers' names on them; most are aged for years

 It serves 4 different set meals all with a bowl of snake soup; I order one with a bowl of glutenous rice; both are very well made and full of flavor with the right textures

 slivers of slices lemon leaves you may opt to put into the soup

It was not quite noon on a Sunday morning and there are a few parties of regular customers. Many order takeout.
pricing sign for 5 different types of health wine made with snakes or geckos

the snake wine is quite flavorful - hint of sweetness, very herbal, and a bit bitter as I was expecting; I also tried a glass of gecko wine which is the most expensive of the five types; I would say the latter is an acquired taste