Ap Lei Chau Market and Cooked Food Market

Unfortunately, the cooked food section (which is where the restaurants are) is closed for renovation. The wet market section is business as usual. Unlike the massive Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul, there are only about 10 wet market stalls here at the wet market section of Ap Lei Chau Market. Not as impressive as I hoped it to be. Guess I should have Googled to check first… 😂😂😂 Also went to the neighbouring Aberdeen Promenade, on the opposite side of the river. Took a ferry taxi across. Also, nothing much there. 😏 Overall, disappointing.

Totally bequiled by the taste, texture and warmth of the food served ~ reminisence of the era of HK TVB dramas. Only thing is all this is real life and so good! We came back again the next day for the wholesome yummy food!

Wet market for fresh seafood. It is easier to get to than Aberdeen market. The fresh seafood was very good. The seconf floor was getting renovated. The fish seller recommemded a near by restaurant and took is there. They did an excellent job is preparing the razor clams, abalone and fish. Highly reccomended. The total bill ingedients and preparation was around 80 USD for two people.

Came here after watching Lucas Sin's YouTube video. We felt we got a good price on abalones and a fish. But definitely felt overcharged for a prawn. ONE prawn for 160 hkd. We were dismayed to find the upper section closed for renovation. Thankfully the sellers were friendly and kind to tell us we could get our seafood cooked at other small eateries outside the market. We went to a small place facing the station entrance called YM kitchen. Great selection of seafood here. Only cash accepted here.

Go to 小炒皇 for the cooked food! I had the most amazing bamboo clams done in a style that was unique and yummy and I’ll share it here for your reference; • Scotland Bamboo clams: 豉椒炒加米粉底 • Long neck clams: 油鹽水 • Scallops: 蒜蓉粉絲蒸 • Zebra Mantis Shrimp: 椒鹽 *all these were advised by the lady at the market and they turned out sooooo well! Also, we met some customers at the restaurant who told us not to visit the 2nd floor hawker as they were overpriced and they will ruin your seafood. Not sure what to make of it but certainly good to note, especially when I’ve had one of the best at 小炒皇！

Very interesting experience to get a meal. Bought the seafood from the market and bring up to cook by the stall. The stalls are like our zichar stalls which also sell their own cooked food. Seafood we choose all live ones and the freshness and sweetness are indescribable. Overall good meal with good octane that we will not have in our country

Vegetable, fresh seafood, meat and fruit on ground floor. Eateries on 1st floor. you can buy ingredients then go up stair, the eateries will cook for you, charging by dish, we bought 3 kinds of seafood for HK390 and paid HK260 to cook them here.

It’s not common to find a market like this in Hong Kong with real wild fish. The market itself is small but the seafood stalls are really worth to pay a visit with great variety of different species of fishers especially for leopard coral grouper. Price is always reasonable compared with other local market and it’s believed that the fishes is originated from the nearby fishermen daily! The best thing is, you can enjoy fresh seafood with authentic Cantonese cooking on 2/F of the market if you are not going to cook it by yourself! You could also find parking slot easily in the nearby block!

With the opening of New MTR line, Ap Lei Cha Market is now easily accessible by MTR as it is 3 minute walk from Lei Tung Station! Come around noon for the best catch of the day as that's the time when most fishermen would be bring their freshly caught seafood to the market. There are a handful of stalls where you can get all kind of seafood. The selection is all a little different so spend some time to look around and decide before purchasing! You can also able to bargain down the price if you are skilled and enjoy doing that. Shrimps, Crabs, Fish, Squid and more. After your purchase, you have the option to bring them upstairs to the food court and have one of the stalls cook them for you. Please verify the cost of cooking/ingredients before committing! There is no standard set price and after you finished eating, it would be too late to complain they overcharged you! The star here is definitely the seafood! As they are so fresh all you need to just steam them and they would taste so delicious. So if you have your own kitchen, I would also suggest buying some and cook them at home.

To truly understand Hong Kong Cantonese cooking from the grassroots level, as well as the definition of "wok hay", one needs to look no further beyond dai pai dong. The classic street food stall eatery of lore (where retired government employees were given a license to sell cooked food that was quick fast dirt cheap and insanely tasting with a ton of atmosphere). Now with regards to seafood, to truly understand it you need to go straight to the source, or as close to it as possible. Short of boarding a fisherman's boat, which not many people can do, there are many popular options, such as Sai Kung (which all the visitors know about), Lei Yu Mun (SE tip from Kwun Tong area, also a touch touristy but a bit less than Sai Kung), Lau Fau Shan (a bit further out to the NW), and of course scattered places like Lamma Island and maybe Cheung Chau (really cheap, but not much variety or skill in handling). You do not get seafood from the big tourist barge known as "Jumbo", and you certainly don't have to spend an arm and a leg at the places nicknamed "canteen for the rich" or even those so called Michelin star Cantonese restaurants. You can do better than that though. The next best thing is to go straight to a place like Ap Lei Chau market (and the cooked food stalls upstairs in the same city government building). ALC is situated right across the strait from Aberdeen (where the largest wholesale fish market is located), and if you come sometime past noon, the first floor wet market rear section will be bustling with the best catches of the day, some fresh on ice, and others alive and kicking. Spend some time to look at the photos of this listing, and the variety is just stunning. A wide range from locally caught, to top notch stuff imported from various parts of the world. Many of the seafood vendors in the market also come from a family line of fishermen, so they have particularly intimate knowledge all the way from the nomenclature, characteristics, seasonality, flavor, preparation methods, as well as best ways to enjoy the fish. The number of vendors in the market are not many, but the variety can be astounding even during early January. At least 10 varieties of shrimp and prawns, 8 or more species of crabs, 20++ varieties of clams/shellfish, and so many different kinds of fish. The rest is up to your whim and fancy to figure out what you will sample. Once you have decided on your seafood selections and purchased them, take the escalator upstairs, and choose your pick of several cooked food stall vendors. Assuming you have a reservation (if on the weekend), hand your loot and have them prepare the food for you (for a fee). Gather some friends, and have the blast of your life! Dim sum? Forget that. Kick it up a few notches with seafood! Here are some random picks from various visits Whiskered Velvet Shrimp 赤米 - this smaller sized shrimp packs a punch in flavor despite having a firmer texture. Parboiled then dip in sauce for best results 九節蝦 ("Japanese" King Prawn) - these are typically striped in two shades of brown, alernating upwards of nine times (hence "nine striped prawn", native to the NW waters off the coast of Lau Fau Shan, but once in a blue moon you might find some here. Parboiled as usual, but incredibly sweet and delicious, even without a dipping sauce. 東風螺 Spiral Babylon - a very classic and cheaper variant than the sea conch 花螺 (also quite excellent). Parboiled as usual, remove the crispy non edible "foot" (base) of the meat, use a toothpick to scrape it out, dip it in the sweet sauce and it's incredible eats. Can't miss it by the sea snail shaped shell with leopard like spots. 花蟹 (fa hai) Blue Crab - it ain't blue, but a large specimen can go for a hefty sum (and a huge markup at restaurants). The large ones are hard to find but a medium sized one can also be very tasty. 花蛤 (Common Basket Lucina) - weird English name, but sometimes they are also referred to as "sea melon seeds". The best and only way to enjoy them is to steam them in saltwater with a little oil, add vermicelli rice noodles, scallions, ginger. The soup that comes out of this prep is out of this world. 油鹽水花蛤 I kid you not, there is actually a mysterious looking fish that resembles a Japanese sea bream, but for inexplicable reasons, the local fishermen have decided to call it New York了約. I personally have not tasted it. For something fugly but delicious, 九肚魚 (Bombay Duck) is a hideous looking slimey sluggish looking devlish almost mini eel-like, and is typically served deep fried salt and pepper style. Good beer food too. 沙鯭 (Filefish) - looks a little bit like Dory from Finding Nimo, but the eyes look a bit evil. I don't know about other preps, but if I see this Hong Kong Dory, she's becoming my soup. 大眼雞 (Big Eye/Kapok) - haven't seen a fresh one lately, but also fantastic if made into a boiled soup. Let's not forget the fresh abalone! steamed of course! This is just scratching the surface too...

This place is great buy your live seafood on the first floor then go up stair to have one of the stall to cook for you. They wii charge a fee for cooking make sure you ask what flavor you want. Price is a little pricy here but if you travel this far might as well do it. Take train to Admiralty exit C1 and find bust 90 to Ap Lie Chau Main Street about 30 minute ride. Make sure to go down the stair and turn left to the street. It the white building on Wah Ting street. Enjoy