SARS Bites Deep Into Hong Kong Snake Restaurants
Date: 21-Jan-04
Country: CHINA
Author: Carrie Lee
Chinese people think eating snakes is good for you, especially in winter when the meat is believed to keep you warm. But not this year.
"Our business has plunged 70 to 80 percent since the SARS outbreak last year," Kam said, as he looked around his near empty stall, which also sports bottles of wine containing snakes and their innards.
"The recent scare in Guangzhou has slashed business by another 40 percent in the past few weeks," he said.
China has confirmed three new cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in recent weeks in the southern province of Guangdong, where the disease first emerged in late 2002 before spreading to more than 30 countries.
The virus eventually infected about 8,000 people and killed nearly 800 of them, including 299 in Hong Kong.
Snake lovers used to have their fill in small Hong Kong stalls like Kam's, where snakes are sometimes killed and skinned next to your table. There were even special snake banquets, where every part was used and cooked in different ways.
The mild-tasting meat is firmer than fish but often more tender than chicken. The organs of the animals, most of which are caught in the wild in Southeast Asia, are touted as having all sorts of benefits.
But experts believe the SARS virus jumped from animals to humans. Prime suspect is the civet cat, also served up as a delicacy, and even though snakes have never figured on the list of possible SARS sources, diners are taking no chances.
"Since the SARS outbreak last year, I feel wild animals are disgusting. I haven't had any snake soup since," said Betty Chan, a company executive.
GOOD OLD DAYS
On the walls of Kam's shop, one of Hong Kong's oldest and best-known, aging newspaper clippings are proof that business was brisk in the past.
"In the peak winter season, we used to sell 300 to 500 bowls of snake soup a day. Now we sell maybe only about 100 bowls," said Kam, whose "Snake King Yuen" stall also supplies snake meat to large restaurants.
"Out of every 100 restaurants that used to serve snake soup or dishes, only 10 are still doing so," he said, as he drew a wriggling serpent from a container and headed to the slaughter room.
"We keep only 50 snakes in this stall, compared with more than 1,000 in the past," Kam said, as he slit a snake lengthwise with a knife, removing its skin and plucking out the organs.
"There are about 100 snake stalls in Hong Kong. I think about half of them will have to fold soon," he said.
Yip Kwok-leung, who runs the Snake King Leung eatery, agreed.
"This is the worst time in my 20-odd years in this trade. Our customers have fallen by half since the last SARS outbreak and I think the trade will get more difficult in the future."
But snake meat still has some fans.
"There are so many animals that are said to be bad to eat. Can we possibly avoid all of them?" said Peter Leung as he waited for his order.
"I live far away but I had to come here for snake soup because many others have shut down," he said.
