I myself started sampling snake dishes when I was five years old. Regular customers at Yung Kee and other fine restaurants are likely to order remarkably elaborate snake banquets for the whole family during the peak season. These are exotic feasts with the soup as the highlight of the meal accompanied by deep fried snake-meat balls, snake sausage and very fine julienne of snake with thin strips of abalone. Some recipes call for the addition of dark wood-ear fungus or fish maw to enrich and give texture to the dishes. And snake is often paired with shredded chicken.
Lesser restaurants use more chicken than snake to cut costs.
Peel that is 30 years old is not uncommon. As an edible garnish, thin strands of shredded lemon leaves, chrysanthemum petals and flakes of a crouton-like pastry made from egg and flour are then added. Red vinegar is also proffered at the Summer Palace Restaurant at the Island Shangri-La Hotel on Supreme Court Road above Pacific Place. Their recommended seasonal menu offers a perfect introduction to snake dishes and other extraordinary items for diners unfamiliar with this kind of fare. Each year, Chef Lee Keung prepares a winter menu.