A Body Like A Fish

A round-bellied fish with a small head and black spots is making a return to Hong Kong ...

Hong Kong Food critic Leung Man-to (pic by David Wong)

At first look, I thought this news article (excerpt below) was referring to a certain cheery chubby celebrity food critic who, let's face it, does indeed resemble a pot-bellied pearl perch.

Also from first impressions, it is simply hilarious that this portly pot-bellied perch person is a celebrity food critic. Can somebody please enlighten and explain what his skills are in fine dining?

Apparently, these pearl perch eat a lot and are picky about their food, which appears to be an accurate description of food critic Leung Man-to. I wonder if Mr Leung is high in Omega-3 too?


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Excerpt from Pearl perch set to make a splash (SCMP; paywall)

Ada Lee
May 07, 2011

A round-bellied fish with a small head and black spots is making a return to Hong Kong's supermarkets, but anyone who wants one will have to pay a relatively high price.

The pearl perch, with properties said to promote growth and help stave off cancer, will cost HK$60 to HK$70 a catty (600 grams), double the cost of the popular grey mullet.

Native to Australia, it was first brought to Hong Kong from Queensland nine years ago, but the high cost of its fry and difficulties in breeding it discouraged some fish farms, and supplies have been inconsistent.

But a breakthrough last year made it possible to provide a stable supply to the market in the coming years, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said.

The aim is to bring 300,000 of the freshwater species to the market each year starting with the first batch of 3,000 in mid-May, and the Fish Marketing Organisation expects them to sell well despite the price.

"Even when the supply was unstable, we got calls from the public asking when the fish would be available again," the organisation's market manager, Henry Yip Hin-wai, said.

The fish is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential to normal growth and, according to some studies, can help reduce prostate tumour growth.

The department first bred the fish successfully in 2007 in co-operation with several fish farms, but many were eaten by birds and other fish before they reached marketable size.

John Lee Hong, who has farmed pearl perch for a couple of years, said they cost 10 times more to rear than other freshwater varieties, and farmers were still looking for ways to reduce the costs. He said they ate a lot and were picky about their food.