Traditional Chiu Chow fish balls are hard to find in Hong Kong these days. The type where real fish are handmade into pulp, then beaten for ‘springiness’ and formed into fish balls. versus most out there that has fillers and crap. Shan Loon Tse Kee Fish Ball 山窿謝記魚蛋in Aberdeen used to make fish balls in this traditional manner and attracted even celebrities illegally parking outside just to get a bowl of fish ball noodle. Alas it closed. Hence the search for good fish balls elsewhere.
Di Di Xiang 蒂蒂香 has been around Hong Kong for a few years. They are originally known in Shantou for its fish balls. Its located in the stretch of Mongkok where there is a cluster of Chiu Chow joints. Their fish ball pulp (or are the balls?) are made in Shantou and imported in Hong Kong every day. They also have hand made noodle so I tried the fish ball handmade noodle and the cutterfish ball noodle.
So were they good? The balls tasted like they are made from real fish/ cuttlefish pulp instead of flour. The texture was a bit firm. I would have preferred them to be more springy. I wonder if its because of the transportation from Shantou that caused some ‘settling’ of the pulp- air bubbles introduced in the beating into the pulp ‘left’ during the drive? or was it because of a higher percentage of fish?
Shouldn’t have ordered the handmade noodle as I believe hor fun would have matched the fish balls better. The broth was light.
Overall, a nice bowl of noodle, but I would love to see stronger fish ball contenders.
They have a branch in Wanchai.
