Fish floss mooncakes nearly sell out in first batch
HK01 · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago4 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has partnered with Hang Heung Cake Shop to turn locally farmed bighead carp into fish floss puff pastry mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The first 1,000 boxes were almost sold out out of a total run of 3,000, with the project designed to add value to fish meat that is usually less popular than the head and to give fishermen another outlet for their catch.
Key Points
- The department and Hang Heung launched 3,000 boxes of bighead carp fish floss puff pastry mooncakes, with each box containing two taro-paste and two salted-egg pieces.
- The first batch of 1,000 boxes was almost sold out, and a second batch is now on sale at HK$128 per box.
- Fisheries officer Luk Ka-him (陸家謙) said a locally caught reservoir bighead carp averages about 20 catties, with the head weighing three to five catties and deboned meat about 12 catties.
- Luk said consumers usually prefer the fish head for dishes such as chopped-chilli steamed fish head, leaving the large body less sought after and lower in value.
- Assistant general manager Yeung Hin-sing (楊顯誠) said the team ran more than 100 trials to balance fish aroma without fishiness when pairing fish floss with taro paste and salted egg.
Why It Matters
The department said fish floss can be stored at room temperature more easily than live or chilled fish, giving fishermen a way to process unsold catch and ease pressure on short shelf life and market limits. After Mid-Autumn Festival, the team plans to review market response and may explore other fish floss products or supply local fish floss to restaurants.