SHIQI LAO IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS AND OUTRAGEOUS RESTAURANTS IN ALL CHINA AND POSSIBLY WORLD AS IT IS A COMBINATION OF MASS MARKET RESTAURANT, WET MARKET, FISH STALL, THEME PARK, SUPERMARKET, CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND AND CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND CUM PASAR MALAM!
Shiqi Lao is as tacky and wacky as they come, which explains its strange, reverse-snobbery appeal! I am told it is not listed in Michelin guide to fine dining or Britain's 'World's Best 50 Restaurants' or 'Le Liste' but the food here is awfully delicious and frightfully cheap by Hong Kong standards which is why many from horriby expensive Hong Kong endure the 3.5 hour bus ride to gorge on fine food at Shiqi Lao!
Even by our worthless ringgit standard, Shiqi Lao is very de reasonable and cannot be accused of overcharging.
The whole set-up is as cina-apek as they come too so you need speak Mandarin or Cantonese as none of the staff speak England so to speak!
As I am Hokkien, I see no reason to learn Mandarin or Cantonese. At ShiQi Lao, I went searching for a toilet and asked a waitress who shook her head. So being polite, I did a washing gesture to my face as many splashed water on their faces after washing their hands after peeing.
The waitress looked enlightened and smiled and ushered me to follow her. So I did and was taken to a table and given a menu. She thought my gesture meant eating or feeding my face!
So I said, "Toilet, washroom, WC, Gents, bathroom", hoping she would understand one of these words.
She waved equally wildly and gave me a name card which I thought contained her name and phone number for sex. But no, it was address of Shiqi Lao restaurant but I was already there! She struggled manfully, "You telephone, operator can English"!
I was to phone the restaurant as the operator was sole person who could speak English!
In despair and as a last resort I pointed to my groin and pressed my (limp) member. I assumed she would understand that particular organ needed to pee since I was pointing and pressing it!
No, she even failed to comprehend that!
Initially I worried she might misinterpret that as an obscene gesture and might slap me or call the police. Instead she became coquettish and coy, giggling slightly and actually misconstrued it as an invitation to bed!
So I gave up and fled, knowing sooner or later I would find the loo which I eventually did!
Some tables are shaped like sampan or perahu to signify the origin of Chongsan (or Zongshan)
as a fishing village. Another section had tables enclosed inside what seemed like bird cages in honour of the fried pigeons for which they are so famous.
I also took photos of live creatures waiting to be picked and cooked and eaten! The pigeons were nowhere to be seen and presumably kept elsewhere as fine pigeon feathers or pigeon down floating in the air might cause asthma or seen as unhygienic.
However, I saw carp and various species of fish plus eels, snakes, frogs, mussels, clams, tortoises and turtles. The last two upset me since they were quite big and must have taken 5 years to reach such sizes. I was particularly distressed to see a big turtle with a very long tail the size of a large laptop! I felt like buying them all to set them free but they would be recaptured and sent back to Shiqi Lao!
When dining here, you must order the roast pigeon, pineapple buns with incredibly delicious fruit inside and giant dough puff balls the size of footballs. You will see the giant, brown puff balls being fried at the entrance so they are unavoidable. It takes skill to ensure each puff is evenly fried, cooked and round. Sticky rice inside each brown ball that resembles a balloon acts as ballast inside so the puff stays put on its plate as you slowly slice, dissect and consume it.
Shiqi Lao restaurant
66 Shiqi Kanghuo road
Zhongshan (Chongsan)
0760-8870 7708
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