A GROUPER, weighing 271.5 kilograms, became a delicacy for customers in a restaurant in Luohu District on Sunday.
The restaurant owner, Chen Hanzong, bought the fish from fishermen in Shanwei in Guangdong Province for more than 50,000 yuan (US$7,521) and shipped it to the city Saturday. I have been operating a restaurant for a dozen years and have never seen such a big grouper, Chen said.
It took five chefs about three hours to cut up the fish. It is an honor for a chef to prepare dishes using such a rare fish, said the chief chef, who gave his name as Wu.
The grouper, which was 2.5 meters long and 1.1 meters wide, was caught in Honghai Bay, Shanwei. The fish was said to be 92.5 kilograms heavier than a grouper caught by Hong Kong fishermen in 1997.
Chen said he would not cook the fish s head until Dec. 20 and the skin and fins would be made into a specimen for public display.
Groupers typically have a stout body and a large mouth. They can be quite large, and lengths of over a meter and weights of up to 100 kilograms are not uncommon. They swallow prey and habitually eat fish, octopus, crab and lobster.
(Newman Huo)
