Bonham Strand is one of Hong Kong Island's major streets, beginning in Central at the end of Queen's Road and pushing west into Sheung Wan, where it divides into Bonham Strand East and Bonham Strand West. Well worth exploring, it retains its appeal despite the loss of many of its traditional sights to redevelopment.
Stores here and on surrounding streets have long specialized in the sale of medicinal herbs and ingredients of more dubious efficacy. Many retain their open-fronted facades, along with shelves, drawers and glass cabinets overflowing with a cornucopia of Chinese cure-alls. These include bark, insects, crushed pearls, reindeer horn and dried sea horses, not to mention highly venomous snakes (dead and alive), which are put to both medical and gastronomic use. Snake soup is a warming winter favorite - the snake trade peaks between October and February - while snake's gall-bladder is believed to alleviate rheumatism. The cure involves swallowing the raw gall-bladder, recently extracted from a live snake, with only a comforting glass of wine to help it down. The deadlier the snake, apparently, the more efficacious the cure.
Less alarming but equally as potent is ginseng, 'king of the medicinal herbs', the root of a plant that grows in some 30 varieties across Southeast Asia and parts of North America. North Korea's red ginseng is particularly prized, as is the white of North America, though the most precious variety is a type gathered wild in northeast China. Ginseng is always expensive, but by the time this particular variety has been processed it retails at several hundred thousands of Hong Kong dollars an ounce.
Smarter ginseng wholesalers congregate on Bonham Strand West, along with modern bank and other business buildings. Bonham Strand East, particularly at its eastern end, is given over to cafes and shops selling more exotic-and off-putting-food and ingredients. Linger at some and you should see snakes being chosen, dispatched and prepared for consumption. Ko Shing Street is similar, and boasts many wholesalers - expect to see ingredients in baskets and bulging sacks being unloaded. Also be sure to look into the nearby Sheung Wan Market and check out the street barbers in Sutherland Street.
