High Island (Yau Ley) Seafood Restaurant 糧船灣有利海鮮漁村 | Hong Kong

Rating: ❤❤❤

Initially I was concerned about where to eat during Lunar New Year since a lot of places are closed for the holidays. I was pretty surprised by this seafood restaurant at High Island since they are deliberately opened during the CNY public holidays but closed afterwards to cater to the expat crowd! You can come here by foot or by boat - I'd recommend the boat route for the beautiful scenery of the surrounding mountains and sea. There is a little pier right in front of the restaurant where the boats drop the people off and it's only a short walk to the restaurant from there.

The seating at the restaurant is mostly outside with good shading so you don't have to worry about the sun or inclement weather. There is also a little beach in front of the restaurant where kids can play around until the food is served. 

Like most seafood restaurants in Sai Kung and other islands, this restaurant serves seafood as well as a variety of fried rice, noodles and other cooked dishes. The prices were pretty reasonable and comparable to other seafood restaurants of this type. Our friends who have been here before told us that the seafood here is actually not that good while the cooked dishes are better, so I wasn't sure what to expect at first.

Deep Fried Squid with Chili and Garlic ($138) - one of the better dishes of the meal! The squid was soft and tender while the batter was just right in thickness. There was not much salt and pepper seasoning like most places though, but dipping the squid in the sweet and sour sauce was enjoyable to eat as well. 

Deep Fried Spring Rolls ($68) - the spring rolls were hot and crunchy but the filling was just average as the flavors were not that memorable. 

Sweet and Sour Fish ($168) - instead of regular steam fish, we thought it would be safer to order the sweet and sour fish since our friends said their steam fish was not that good. It turned out to be a good choice because the sauce was sweet and tart which was appetizing to eat. The fish had been fried on the outside so the skin was slightly crispy to eat while the inside was soft and flaky.

Deep Fried Prawns with Black Pepper ($138) - the prawns were actually cooked pretty well as the shells were crispy enough to eat while the prawn inside was still tender. The black pepper was light enough to enhance the taste of the shrimp but not overwhelm it.

Steamed Baby Scallop with Garlic ($128) - they weren't kidding about the baby scallop as I could barely taste the scallop when I put the entire content of vermicelli and garnishes on the shell in my mouth. The scallop was pretty tiny so it just tasted like eating dry vermicelli. 

Sweet and Sour Pork ($88) - I love sweet and sour pork and I actually thought it was pretty good here. The pork was nice and crunchy on the outside while tender on the inside. The flavor of the sauce was just right and balanced between sweet and sour. Simply one of my favorite things to eat along with seafood!

Fried Rice with Yeung Chow Style ($68) - the fried rice was decent as well as the texture of the rice was slightly hard while each grain was separated. Parts of the rice had been charred as well - not sure if it was deliberate or not but the rice was nice and crunchy to eat!

Stir-Fry Rice Noodle with Beef ($68) - I found the rice noodle to be disappointing as the flavors were quite bland for this classic dish. Also found it a bit oily as well. 

Verdict - while the food here is probably not the best in its category as a seafood restaurant, it is still an enjoyable place to spend a nice afternoon with friends and family as it offers a nice change of scenery away from the hustle and bustle of the city - not to mention the adventure in getting to and from High Island as well. Sometimes, the journey is more important than the destination. I think that this place offers both.

High Island (Yau Ley) Seafood Restaurant
Lot 359, Sha Kiu Tsuen, Leung Shuen Wan, Sai Kung
2791 1822 

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