Posted on 04/14/2014 2:31:18 PM PDT by nickcarraway
He has net himself a 172kg Queensland grouper - and he isn't letting it go. Not even for the $10,000 he claims to have been offered by a businessman from Tianjin, China.
Mr Johnny Tan, 52, owner of seafood restaurant Grouper King, bought the rare 2.3m giant for "between $5,000 to $6,000".
It was caught by local fishermen in waters off Pedra Branca on Tuesday evening. "It would have been easier for me to just sell the fish, but this is my first 'big' fish of the year," said Mr Tan.
He said that fish this size are popular in China and Hong Kong and can reel in a high price. Mr Tan, whose restaurant is at the SAF Yacht Club on Tanah Merah Coast Road, intends to serve the fish to customers on Saturday.
"My phone has been ringing non-stop as a lot of loyal customers have already heard the news," said Mr Tan. A businessman has reserved the 60kg fish head for himself and some friends. The businessman is overseas now, but will fly back on Saturday to savour the fish head, which is likely to be steamed, Mr Tan said. The fish head costs about $120 per kg. The restaurant owner did not reveal how much other parts will cost. But that has not stopped orders from coming in and more than 150 customers already have reservations to eat it this Saturday at the 700-seater restaurant.
Mr Tan told Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao that the fish skin is an inch (2.3cm) thick and rich in collagen. It has a chewy texture, much like sea cucumber.
"I would steam or braise the fish instead of frying it. It would be a waste to destroy the collagen in the process of frying," said Mr Tan, who is also a chef.
"I will boil the bones of the fish in ginseng for 20 hours and it will be good for detoxification," he said.
Even the scales can be eaten, he claimed, and they are said to be good for the joints.
Groupers served in restaurants usually weigh between 20kg and 50kg. Those weighing over 100kg are rare.
Cod Hole off of the Cape York peninsula had many this size 25 years ago.
Gulley was a little, skinny dude (maybe 130 pounds or so?). That was part of the big joke, you see. Because a rather larger man claimed to have been swallowed and spat out by that grouper near an oil rig. Most of us guessed that the big boy’s scuba tank was smacked on the rig or something and not bitten by the fish.
If I remember correctly, Gulley went to that same oil rig and speared a grouper—likely the same fish. Gulley actually said at the time, that the fish would not have been large enough to swallow the other man.
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