MY FAVORITE LEAST AND MOST EXPENSIVE FISHES

I cannot think of disaster without contemplating its incestuous relationship with success.

As for calamity, so far I have been lucky enough to have barely avoided terrorists, cockaded revolutionaries, winds above hurricane force, politicians in cowboy boots, tsunamis, and more than one wolf at the door.

But in Hong Kong I once came close. But first there was a fish. When I was invited to put on one of the parties at the then Regent Hotel for the “hand-over” in 1997 from English domination to Chinese. I had a trip to the hotel to look at the logistics of that future event. Sitting in my private pool high up overlooking the harbour, I had a call from the chef. He had finally fulfilled a promise to find and cook me some soh mei, 蘇眉, the world’s most expensive fish other than the tingling-near-death-when-eaten blow fish in Japan.

I dried off and rushed down to the kitchen. Asking him what he was going to do with it. “Nothing! Steam with a little scallion, perhaps.”

Out came the whole fish tha…