So I have decided to play with abalone. No, I’m not playing with food, not when it’s such expensive stuff. I’ve come up with an acronym for ABALONE — did you notice it in the title of this post? Wittyculus-ly neat, right? 😉
I just love my abalone, so I do scout around for deals. With Chinese New Year fast approaching, retailers are enticing customers with offers of sorts; but seriously you gotta check around and compare before you part with your moolah. Prices haven’t changed much the last two years — as a general guide, NZ abalone goes for below S$40 and their Aussie cousin costs a tad more at around S$45.
The king of abalone** hails from Mexico, so I was told many years ago. The reference brand of Mexican abalone is Calmex — an acronym from California and Mexico, I suspect — or 车轮 in Chinese. Clones have emerged to cash in on its popularity, but of late Calmex seems to have taken a back seat. You are looking at splurging above S$100 for a can of this shellfish!
** I believe Japanese abalones are the prized catch. Have yet to try them — too expensive — but have seen some baby ones on sale somewhere…
Anyway, if you look around, the New Moon brand probably is the most aggressive as seen by the various promotions. As I wrote on Facebook, their poster ads are subtly urging husbands and sons-in-laws to do their bidding for CNY. Lol
And there are tie-ups with petrol stations and credit card companies, though it’s plainly obvious there aren’t any deals there. When you do the sums, you’d understand why… So, where are those good offers then?
Here’s what I’ve seen so far, using New Moon as the benchmark:
Now do you agree the abalone prices are not quite enticing? Nothing to be excited about, unless you know where, and what, to buy o:) Read on…
There are other popular brands too, such as Skylight, Fortune and Golden Chef, to name a few. And house brands too, like Horse brand by 马标燕窝 and Tiger King (山大王) by Hockhua Tonic.
The latter offers the most comprehensive range of abalone and their staff are very knowledgeable — learn the “secret” of the factory source code and get their 12-page brochure when you visit. (Note: I receive no compensation from Hockhua or other brands and retailers mentioned; just sharing my discovery with readers 🙂 )
Finally, here’s a little teaser — if you have several brands of abalone, which one do you eat on Mondays? Hint: think of a Duran Duran song! In case you are stumped, click here and watch the video for the answer. Good one, right? Ha ha!
Enjoy your abalone and Happy Chinese New Year to everyone in advance… Huat ah 😉
