Must have been a very remarkable experience
terenz!
I've eaten drunken prawns at least 30 times in Hong Kong, both with locals as with other gweiloos, but they were always boiled and certainly dead.
My favorite restaurants to have the drunken prawns are the Wan Loong Court (basement of Kowloon Hotel) and Long Yuen (under the Holiday Inn on Nathan Road), both in TST. Maybe you should try one of these restaurants next time...
BTW. I'm not sure I spelled the restaurant names 100% correct, about the locations I'm 100% sure.