there's a subtle fishy taste given it's fish, but it's eaten primarily for texture. A good imitation is literal gelatin strips. So if you've eaten just some plain gelatin before, that's basically it (that's why they're used as imitation sharks fin). I'd say the key difference is that sharks fin does have a slightly softer overall texture (so not as ridged as gelatin), but also has crunchier pieces like cartilage (because that's pretty much what it is).

It's just a status symbol at this point because it's expensive to get. Similar to Bird's nest where the stuff is rare and hard to get, but mostly doesn't taste of anything unique.