Ah the wet market. Depending on how you view it, it can be a place of foodie bliss or your understanding of what hell would be like.
I personally love the wet market. I was first introduced to it by a friend after lamenting to her about having to listen to that Gong Xi Gong Xi Chinese New Year song they play over and over and OVER in Carrefour and also how my tomatoes go squishy pretty much on the ride home in the car. She asked me why I had never gone to the wet market yet for produce and I just remember thinking: wet...market? Sounds...wet.
So she took me to the one she usually goes to and showed me how to haggle over the price of carrots and most importantly what NOT to buy in the wet market. This is what I learned:
- Anything that looks like beef - it probably isn't
- Anything that looks like lamb - it definitely isn't
- Anything that makes you go “WHY IS THAT SLIMY!?” - it’s slimy for a reason and that reason isn’t good
- Anything that looks too good to be true - it probably is (extra perfect strawberries is a good example)
- Any sort of fish that you don’t know anything about - if you don't know exactly what fish that is then don't buy it cause it was probably fished out of the river. Go to the fish market instead.
- Anything that is alive and clucking at you - just be smart and buy your chicken frozen at Metro.
Also, have you ever SEEN a chicken killed at a wet market? Full disclosure - I totally bought one once with my son Kai there. He even picked the chicken out and my Ayi squeezed its little feathery breast before the very nice chicken lady threw the whole live chicken directly into a boiling vat of water so its feathers would fall off. Little brand new naive me thought they were gonna at least chop its head off quick and dirty first, but nope! Kai just kinda looked on in a wee bit of horror but thankfully hasn't retained that memory. Poor chicken.
Now, you may be wondering why they call the wet market a wet market. Well, when I was about 6 months pregnant with Oren I found out. The fruits and veggies are often sprayed down in the early morning or evenings to keep them fresher so it’s not uncommon to have puddles or general wet spots around the market; wet market. So I was walking along, all cute and pregnant, holding my shopping bags full of mushrooms, carrots, and baby tomatoes that I was obsessed with; turned the corner and slipped in a giant puddle right on my butt. Yep…my butt was on the wet market floor somewhere between the fish corner and the meat aisle. To say that I was horrified was an understatement. Also never wear flip flops to a wet market - that was another unpleasant experience…
Yet, honestly, the wet market is the perfect place to get loads of fresh produce for an awesome price. I’m talking about a fraction of the price of Cityshop or Times and definitely Carrefour. Depending on your comfort level with what you’re buying you can walk out with loads of stuff all while getting a chance to practice your Chinese.
Know your prices and what a “jīn” is before you go in! It’s a half kilo if you didn't know. With your walking foreigner face and misunderstanding between liù (6) and jiǔ (9), the experience can cost you more than what you thought. So thats why I send Lily - I’m not ashamed! The shopping is done that much faster and I get literally DOUBLE the amount of groceries that I would get going in there for the same price! However, if you don't have your own Lily it’s all about building relationships. Find a seller that you like and keep going back to them. That relationship alone is bound to get you some free cilantro and garlic! DO IT FOR THE GARLIC!
If you’ve never been to your local wet market go check it out. Even if you don’t buy anything at least do it for the experience! And while you’re there, try to solve a mystery that doesn’t make any sense to me: why is it that the fish lady is the one selling the bean sprouts? I mean…bean sprouts are not a fish. It doesn’t make any sense!
xoNiki
