Wet Market Basics

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  1. #1

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    Wet Market Basics

    Upupandaway, I'm not trying to hikjack your post (pun not intended!), but I have a question for Carang about the wet markets. My husband and I will be living in HK from April onwards and I was wondering if it is difficult for a westerner to shop in the wet markets. We will not be having a domestic who speaks the local language and we have only just started to learn Cantonese ourselves - first lesson this week!

    I am game to try them out! We will be living in GP at Sai Wan Ho, is there a market near there?

    Thanks and apologies Upupandaway


  2. #2

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    Bayrunner

    You'll be fine if you're learning Cantonese, Just make sure you get taught weights and measures and basic food stuffs and they'll understand you.


  3. #3

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    Thanks Jimbo. I will definitely ask my teacher to do that. Currently learning hello, nice to meet you, thank you etc!!! But it is all exciting and we can not wait to get to Hong Kong


  4. #4

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    There is a market right near the MTR exit of the Sai Wan Ho station. It is in the same block as the MTR with the enterance directly opposite McDonalds. Downstairs is the meat, upstairs is fruit, veg and variety. There is also a market the other side of the tram tracks on the weekend in the streets.

    A bit of sign language and pointing normally does the trick. As Jimbo pointed out, weights and measures are a little strange to Westerners.

    There are large supermarkets (well, large for HK) in CityPlaza (APITA) and Kornhill (Jusco) that have large meat, fruit and veg areas. For proper organic or good imported fuit & veg, you might have to go into CitySuper.

    A bit of adventure is well worth it. Sometimes you will hit, sometimes you will miss, but you work out what you like and what you don't.


  5. #5

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    I am a western and buy locally at the wet markets... I learned Mandarin and my veg lady at the market one night was like ... okay you have been here for years and you still don't know your numbers in Cantonese - she in a joking manner was like I will not give you your veg until you learn to count to ten ... I was there for about 20 minutes learning ... and this is how I began to pick up basic Cantonese.... BTW that night I got my veg for FREE - an uncommon and even unheard of thing my friends have told me!

    Another thing I have benefited from is using relatively the same vendors - once I was familiar with the quality of the differ vendors - took me about a month and half.

    Sometimes I am running late from work as I am a single American and now am able to call and have my veg and meats delivered or ready for p/u --- this took awhile to develop ---

    Key: building a relationship with the vendor ... if you are learning Cantonese have fun with the language and practice with the vendors ... but that means not going when they are busy during the morning hours but in the late afternoon or just before they close as they will have more time to chit chat.


  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Alby:

    Key: building a relationship with the vendor ... if you are learning Cantonese have fun with the language and practice with the vendors ... but that means not going when they are busy during the morning hours but in the late afternoon or just before they close as they will have more time to chit chat.
    Also going later means you're more likely to blag a discount!

  7. #7

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    personally, i would not buy meat at the wet market. it isn't refrigerated and to me, that's a no-no.

    fresh seafood and fruit and veg, no problem.

    most of the time, things are sold by the "catty" this equals roughly 1.5lbs/600g. a catty can be broken down into 16(if i remember correctly) parts. sometimes large seafood is sold per portion of a catty.

    i've never had a problem buying stuff. you can just pick out what you want and pass it to them. they will tell you how much it comes to and if you don't understand, they usually have a calculator that they will key the total into and show you.

    it can cut down on costs DRAMATICALLY. today i bought...
    12 oranges
    6 lemons
    8 apples
    2 bunches of about 6 bananas
    4 potatoes
    1 large carrot
    4 small green peppers

    total $51


  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by carang:
    personally, i would not buy meat at the wet market. it isn't refrigerated and to me, that's a no-no.
    I've always bought my meat from the wet market, Never ever had food poisoning before, As long as you cook it properly then you have nothing to worry about.

    You can buy chicken wings from your top end supermarket in HK and still get food poisoning though, Its how its cooked not necessarily the source or the fact that its not refridgerated thats the problem.

  9. #9

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    it just kind of grosses me out. i was always taught that meat needs to be refrigerated. and i can't break this habit.

    the pollution, the flies, the lack of refrigeration....yuck!

    i must admit, i like my meat neatly wrapped in styrofoam and plastic or paper wrap, like when you buy 1/2 a cow in canada and store the cut up meat in the freezer.


  10. #10

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    and it was 2 bunches of 6 bananas each.


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