The Hong Kong Wetmarkets

Although modern western supermarkets can be found almost everywhere in Hong Kong the majority of the local Hong Kong population seems to get their food from the so called ‘wet’ markets. These traditional Chinese food markets are quite the experience.

The markets sell a range of different products ranging from fruits and vegetables, poultry, seafood, cooked food and a range of dried foods such as rice, pulses and range of unknown dried products (asking the stall owner what they were didn’t help as most of the stall owners spoke very little English). At most of the stalls you’ll also see old fashioned scales hanging from the ceiling as food here is measured by old fashioned weight measurements, the catty or the boon.

The fruit and vegetable stalls look amazing with their produce stacked up neatly on wooden tables. Particularly popular are the many varieties of green leafy vegetables. Moving on from the vegetable stalls you’ll find the meat stalls. The blood stained tables and butcher and range of hooks with all sorts of unidentifiable meat cuts make for a slightly unappetising sight but it’s amazing to watch locals buy their meat and the butchers just hacking at the cuts with huge knifes.

Personally I found the seafood stalls the most interesting, or should I say confronting. In large aerated tanks there was a huge assortment of live fish, crabs, prawns, lobster and shellfish. Next to the tanks there are also boxes with ice with dead fish displayed on them. Or at least I thought they were dead. While watching the fishmongers for a while I noticed that they would slice open a fish but in such a manner that all the organs would be left in tack so that the fish was actually still breathing.

There’s no two ways about it, the food at the wetmarkets is definitely fresh but it’s also slightly confronting and you’ll need a strong stomach and a bit of gutsiness to actually buy anything there. But it’s also a great experience and it gives you a good insight into they way the locals buy their food.

See you next time. 

Annelotte