marketing

Wet market - that's one of the many things that Ping have yet to see at the many places Ping have visited in the States (excluding Chinatowns). The closest one to us is the Tanjung Bungah market. There's another small one just at the end of the road from our house but those are smaller stalls and have lesser choices. So parents usually go to the Tanjung Bungah market unless they just want to buy one or two things.

To get fresh stuff, one would have to be at the market really early, best before 9am. On Ping's second day back home, mum woke Ping up at 7.30am (7.30am!!!! Ping is on holiday!!!...hehe..but Ping was excited so it was pretty easy to wake up). At the market, there is also a section of hawker stalls where we had our breakfast before going over to the market. One of the best food there is their "kari mee" (curry noodles, which are available at Ria in Lansing but it sure is nothing close to this one).

Ping is not a big fan of mee so Ping usually get a combination of bihun (thin rice noodle) and mee (yellow noodle). The soup for kari mee is made of chilli, coconut milk, and ground up spices. The stuff that comes with it are usually tau pok (beancurd), tiny prawns, and po ho (mint). The one that we have here also comes with sotong boi (cuttlefish's tail). Yum yum! Most spicy soup dishes also comes with a spoonful of chilli (no idea why) but Ping usually give it to ahmah.

Wet market is actually pretty gross if one has already been to the Western countries. Ping is sure most of Ping's friends at the States would feel gross seeing this pictures too as the Western countries have cleanliness as a very important aspect of their culture. However, growing up with even worse environment (ie. the Bayan Baru market), this is a pretty organized and clean market. Growing up eating food bought from wet market rather than supermarket, we know that no problem is encountered unless a virus had infected the farm where the food come from. But if Ping was brought up in a Western country, Ping would probably not step into the market.

The picture on the left is the seafood section. There's where we get the catch of the day - ranging from fish to cuttlefish, prawns, and sometimes, if we're lucky, lala (a type of soft-shelled mussel)! The one on the right is the fruits section. Look at the variety of fruits!!! Ping bought xie liu (na shi hwa yi, fu qian hua jiao shen me ne?), which is very expensive in the States as they are important from Korea or China.

As M'sia is a Muslim country, we have to respect the Muslim's choice to not eat pork. So pork are usually sold in a separate section. It is away from all other food so that they don't have to pass by the stalls.

The best thing is, the prices at wet market are bargainable...to some extent. Ping is not good at bargaining so mum and dad does most of it. Ping only stood back and carry them. Hehe..