Tales from the Fragrant Harbour

[Duvel]

20 minutes ago, lindag said:

If this was mentioned earlier here I missed it...why is it called a 'wet' market?

 

 

Hmm .. let me put is like this: The ground does collect a significant amount of organic debris (think trimmings, fish intestines, little pieces of bone ...) very fast and gets hosed down with water semi-regularly. It's not the best place to wear your nice shoes, the might get "wet". At least that's why I think its called like that.

[ElsieD]

Incredible!  So very, very different from what we have here.  Thank you.

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

 

Hmm .. let me put is like this: The ground does collect a significant amount of organic debris (think trimmings, fish intestines, little pieces of bone ...) very fast and gets hosed down with water semi-regularly. It's not the best place to wear your nice shoes, the might get "wet". At least that's why I think its called like that.

 

Much as I love your etymology, in fact the 'wet' in wet market means 'fresh'. It  is analogous to fresh fish being described as 'wet' as opposed to cured or dried fish. Wet fish shop is still in use in parts of England, if not also elsewhere.

 

The term 'wet' being applied to markets is particularly used in Hong Kong, although I've heard it elsewhere..

 

Quote

A wet market is a market selling fresh meat and produce, distinguished from dry markets which sell durable goods such as cloth and electronics.

 

Edited July 30, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[Duvel]

22 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Much as I love your etymology, in fact the 'wet' in wet market means 'fresh'. It  is analogous to fresh fish being described as 'wet' as opposed to cured or dried fish. Wet fish shop is still in use in parts of England, if not also elsewhere.

 

The term 'wet' being applied to markets is particularly used in Hong Kong, although I've heard it elsewhere..

 

 

 

That's not a bad explanation, either

[lindag]

Thank you... I was guessing it had more to do with the products being wet, like fish and veg and meat, as opposed to flour , rice, dried pasta, etc.

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, Duvel said:

Tree fungus ...

 

Specifically, ganoderma. Some western pharmacologists are seriously investigating this fungus for its alleged ability to prevent or cure certain cancers.

 

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Mushrooms ...

 

 

Bamboo Pith Fungus- one of my favourites.

 

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

No idea. @liuzhou ?

 

Now you've got me. No idea, either. I kind of gave up on trying to identify most of the stuff in the Trad Chinese Medicine (TCM) stores. Friends don't know either. I have one friend who is a TCM doctor, but he is working today. I'll try to ask him later.

[Duvel]

I think its not a TCM item. The shop.was selling dried seafood, so it might be some sort of dried fish fillet... Maybe I head there again next week to buy one

[liuzhou]

3 minutes ago, Duvel said:

I think its not a TCM item. The shop.was selling dried seafood, so it might be some sort of dried fish fillet... Maybe I head there again next week to buy one

 

Everything is medicinal to the Chinese. The starfish below the mystery picture are certainly used in TCM, as are the fish maws and more.. But, yes, I misunderstood.

 

Now my doctor friend is going to be wondering why I am consulting him about deep sea mysteries. Ah well.

Unfortunately, I don't know any oceanographers.

[KennethT]

The mystery stuff looks almost like tripe...

 

I don't want to distract from the new photos... I'm loving them... but I did want to say that I agree with you - I've seen lots of rare/medium beef in pho bo in Vietnam, now that you mention it.

[liuzhou]

3 hours ago, KennethT said:

I don't think I've ever seen rare beef (or any other meat) anywhere in Asia.

 

It amuses me that the locals happily eat congealed duck and pig's blood with abandon, but are horrified if there is a hint of red on their beef.

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, Duvel said:

 

 

 

Is there any chance this is whale baleen?

 

The market photos are fascinating and bewildering to this Westerner.  Thank you very much for the tour, and thanks also to @liuzhou for chiming in with additional insights.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Is there any chance this is whale baleen?

 

The market photos are fascinating and bewildering to this Westerner.  Thank you very much for the tour, and thanks also to @liuzhou for chiming in with additional insights.

 

I'm loving this virtual tour of Hong Kong by our generous member @Duvel as well and appreciate @liuzhou's perspective as too! So many new things to see and learn about.

 

I do not think the image in question is baleen, which appears more like a hair-like or course bristle structure with split ends. I don't think it's tripe either, because that usually has a rough honeycomb-style structure. 

 

Some of you know by now that I love a mystery, even if I am not very good at solving them all the time. The structure in the photo reminded me strongly of something. I kept thinking and nothing I have encountered came up in the anatomical department. Finally I settled on an old-fashioned automotive radiator. I think it's an efficient organic exchanger of some kind, so my first thought was lungs, but that went nowhere on image searches for dried lungs. So I moved on to gills and found this image which looks a little similar. It is being sold as Chinese medicine in a Malaysian market and is the most similar image I have found. So your doc might not think you are crazy after all, liuzhou.

[rotuts]

of note that may only interest me :

 

pepperoni is N.American , not italian or European :

 

http://www.fodors.com/news/ten-italian-foods-you-wont-find-in-italy-6510

 

 

[rotuts]

Im a bit puzzled that there are so few people in most of you pics.

 

of course , you may have tried to keep them that way for clarity.

 

Ive only been to Hong Kong once many years ago and was struck by how crowded it was compared to where I lived at that time

 

( CA ).    Only India topped Hong Kong ( to me ) w human density.

 

again , thanks for putting so much time and effort into this 

 

and as many have mentioned , I appreciate  @liuzhou  further ID commentary

 

it is indeed odd to enjoy congealed blood , but not rare meat.

 

@Duvel

 

Im hoping you can keep this up as long as possible.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[Duvel]

5 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

 

I'm loving this virtual tour of Hong Kong by our generous member @Duvel as well and appreciate @liuzhou's perspective as too! So many new things to see and learn about.

 

I do not think the image in question is baleen, which appears more like a hair-like or course bristle structure with split ends. I don't think it's tripe either, because that usually has a rough honeycomb-style structure. 

 

Some of you know by now that I love a mystery, even if I am not very good at solving them all the time. The structure in the photo reminded me strongly of something. I kept thinking and nothing I have encountered came up in the anatomical department. Finally I settled on an old-fashioned automotive radiator. I think it's an efficient organic exchanger of some kind, so my first thought was lungs, but that went nowhere on image searches for dried lungs. So I moved on to gills and found this image which looks a little similar. It is being sold as Chinese medicine in a Malaysian market and is the most similar image I have found. So your doc might not think you are crazy after all, liuzhou.

 

You are spot on @Thanks for the Crepes!

 

I just got the confirmation from a Cantonese friend that these are gills - Cantonese "Peng Yu Sai". Probably from manta ray (there is some sort of controversy on obtaining them) they are presumed to be good for detox. Seems eating gills is popular in Japan as well. It seems that they locals have found a way to boil / oxidize /decolorize them, as the  pictures I found are all more blackish.

[Duvel]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

Im a bit puzzled that there are so few people in most of you pics.

 

of course , you may have tried to keep them that way for clarity.

 

Ive only been to Hong Kong once many years ago and was struck by how crowded it was compared to where I lived at that time

 

( CA ).    Only India topped Hong Kong ( to me ) w human density.

 

Oh ... there are plenty of people here, believe me

 

I try to focus on the food, but if you just step out of the door, they are all there ...

 

 

[Duvel]

You might have noticed that my breakfast post was missing. I slept a bit longer today and then headed out to Central in order to catch a ferry crossing the Pearl River delta to Macao. Macao - stemming from its past as a Portuguese colony - has a distinct different "native" cuisine (next to the Cantonese of course).

Unfortunately, I did not realize that Sundays might be more popular than the rest of the week and waiting times for the next free ferry (which depart in 15 min intervals) was more than 2 hours. So I discarded the idea, bought the ever-so-popular Macanese Pork Chop sandwich for breakfast in the Macanese restaurant in the ferry terminal and headed for Pier No. 4 to take you to Lamma island instead ...

 

Shun Tak center - Macao ferry terminal.

 

Florinda Café - a very popular Macanese café. Why people want to go for a Macanese café, when they are on their way to Macao somewhat eludes me ...

 

The menu ...

 

Breakfast !

 

Portugese egg tarts.

 

Ferry leaving without me

 

My little treat for not going ... Pork chop sandwich & lemon ice tea.

[dcarch]

8 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Is there any chance this is whale baleen?

 

The market photos are fascinating and bewildering to this Westerner.  Thank you very much for the tour, and thanks also to @liuzhou for chiming in with additional insights.

 

Probably dried devil fish gills:

 

dcarch

Edited July 30, 2017 by dcarch (log)

[liuzhou]

43 minutes ago, Duvel said:

 

You are spot on @Thanks for the Crepes!

 

I just got the confirmation from a Cantonese friend that these are gills - Cantonese "Peng Yu Sai". Probably from manta ray (there is some sort of controversy on obtaining them)

 

Indeed there is. Stocks of manta rays have plummeted in recent years because of the demand from Chinese Traditional Medicine.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/world/asia/china-manta-ray-conservation.html

 

But I was correct with my TCM connection!

Edited July 30, 2017 by liuzhou (log)

[Duvel]

Lamma Island ...

 

 

A 30 min ferry ride from Central, Lamma is essentially popular for two things: Hiking trails and sea food. The locals there have a very laid back attitude (almost Hippie-like) and the entire island looks like its from the 70's (or at least no major refurbishments have taken place since then.

 

Hiking was cut short a bit by the weather. 35 oC, and a "real feel" temperature of 45oC, coupled with a high humidity. You can't refill yourself with beer as fast as you sweat it out

 

The village sells all kinds of things, including home-made seafood products.

 

On my trail ...

 

Bananas!

 

The beach next to the power plant. Here the popular "Lamma 500" dragon boat race takes place, in which I also compete for the last two years ...

 

Hong Kong quality plumbing ...

 

Of course one ought to have seafood when on Lamma, directly at the harbor front. You can pick your favorites directly from the tanks ...

 

Mantis shrimp ...

 

Crab ...

 

Spiny lobster ...

 

Dim Sum (if you want to have a bit of starchy goodness):

 

Being seated all is left to enjoy the scenery ...

 

At this temperatures, ice-cold beer helps a lot!

 

Choice of today: black bean clams, fried salt & pepper squid and for @KennethT Mantis shrimp ...

 

Ordered too much of course, rest will be enjoyed tonight with noodles ...

 

And a little produce to take home

[Duvel]

12 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Indeed there is. Stocks of manta rays have plummeted in recent years because of the demand from Chinese Traditional Medicine.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/world/asia/china-manta-ray-conservation.html

 

But I was correct with my TCM connection!

 

Definitely  '"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" (Hippocrates)

[Duvel]

And strictly for the purpose of this blog a small ice cream sampler ...

 

 

[rotuts]

""   fried salt & pepper squid ""

 

w and ice cold Tsingtao  .................

 

nothing better.

 

dying here I am !

[liuzhou]

14 minutes ago, Duvel said:

And strictly for the purpose of this blog a small ice cream sampler ...

 

 

Yeah. Yeah. And I'm only sitting here with a Tsingtao beer because you mentioned it and I had no idea what it was, so I rushed out to buy one (or six).

 

[Duvel]

2 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Yeah. Yeah. And I'm only sitting here with a Tsingtao beer because you mentioned it and I had no idea what it was, so I rushed out to buy one (or six).

 

Lucky you ... I was too lazy to go out in the sweltering heat so only Asahi for me (still 11 more in the fridge, though )