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Vendors
offer veggies
outside the market, hoping to capture a little of the massive foot
traffic.
|
Back to Teaching English in Taiwan home page Back to Food in Taiwan home page |
| Vendors
offer veggies
outside the market, hoping to capture a little of the massive foot
traffic. |
 The
first booth
is take up with small purses. Products sold in morning markets reflect
the fact that the clientele in morning markets tends to be older and
female. |
 Shuinan
Market winds
along several roads, having spilled out of its original covered
building
many years ago. |
 Shops
along the
market streets take advantage of the traffic to open early. |
 The
usual assortment
of cheap plastic junk. |
 No
vehicle is too
large for its driver to attempt to ram through a market. |
 Cheap
steel and
aluminum pots, a staple of local markets. |
 Food:
the reason
for the morning market. |
 Many
older vendors
grow their own, and sell cheap. |
 A
vendor sets out
fresh bean sprouts, a common local treat. |
 The
market was originally
confined to this covered area. Such government-operated markets are
found
in communities all over the island. |
 A
noodle seller
weighs out noodles for a customer. |
 The
Butcher! |
 Tofu:
the other
white meat. |
 A
fishmonger sets
out the previous day's catch. |
 Clothing
in these
markets tends to the vulgar and flowery. The young, busy at school and
work, rarely go to morning markets, and women with money shop in
grocery
stores and volume retailers. |
 Fresh
fish tantalizes. |
 There's
nothing
like something delicious, lightly fried. |
 A fish
dealer cleans
the goods. |
 The
good news: local
butchers make all their sausages, fresh. The bad news: they all make
exactly
the same kind of sausage. |
 Bamboo
shoots display
their good sides. |
 What
is it? Buy
it and find out! |
 Steamed
snacks:
rice and meat steamed in bamboo leaves. Delectable. |
 Morning
markets
are big with both locals and foreigners. |
 Fish
heads, a favorite
of felonious felines. |
 Durians,
smell awful,
taste like heaven. |
 Green
tea soap?
Apricot soap? Mmmmmm...... |
 Housewives
ruthlessly
elbow their way toward the bargains. |
 A
gorgeous array
of "empty heart vegetable," my favorite Taiwan green. |
 Like
sweets? |
 A
small stand like
this will pay rent to the owner of the store for the space, unless it
is
also owned by the store owner. |
 A dry
goods store
sells a variety of processed foods and hard-to-find sauces. Do not buy
processed foods like this in your local market; they are frequently not
in compliance with health regulations. Instead, buy pre-packaged foods
in your local supermarket from recognized national brands. |
 A
decidedly feminine
pharmacy that fronts on the market. |
 Dried
fish. |
 Ba
wan, one of my
favorites, expertly served. |
 A
spoon stands ready
for that first delicious mouthful of ba wan, sticky rice dough filled
with
meat, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms, and served in a sweet sauce with
coriander
leaves on top. Yum.... |
 The
brilliant colors
of ripe papaya. |
 As we
near the center
of the market, it gets more crowded. |
 Go
nuts! |
 There's
no "areas"
for specific products. Here a jeweler and a fruit vendor are paired. |
 Tilipia
gasp out
their lives as they wait for someone to buy them. |
 Pickled
and preserved
fruits, anyone? |
 Fresh
sushi in every
shape and shade. |
 A
garlic vendor.
Garlic is a local staple. |
 Everyone
is constantly
in motion.... |
 Piles
of noodles
for breakfast. |
 A
woman sells flavored
chicken, a common item in local markets, and a great quick-n-dirty
dinner
option. |
 My
wife inspects
the offerings of a pair of vendors from India. This market has vendors
from Afghanistan and India, as well as locals. Traders from the
subcontinent
are increasingly common in Taiwan. |
 Health
foods and
quack medicines are everywhere. |
 Making
shui jiao,
misnamed "dumplings," but actually more like ravioli. Looking at all
the
bright colors, interesting foods, quirky products, and smiling faces,
it
is easy to forget that one is looking at hard-nosed businessmen out to
make a living. Don't. |
Elbow braces
for the athletic and the old. |
 The
store fronts
are narrow, but they go back a long way.... |
 Another
traffic
jam. Few people imagine that to walk around in a market in Taiwan is to
spend an hour eating scooter fumes. |
 New
"health" products,
like these "healthy" sandwiches made of sprouts and other new wave
health
materials, are an increasingly common sight. |
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