Street Market
Exploring Taipei, you never know what is around the next corner. It could be a beautiful modern building, an ancient traditional temple, or more likely both of them side by side. Taipei has embraced the hustle and bustle of modern capitalism, and yet maintained traditional, more personal ways of doing business
Just a 5 minute walk from our apartment is a long standing traditional market. Vendors as old as the market itself arrive daily to sell fresh produce and freshly slaughtered meat, the way their parents did business, all in the shadow of one of the world’s tallest buildings
In the Shadow of Taipei 101
In contrast to the dull gray cellophane wrapped meat in the super markets, the meat here is bright and alluring. Just point to the piece you want and they will cut to order. No refrigeration required. I haven’t seen a single fly
It’s best to pay with exact change unless you want your coins covered in pig parts though
It’s Whats for Dinner
Much of the seafood is fresh catch from the nearby sea. Many of the customers seem to have long standing relationships with the vendors, and come to socialize as much as shop. Except for a few grandchildren and hired help, we were the youngest customers by a wide margin
Fresh Seafood
All of the work is done by hand, with speed and precision. I watched this woman segment a chicken faster than I could take a photo.
Perfect Poultry
Winnie had a long conversation with the produce vendors about food origin and seasonality. I didn’t understand much of it, but they were clearly passionate about it
Fresh Produce
Outside the core market, vendors set up street stands to sell anything and everything. Prices are scrawled on random pieces of cardboard or not written down at all.
The level of specialization is impressive. Need garlic or ginger? Where better than from the garlic and ginger guy?
Garlic & Ginger Guy
Heavily laden with food for a holiday party, we caught a bus back home. The view from the bus stop is hard to beat
Waiting for the Bus by Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall
Prices aren’t the cheapest, but they are competitive
Groceries
This assortment of fruit and vegetables cost 435 TWD (~$14)
Not pictured here is 3 kg of pork shoulder, which we used to make some amazing carnitas. This cost 940 TWD (~$30) or about $4.5/lb
We have to explore further to see if we can find better value on groceries, but we enjoy the small family businesses. Where else will they let your man the meat stand while they take a break?
Exploring Career Possibilities
The traditional markets used to scare the heck out of me when I was younger. I’d see a live chicken go into some machine, then a bunch screams, then a hairless dead chicken would come out. Not the best place to bring your kids I suppose.
I’ve never seen a chicken machine, except on the movie Chicken Run
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120630/
I think it is illegal to slaughter an animal inside Taipei City limits
I grew up in a small town surrounded by farms. I think I prefer being close to the source of food, and understanding that animals are butchered for food (in a humane way), vs the case today where many children don’t know where a chicken nugget or a hot dog comes from, or even that bananas grow on trees
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/kids-still-dont-know-where-their-food-comes-from-20140526-zrmk1.html
Did you eat chicken after that experience?
This was in the 80s so things may have changed since. I did eat chicken after that experience, what a surprise. :)
I agree that it’s important for kids to know where their food come from.
Those wax apples look delicious! I love the open markets… so fun to browse, shop and photograph. I have also seen the chicken machine, but, I guess that is where our kids learn where their food really comes from, instead of the cellophane packages at the supermarket. What a luxury to walk around the corner and get fresh produce and meat.
It’s great being close to the traditional markets. Our previous Taipei apartment had one just downstairs, albeit much smaller
The colors and contrast and the people make these markets a lot of fun. And of course the food
Love the open markets, there were several similar to this in the UK, although I don’t think I ever saw a Chicken Machine, thing that would upset british sensibilities. But there were huge racks of beef and fresh fruit and veg and people calling out advertising their wares, very much like a dickens novel, and oh my god the food was fantastic.
It is definitely a much different experience than a trip to Costco
Awesome photos – thanks for sharing.
Thanks Emma!
Great pics. You have a real knack for storytelling, a most enjoyable blog.
Wow, thanks for that great compliment! And thank you for reading
Those gingers look so fresh and juicy! We planted some veggies in our front yard and back yard. Our kids had a lot of fun watering them and playing with them. Most importantly, they ate them because they watered them!
I agree with moneyoryourtime that you tell stories so well!
Thanks LF!
My brothers kids are big helpers in the garden too, they even help eat the peas right off the plants until there aren’t any for anybody else :)
Definitely a different experience. I think I’d have a hard time knowing what meat was what…I can see the appeal though.
Identifying the animal isn’t too hard when there is a whole pig head sitting there, haha
I shop at Aldi mostly, which has dirt cheap veggies, and often local (=that’s why they are cheap!). It’s kind of like a fresh air market in that you have to pay attention to what you’re buying since quality varies. English is a second language at that store.
The market you show here does look kind of like the neighborhood Asian and hispanic groceries we visit pretty often. Cardboard signs for prices or none at all. The owner runs the cash register and knows all prices by heart. Signs are rarely in English and you might have to find the owner’s granddaughter if you don’t speak Spanish or Laotian or whatever. These all have refrigerated meat (or frozen, in the case of fish), but that’s how they do things here with food safety inspectors. Although at the Mexican store, the carnes de fin de semana sell out so quickly that they aren’t hardly chilled since they don’t sit in the display case long before someone snaps them up.
Sounds like a foodies dream
Don’t tell the lower income immigrants that shop in these type of stores that they are already living the dream! They aspire to one day be able to afford shopping in the antiseptic shiny polished grocery store aisles with bright fluorescent lighting and neatly packaged prepared foods. :)
Good place to brush up on my Spanish though. I just wish I knew what all the different cuts of meat were. “Carne, cerdo, and pollo only gets you so far.
Which market is pictured in this article and how do I get there? I have been looking around for fresh produce markets but haven’t a whole lot of luck.
It is Guangfu market. It is located across the street directly south of Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall.
Pretty fun looking. I only get to see this kind of “wet market” when I travel in Asia. The closes thing I’ve seen in the States is farmers markets — but those tend to be overpriced “tourist” markets here. You won’t find a bargain price anywhere.
While asian wet markets are no doubt ‘fresh’ and local, there’s something to be said for the economies of scale realized by supermarkets and hypermarkets — mostly lower prices and wide selection (much of which is imported).
There’s probably a good balance to find between the two different options.
Check out some of the LA farmers markets. Some really reasonable prices frequented by locals.