Quote:
Originally Posted by Stitchawl
I'm working on a video of the place right now. Should be finished in a day or two or three. I realized I was mistaken when I said it was the size of a football field... It's really the size of TWO football fields!
In each area of the market, there are half a dozen vendors selling 'almost' the same items, competing for customers. I haven't been there often enough to learn which is best to shop from, so I've been buying a bit of this from one, a bit of that from another... But in the meat area, I've been buying all my pork from one specific vendor and my chicken from another. I can't say how I decided on those, as all of the vendor's tables pretty much look alike.
I think a market like the typical Asian market would make the average American housewife afraid to buy... especially the prepared foods, meats and poultry. Nothing is wrapped. Nothing is under glass. Everything is out, exposed to the air. Exposed to people walking past. Nothing has the sterile, sanitized feel of a modern supermarket, where everything is pre-packaged.
We have plenty of modern supermarkets here, but the price difference is amazing. In the ta-lat (Thai market,) four thick slices of pork loin cost about one dollar. In the supermarket, the same amount would cost three. I bought a large bunch of Thai Sweet Basil, a large bunch of Thai Holy Basil, and a large bunch of Kafir Lime leaves. Together they filled a large plastic shopping bag. The cost was 15 baht... about 50 cents. In the supermarket a 'small' pack of Holy Basil alone costs 20 baht. The last three meals I've cooked, each a big plate of Thai-style food, cost less than $2 per person for each, shopped for at the ta-lat. If I bought the ingredients at the supermarket, it would have cost at least $5 per, and not been nearly as fresh! I really am having fun with all this, but now we have to buy a bigger refrigerator!
Stitchawl
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I realized as I was reading this that I no longer even know any "average American housewives", lol. A lot of the people I'm in contact with right now are young urban students or couples, or older retired people. The younger people tend to eat out most of the time and do most of their shopping together, and the older ones tend more to the men doing the shopping (and cooking!) Just my experience at this point in my life, but I do live on the outskirts of a big city. We have quite a few (indoor) international markets, but they, at least in theory, still must meet health standards. I would love to visit a large market like that!