Sihuan Market

Sihuan Market

tropical fruit

I set off to find the Sihuan Market, venturing into territory unlabeled on the map. But getting there is half the fun, at least. So I wandered around in yet another guitar and musical instrument district, on a tree-lined main drag, not finding any of the streets on the map, and besides I didn't know their names. As ever, slipping behind the storefronts, you find another world within 30 feet. Wandering the hutongs is interesting; they do seem to have different personalities from each other, or maybe it's just the rhythm of the day? Anyway, I saw a street to the left that seemed to have some action, not just blank gray walls, so I went there, and the sellers of various things got denser over a couple of blocks, until I turned a corner, and there was this huge market.

All this activity had been overflow from the main attraction. Actually, there were at least 3 large covered markets, with satellites. One was fish and meat: every kind of crustacea, fish I had never seen, and a booth with more kinds of tripe than I knew existed.  Well, fish maw opens new venues, I guess. Lamb spines were hanging from hooks, and big slabs of meat in repose, ready for cutting by halal butchers. A quick sweep of the meat market on this hot day was plenty.

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There was a generalized junk market like the ones in Malakoff, with hardware, pots and pans, socks, soap, and so on; and a vast fruit and veg market. There were booths specializing in stone fruit-- apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums and several things in that neighborhood that I couldn't identify exactly; melons of many varieties, many hand-sized; greens of many varieties not including lettuce, spinach, broccoli, or cauliflower, or cabbage as we know it or even napa or bok choy (out of season I guess). I did get some mangoes and little tomatoes for tomorrow's breakfast and the trip, and a knife for the mango. There was also a row of noodle makers, several pickled vegetable dealers, a number of egg dealers (fresh chicken eggs, 2 kinds of preserved duck eggs, and quail eggs), tofu dealers (regular, spongey, smoked, skins, and so on, as well as a kind of rice gel), and a fish, turtle and plant section (for pets); a separate section selling dried pet food; and dry food like beans, cornmeal and so on;and spices (anise, cumin, chile—not too huge a variety). There were many kinds of mushrooms, fresh and dried, familiar and not,  in several booths. But no cheese, no olives, no apples, no chickpeas (but fresh edamame) or parsley. Surprise, they had dill! But no basil, parsley, or other Mediterranean herbs.  Outside there were rows of booths selling all kinds of Chinese fast food. I love a good market.

pickled vegetables