This
colorful display of mooncakes are for the moon festival on
September 28 - 2 days after the tournament ends.
We resist the temptation to start celebrating early...
We are intrigued
by this cart's load. It appears to be made of nuts of some kind.
Of course there is no chance of obtaining a list of ingredients but it
looks good and we just let him know that we would like a good
sized slice.
We will either take it back to the Luxilon stringers hard at
work at the tournament or dispose of it on the way if it turns
out to be bird food...
We start to wonder about our purchase as it takes a very heavy
metal cleaver and considerable effort to cut our piece from the block.
We hope that the ash dropping from the seller's cigarette will
add to the flavor...
The growing attention - and amusement - of the neighborhood also
begins to support the bird food theory.
Finally, the piece is separated from the block and weighed. It
is nearly 3kg (7 pounds)..!
Everyone wants to be involved in the calculation of the
price - which takes quite some time and lots of discussion among
the assembled neighbors and passers-by.
Finally we agree on $0.80 a pound and everyone seems happy.
(A later tasting reveals the 'cake' to be made of
peanuts in honey and other stuff that produces a really delicious combination.
The stringers love it and the birds go hungry...)
Drive-through meat store...?
Vegetables are plentiful, very cheap and very fresh
The fish could not
be any fresher. Two minutes after selecting the one you see
swimming around, it is cleaned, gutted and in your bag.
The chicken eggs
we recognize.
Others are more of a mystery.
The
variety of 'stuff' available all along the alley is truly
remarkable...
...but not always appealing to our uneducated tastes.
There is hot food
available every 50 feet.
A 10' by 10' space that spills out onto the street is plenty for
the busiest of these street-side cafe's....
There are also
artisans of all descriptions. The clanking of
metal plates announces the arrival of this knife sharpener.
