Fengmen Road Local Market

The options for purchasing groceries in Suzhou are many. From the expat oriented Metro, Carfour, Summit, Euromart and others to the many local options. In the local options you tend to see few if any other expats. A while back, my friend Ali introduced me to Fengmen Road local market and I found it a great place to capture locals purchasing their groceries. It does remind me of markets I frequented when I was growing up in Lima, Peru.  Must say I like it. The people are fun and very friendly even though I cannot communicate with them. Been here a few times taking pictures for a post like this one. Lets get to the pictures.

This is the entrance from Moye Road, I usually enter from the Fengmen road side but is somewhat difficult to find if you are not familiar with it.

 

From this entrance the market looks real nice, from the Fengmen road side the market looks completely different…say less orderly and a tad less hygienic. All the red lantern seem to be in place as China prepares for their Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) celebration.

 

There are many stalls where you can get FRESH chicken and ducks. Chinese eat a lot of duck which I find quite tasty; especially the way they prepare it. I am very used to this type of stalls, very similar to the ones my mother used to go to in Peru when we needed chicken.

 

Curious it seems. I suspect this chicken has no idea as to what awaits it.

 

Wonder what would go through its chicken brain if the chicken in the previous picture could see this bowl. Chicken head soup is very popular here; nothing goes to waste.

 

Of course, if you prefer to have your duck already made and ready to eat; they offer that option as well.

 

Not merchant in this market has their own stall. As with every open market we have visited, if there is a space you can sit down you can do so and claim it as your unofficial stall. Here we have this lady selling her live stock and we have some interested customer… will it be duck or chicken for dinner today…?

 

If you do not have your own stall, then you must go to the killing and plucking ritual in plain sight of all. Once you make your selection the merchant weighs your chicken/s and tells you how much it will be. Then the scissors you see on the lower center are used to cut the bent neck of the selected chicken/s. As the chicken flaps its wings in an effort to escape what must be a strange sensation never experienced before, after a few seconds slows down significantly. The almost dead chicken goes into a large pot of boiling water for a minute or so. Once it is taken out of the pot it is ready to have its feathers plucked (as seen here). Next, the insides are removed and the chicken is cut to order. You are done! You have a very fresh chicken. My wife says she likes to pretend chicken come in a white tray wrapped in clear cellophane — OK then…

 

Of course the options for meat abound. Pork, lamb, beef and others I am not sure what they are and do not venture to find out at this point. Must say that in the winter this market is a lot nicer than in hot summer days. The meat seems nicer when the temperature is low for obvious reasons.

As with markets in the US and other countries, grocery shopping tends to make you hungry. No problem, there are many vendors ready to take care of your hunger. This is just one of many offering treats; in this case the vendor is making a dumpling like morsel that looks like empanadas but the shell is made out of eggs. My wife and I have had them in a local friend home, they are quite good.

 

There are many Chinese Muslim in the area. They have many customs that are different and their food blends the two cultures for what we think is a great flavors. We have been to several restaurants owned by this group and one of our favorites is the round bread they have. I saw one portable stall making this bread. Here you see each step. From forming the dough, stamping decorative circles, and placing it into the oven.

 

The uncooked bread is placed on the very hot oven walls and it takes just a couple of minutes to cook fully – no need to turn it over. Looks just like a tandoori oven.

 

The finished product. As with all breads, if you can have it while still warm it is really a wonderful treat.

 

Beans and grains of all sorts; some I have no idea what they are. This lady was quite busy selling to the line formed in front of her stall.

 

This fellow was very happy to have his picture taken. He offered me a sample of his chip like product, I could not decline since he was so good to let me take his picture. It was very tasty…not potato, it had a bean flower like taste.

Another example of snack vendors. This lady had a ladle where she placed a portion of uncooked potato strings. Then she poured over them what looked like pancake mix (bottom left). Then into the hot oil they went. Nope, did not try them, but they looked good.

 

Idle hands are not in this lady’s mind. No customers, but she is busy removing the stems of what looks to be spinach.

 

This market runs along a very narrow road. It can get very crowded at times, but that does not stop many from using their e-bikes to navigate through the crowds. Do not like them as most are beeping their horns constantly and expect walking patrons to let them go…not me. In this picture, you see a drive-thru shopping experience- you just do not see in any US market I know of. Ah, convenience is king everywhere.

 

Tried to find out what was this guys frying, but could not. Initially it looked like pork skin, but I think a local was trying to tell me it is a flour mixture.

 

Hey, it is lunch time so I must have a bite…this lady seems to be telling a customer. Wondering if she is eating meat?

 

Most of this market runs alongside an open narrow road, but a significant portion is inside a building (it is called a “wet market”). In this section, we see fresh seafood for sale; many of it is still alive in large tanks on the floor for you to pick.

 

The day is almost over. This lady seems like she had it; not sure if she just did not have any customer that needed any clothing alterations, but as you can see food is not the only thing you get at this markets. Actually, you never know what you will find, and that is what makes visiting such places so much fun for me.

Hope you enjoyed this posting. We are on our way to India for the next 7 days. Hope to have many pictures and stories to share with you all.

Off to Incredible India we go!

 

 

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