Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Longing for a Chiang Mai Wet Market


Pennant flags, dry floors, and the pleasing wooden beams impressed me at this wet market.

"This is one fancy wet market." That was my first thought as my Chiang Mai cooking class walked through on a mission to buy ingredients for that day's dishes. It's funny because it's such a contrast to what I would have thought if I was fresh off the plane from America. That gal would have found the place exotic and rustic, not necessarily fancy.

Fresh produce laid out on leaves



The very first time I visited a wet market was about 15 years ago on my whirlwind, 4-countries-in-3-weeks tour of Southeast Asia. I remember my mom screaming aloud in surprise when someone with a very large knife brought an abrupt end to a fish's life. Now that I live in Malaysia, I hit the wet market weekly for produce that's 3 times fresher and half as cheap as the grocery store. I've always meant to take pictures of my local market, but frankly, the fluorescent lighting is awful, and I'm too busy carrying my cumbersome shopping basket.

The fish are very much alive in that large tub. Her grill is to the right. Now that's fresh!

When I was traveling in Chiang Mai, I finally had the luxury of two free hands for taking photos and a market with good, natural lighting. This one had wooden beams and supports as opposed to the industrial feel of concrete columns at my own market. As I walked around, I was impressed by how dry this wet market is. At my Malaysia market, I'm used to slogging through puddles of melted ice mixed with chicken blood and whatnot. This Thai market actually had gutters on the table edges that channeled the watery runoff down a tube, through a hole and, I assume, into some sort of holding container or floor drain.  No cacophonous coconut shredder whirred in the background. Goods were laid out neatly on charming baskets and trays. Some items were pleasingly packaged with English labels. It was like the Whole Foods of Asian wet markets.

Dried peppers, dried lemongrass and Tom Yum herbs


Snacks ready to grab and go

My husband suspects that this might be a market aimed squarely at tourists because of the lack of locals shopping there. I'm not so sure as it was late in the morning, and the local crowd may have peaked hours beforehand like it does in Malaysia. As someone who has had her own routine market trips interrupted by tour groups, I took pity on the locals since this market seemed popular with various cooking schools. Imagine being at your hometown grocery store, but you can't reach the apples because a tour group is blocking your way marveling at how picturesque the apples are.



For some reason, I laughed that Bananas in particular are labeled in English.

Grilled satay and other meats

I could gauge how well I've transitioned into Southeast Asian expat life by how many of the exotic fruits and vegetables I could identify at a glance. Hairy rambutan didn't stump me. I couldn't resist the memory of the taste of sweet, juicy mangosteens that burst into my mind as soon as I saw them on the tray, and I ended up buying a few for a snack. As our cooking school tour guide quizzed the group by holding up palm sugar, turmeric, galangal and torch ginger, I had to keep my mouth shut lest I spoil the fun by sounding like the class know-it-all. However, I did come away learning that the mystery veggie in my previous night's curry dish was a golf ball sized, baby eggplant. Raw meat sitting out unrefrigerated no longer grosses me out, but flies crawling all over the meat still does.

Remember my previous post about my dislike of organ meat?
Guess my thoughts on raw organ meat with flies.


Prepared foods


Now that I'm back to my regular routine of shopping at my local wet market, I find myself longing for the fancy one in Chiang Mai.


Various curry powders sold in bulk



Related Posts:
Dirty, Hungry Elephants
Chiang Mai Sunday Market
The Ruins of Chiang Mai's Chedi Luang Temple
Visiting the Long Neck Tribe
Getting Lay's in Thailand



This post is part of Travel Photo Thursday on Budget Traveler's Sandbox and Oh the Places I've Been on The Tablescaper . Check them out for more around-the-world travel inspiration.

27 comments:

  1. I love wet markets! so interesting to wander through and absorb the sights and smells and colour. It would be interesting to go as part of a cooking tour. Another thing which is on my list - a cooking tour. I am going to Singapore this year, and I hope to visit a wet market.
    I am linking up to you through Travel Photo Thursday. Have a wonderful week.

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    1. Singapore is fantastic. That was where the 1st wet market I ever visited was. Singapore is very picky with their inspections, so I'm assuming it's very nice.

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  2. I so miss a proper market in Calgary. In Vancouver we had nothing like a Wet Market but we still had wonderful spots for fresh fruits & veges - and that in particular is very hard to find in Calgary. I suspect when you return to the States you're going to have a case of reverse culture shock.

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    1. I don't think there are any daily Farmers Markets near where I live in the States.

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  3. So envious of your market! We so love public/street/farmers/wet/by-whatever name markets and our Pacific Northwest growing season is so limited that we have but a few months each year to enjoy them. That is why we are so taken with those that run year-round in places we visit. Green with envy!

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    1. Before we moved over here, I envisioned a wet market to be similar to Pikes Place Market. It's similar but less sanitary.

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  4. Wet markets, ah, wish we had them in Australia. I love the buzz of an Asian market; the produce - so fresh from live to purchase. Your pic of the women with fish in the bucket, then fresh on a slab and then with the barbecue hot and waiting really sums up the whole concept.

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    1. If I wasn't headed off to a day of cooking, I would have bought some of that lady's fish.

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  5. I must say this market in Chiang Mai looks very professional. Was the smell any different?

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    1. My kids say it still smelled bad. I think it was a little more pleasant than my Malaysian market simply because it was smaller and had better ventilation.

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  6. This wet market reminds of the one in my hometown in the Philippines. I love visiting markets when I travel. They give me a fill of local vibes, colors and smell. Going to market as part of the cooking tour sounds interesting.
    (I'm with you about unrefrigerated meat with flies. Yikes!)

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    1. I think whenever I fantasize about visiting local markets, ones in France and Italy are what pop into my mind.

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  7. I like visiting markets when I travel and this one sounds quite interesting.
    It's amazing how much we adjust to local conditions. I'm sure you feel like a pro now being able to recognize the fruits but it's difficult to get used to some things, like flies.
    Hope to hear more about your cooking class.

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    1. The cooking class at Basil Healthy Thai Cookery School was great. They didn't mind that the kids helped out. I'm hoping to get around to telling you more about it.

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  8. When I was in the Luang Prabang wet market, they had a home made invention that made plastic shopping bags fling around like a crazy side show alley ride. It was in the middle of the meat table to keep the flies away. I thought at the time what a great invention it was. Since then I have seen a similar concept (but not using shopping bags)"fly chaser" for sale on television.

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    1. They had a homemade fly chaser at the next stall. I initially thought it was a whirling squid when I saw it from afar.

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  9. I have very fond memories of Chiang Mai. The Cooking Class was one of the highlights.

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    1. Yes, Chiang Mai is an excellent place for a foodie like yourself.

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  10. I had never heard of a wet market before! I love markets but I prefer the fruit and vegetables section - don't much care for looking at raw meat sitting out!

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    1. The unrefrigerated raw meat and seafood really turned me off at first. But I've never gotten sick from eating it, although I definitely avoid the stuff with flies.

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  11. I remember visiting wet markets a lot in the Philippines when I was little and didn't care too much for it. I had a different appreciation as a tourist and adult in Singapore a few years ago though. This one looks like a great place to visit. I love how much you've assimilated into the wet market shopping. BTW, your first and last pictures aren't showing up for me.

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    1. Thanks for the heads up on the pictures. I think I fixed them. My kids don't care for wet markets either, especially if durian is in season.

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  12. Hello! I hadn't heard the term wet market before but it makes perfect sense. My mouth was watering. Shopping today here in Sydney will seem extra dull.

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  13. I'm like Seana -- I hadn't heard the term "wet market" before. Looks like a great one here, although I can be turned off by some of the offerings. And yes, natural lighting does make a difference -- makes everything seem more appetizing.

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  14. I am a native of the Philippines and the term wet market caught my attention because I'm curious of how it look like in different country. It seems the same.

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