Do you know how your vegetables get to your table, from countries as far as Spain or Chile? Do you…read morecare? Then keep on reading. I asked myself this question while I was working on a report and ended up with a detailed piece of research about the wholesale markets in Hong Kong. As you may know Hong Kong imports almost everything food related from abroad and in the case of fruits and veggies, some of them go through wholesale markets before they get delivered to your local shop or supermarket. I asked for an interview and guided tour in the Western wholesale market, which is the biggest ones and what started with some curiosity turned into an experience I learnt a lot from. There is a 50% chance the apple you have at your desk or the veggies you had for lunch passed by this market. And there's a 90% chance that those veggies came from China, unless you went for locally grown ones (then the chance is 2%). But the wholesale market not only deals with fruit and veggies; fish, meat and eggs are also traded on a daily basis. After the interview they took me on a really fun tour around the market: it was around 11am, so the busiest time was over (it's usually in the early morning). Although I missed that, I could imagine how crazy it could get in there. There are 512 stalls! And if you are good at figures, you may picture how much 103,600 tons of fruit is. Well, that's how much fruit they traded during 2013! The people at the market were extremely kind and attentive and I had a great time with them! Now every time I have a piece of fruit I wonder...how did this arrive to my fridge?

This is a so called 'boutique supermarket'. Although I was a little disappointed about the olive…read moreoil section (I was expecting more variety and surely, a good Spanish representation), the rest is wonderful. You can find some really special gourmet foods. Some of them, you can't find or at least I haven't seen anywhere else. I was surprised to see the frozen Iberico meat cuts: they've got excellent pieces of meat! Some of the best picks are the high end quality spreads as well as the snacks section, where they've managed to pack a good selection of international foods - I mentally ticked the countries of origin of the foods displayed and was surprised! Poland, Turkey, New Zealand, Spain, Italy, France...which are clearly stated on the label. Yeah, that's what you called an international supermarket. And as opposed to big gourmet supermarkets, prices are fair. If you have a chance to go there, have a look at the refrigerated counter, with a great selection of cheeses and cured hams. The place is rather small, cute, cozy and welcoming; the range of foods and drinks is just the right size, so that you don't feel overwhelmed by too many brands, qualities or prices. They've got a good eye on their picks. Oh and they're really proactive in promoting their foods: lots of tastings and events going on there, you gotta love it! Even though it's a little far away from my place, I am so glad I finally made a trip there. It's located in a really cool shopping mall (D2 Place) that I'd describe as 'cool'. Great discovery!

A tribute to my favorite chili sauce from Hong Kong!…read more 余均益 (Yu Kwen Yick) is the stuff of legends. That curious looking almost orange-esque delight in a glass bottle has a simply irresistible flavor that doesn't scorch your throat, and has a very light sweetness with a fermented sour finish. The main ingredient? Fermented sweet potatoes. Be careful with it, it is not soju! This is a family run business that has been around for quite a number of decades. The founder is of Shunde (Shun Tak) extraction and has been doing this secret recipe the same way, literally stone grinding the fermented sweet potatoes and adding whatever is necessary to make this magic sauce. Thus batches are rather limited, and there is consistency in quality. There are no preservatives so try to consume within the expiration date. The family that owns this business rarely does interviews, and they do not wholesale to supermarket chains. If you search high and low, you may find YKY available for sale at random smaller mom and pop grocery stores, because they are trying to help each other out. They do not export this chili sauce, so if you see it somewhere in Toronto or Richmond Hill at some supermarket, it was probably brought over by airplane/hand carried. So the easiest way to get it, is right here at this location. Call ahead before coming, you don't want to trek here to find out they are closed. This magic sauce....what can you add it to to make the dish taste infinitely better? Dry fry beef chow fun - 干炒牛河 (the classic de facto pairing) Fried noodles - 炒麵 Pan fried daikon cake 蘿蔔糕 (lor bak go) Won Ton Noodles - 雲吞麵 (you will be very surprised that this is actually a classic pariring, particularly if the noodles have broth on the side) Steamed rice rolls - 豬腸粉 (another classic pairing) I even went so far as to bring the sauce over to a sushi restaurant and had them make a spicy tuna handroll with it. And holy shizzle miss dizzle, it was so damn good! (Though the chef was snickering and wondering WTF is this stuff.)

Bought some preserved meat and sausages for my parents last January. My parents and their friends…read moreall said those were some of the best they ever had. They even went back there to get some more. I don't know if they are necessary the cheapest, but the quality is superb.