Wanchai Market

Our daughter's violin teacher has been politely nagging us about our relaxed attitude and reminding us that we should have given her music theory lessons long ago. Running out of patience, she ordered us to prepare her for the Feb/March 2011 music theory exam. Unable to resist an order from such a lovely lady, we enrolled our daughter in a music theory class. So, starting from about a month ago, my wife and I have been living our new schedule - every Saturday for half an hour when our daughter is having music theory lesson, we wander around in the Wanchai market, looking for fresh meat, good produces and other interesting things. The following is what we have discovered so far.

Hong Ning Dairy - The only organic dairy farm in Hong Kong. It is a very small operation - daily production is less than 6,000 bottles. Given its extremely small production, the farm does not bother to have an outlet on the island side. (A list of its outlets in Kowloon and the New Territories is here.) Yet, if you drink milk, you can find Hong Ning milk at a little shop in Wanchai market, which manages to get allotted 20 to 30 bottles per day. The shop is called 菜菜子 Oh My Farm, shop B3, 3 Wanchai Road. The milk is priced at HK$12 a bottle (should be HK$11 a bottle as you can have a dollar refund when you return an empty bottle). Not cheap but at least we don't have to travel to the Kowloon side to buy a bottle of milk. At 菜菜子 Oh My Farm, you can find a great variety of organic produces, which can be had at half of 3Sixty/City Super's prices. The ladies there are extremely helpful and friendly. You are going to like them, I guarantee.

Walking along Wanchai Road in the direction of Johnston Road you will see a little hole in the wall stall which sells fresh poultry (平靚正家禽). There you can find Kamei chicken (lean, hormone and god-knows-what-it-is free chicken) developed by the Kadoorie Farm.  Cheap by 3Sixty's standard but still not inexpensive (HK$30 or so for a drumstick or HK$50-60 for a piece chicken breast). If you, like me, haven't developed into a 100% veggie though, agree that it is better to give up bulk of junk for better quality stuff, you will appreciate Kamei chicken (by the way, how much can one eat?). A warning: there is no turning back - you'll either be a 100% veggie or stick to Kamei chicken. You won't touch KFC again.

Further down the road you will find Sun Kee Butcher (新記健味豬, No.40 Wanchai Road, Tel: 25757675). If you prefer organic farming you should go to Sun Kee Butcher. This tiny stall is the last castle of Tam Keung, one of the very few farmers in Hong Kong practising organic farming. His other outlets in Kowloon City and Shatin are gone as there are not enough customers who are willing to pay 10-15% extra for what looks like the same thing that they can get at Park'N Shop. Luckily, his stall in Wanchai is thriving. If you go there after 2 p.m., you probably will have to leave empty-handed. Ah Tak, the man in charge of the stall, is extremely friendly. He is most willing to chat with his customers and share his knowledge about cooking and Wanchai history. Call him at the above number and he'll reserve your order for pick-up later in the day.

If you have a half day off and are fed up with Pacific Place or IFC, take a detour to Wanchai. It will be fun.