Just came back from the market. Haven't been there for some time and this CNY season, it was totally transformed! Bright colours of red and gold decoration pieces for sale, the spread of cute little red pineapples and the big ugly green ones, big round piles of lime green pomelos and boxes and boxes of mandarin oranges!
But the most amazing was the good old supermarket - the area outside the store was way bigger than the store itself! Under the canvas sheet was the whole range of CNY goodies in addition to the usual tidbits and everywhere I went I bumped into aunties and uncles trying to buy all they could, since there is only one week to go before the new year.
Mother had bought the goodies earlier; this trip was just part of her normal shopping routine. I had tagged on to get myself some facial foam, which I didn't buy in the end cos it was no longer as cheap as some time ago - I'll go find it in Watson's later..
Then she bought two ugly pineapples to make PINEAPPLE TARTS!! I hope she's making the rolled type - I like :) Oh the guy selling pineapples used this super sharp parang to skin the fruits. I was totally mesmerised watching him cut off the ends of the pineapples like they were paper and then proceed to cut away the rest of the sharp bits. I think he could skin pineapples faster than I could apples *.*
I like going to the market now that I'm older. Suddenly it seems very interesting. The very "heartland" kind of bustling, quite different from the crowds in town. And unlike the designed lightings in town, the colours and sounds in the market are all haphazard, all natural! I regret not having a camera at hand..
As a young kid, I used to fear the market. Too crowded. And I was afraid of slipping in the fish area so I would grab Mother's skirt tightly since her hands would be full. As I grew older, it was safe enough to let me wait outside the wet market while she chose the fish.
One day, I think it was just before CNY 1999, I went to the market with her. No longer the frightful kid but it was too crowded so I waited outside anyway. I was facing the market when I heard someone shouting behind me "lai ah!" Instinct was to turn around to see, right? Imagine my shock when, the moment I turned, this man dashed by right in front of my eyes carrying a BUTCHERED PIG, WHOLE FROM HEAD TO TAIL!!
I could only stare at the thing that just passed less than a metre away. Wow, first time I saw anything like that! The man emerged from the market after a while and continued to ferry gigantic pieces of pork from his truck. Saw three or four in all, thought the colour looked quite different from the packed pork in supermarkets.. Then it struck me that what I saw was the skin colour :p
Told Mother I'm going to make a dish for the eve dinner - homemade meatball stew :) I only saw the finished product on TV while waiting for my lunch one day. It looked good so I must replicate - just cook, pork never goes too wrong!
Yes, I'm getting excited over CNY now :)
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