Hello Steemians! It's been a while since my last post. We had our friend Coco come into town so I thought it would be rude to be making Steemit posts while she was here.
Walmart (沃尔玛 'wo er ma' in Chinese) is a huge multi-national company that is both a supermarket and a department store. You'll find them all over America, Canada, and Mexico and usually everything is fairly cheap. Foodwise, you'll have your fresh deli food and produce but the rest of the place is filled with a lot of processed goods.
Obviously, Chinese people have a different diet from the rest of the world so let's take a look at what the supermarket portion looks like:
The first thing you'll see when you walk in is an assortment of fresh seafood.
On the day I went, they were all out of frogs but they had plenty of turtles!
As you can see, there is not only an assortment of sea animals but also seaweeds and kelp.
As my friend @capone145 told me, a necessary part of your diet in order to get your daily dose of iodine!
The picture above is a little blurry. I really need to work on my photography skills...
What we have here is some dried seaweed and then dried seafood like fish, shrimp, and squid.
As you might imagine, it's one of the smellier parts of the store.
During Chinese holidays you'll often see people carrying these red boxes around.
For Chinese New Year, people will often gift huge boxes of meat, nuts, and fruit to their family or friends.
So what's the deal with the black chicken?
It's called a "silkie chicken" because it's feathers are fluffy like that of a baby duck. Though some breeds in Indonesia don't have the fluffy plumage.
Apparently this is eaten because it is considered to be very healthy for you, helping with your blood, lungs, and stomach. I haven't tried this yet...or at least not that I know of.
Like other grocery stores, you can buy your chicken wrapped up (chicken breasts, drumsticks, wings and the sort) but it's cheaper to take from the self serve ice islands. I've tried it before but the meat sometimes looks a little discoloured so now I avoid it.
Notice the pile of chicken feet in the back. This is a hugely popular part of the chicken here in China.
Back home, the meat department is usually dominated by beef. You'll have beef roasts, different cuts of steak, and then a selection of ground beef.
Here in China, pork is king. There is a small section for beef but no fresh steaks or ground beef is available. You can ask for ground pork or you can choose from the pile of meat seen above.
Another popular food item here is pigs feet. I'm actually half Chinese and the older members of my family (uncles, aunts, and grandparents) all love to eat pigs feet soup. I tried it once but I'm not too fond of it. It's hard getting those toenails out of your teeth.
Back in Canada, the frozen section will have ready to eat dinners like lasagna, pizzas, and TV dinners.
Here, the freezers are filled with dumplings, baozi (stuffed meat buns), and vegetables.
There is a small "western" section that has steaks, chicken nuggets, and pizzas but it's not the best quality so I steer clear.
In hindsight, I wish I took more photos. The majority of the chilled section is taken up by yogurt or 酸奶 (suan nai).
This literally translates to "sour milk". This translation is apt because in contrast to yogurt back in Canada, most of the yogurt in China is in liquid form. Instead of eating it with a spoon, you drink it like milk.
The second and third most popular items in the chilled sections are various types of meat and noodles. As you can see above, you can buy a bags of whole chickens.
This walmart also has a small cheese and butter section but there is nowhere near the variety as back home. Lastly, there is a small fresh milk section but...
Many Chinese people, like my girlfriend, enjoy buying milk in a boxed form instead. This doesn't require refrigeration and can come in either tetra-packs or small bags. You won't see any 4 liter jugs of cold milk around here.
Yuck!
Hahaha to what part?
All of it...lol Its funny tho cause I eat all kinds of what can be considered gross things (chicken..beef etc). I just don't like seeing it in the manufacturing or raw state first....;)
It's funny how that works. If I think too much about what I'm eating when I'm eating eggs or meat, it grosses me out too. That's why I just focus on the taste. The post above was tame compared to some of the things I've seen in China though. It's quite a ride.
The Black Chicken i havent tried yet! It looks like something you would use for a voodoo ritual! i will definitely try it sometime!
Yeah it doesn't look like something too tasty does it. If I have the opportunity I'll give it a shot but I probably won't go seeking it out.
Man, that supermarket is nuts! I've only ever seen those Silkie chickens on iron chef, and they always have trouble cooking them properly. It's also crazy that you can just go buy a turtle to cook. We only have them in the pet stores here in Canada as you know! Very excited to read the second part of this post. Thanks for sharing @eitsky
Yeah it's quite a difference to the Walmart at home hey? When I first saw a Walmart I was kind of stoked to have access to stuff from home but it's really nothing alike.
I had never seen silkie chickens before coming here. It's really strange to see black meat in the middle of all that chicken. Yeah man, they got turtles and frogs and all sorts. Can't say I've tried turtle yet but frog isn't too bad.
I would for sure shop at the WalMart near me they had a fresh seafood section like that.
Where are you from? Yeah Chinese people are big on fresh, whether it's meat, vegetables, or seafood. It's really prioritized.
Cool post!Lots to say about Chinese supermarkets and what kind of food they have there hahaa Looking forward to the next part from you!Was quite surprised you are half Chinese😯😁
Thanks Damira. I figure for those not living in China, it might be interesting to see the contrast!
Yep I was born and raised in Canada but my grandparents were born in Guangdong Province. It's part of the reason why I came to China in the first place.
I would say it's extremely interesting for people who haven't been here!That's cool!Wonderful thing to come back to your roots and learn about your culture;)
haha, looks like you have taken pictures of whole supermarket
More or less! I got a lot of strange looks from the locals.
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