老外愛逛北京菜市場

When visiting a foreign country, some people like to visit the monuments, others the restaurants while some want to seek out the natural wonders.

I like the supermarkets.

Wallis Simpson, the US socialite who married a British prince, once quipped: "I never make a trip to the United States without visiting a supermarket. To me they are more fascinating than any fashion salon."

She was onto something. Supermarkets give a unique insight to a foreign culture. Forget temples and town halls - if you want to get a real glimpse into how the locals live, check out the cheese aisle in a Paris Carrefour, the frozen pies in an English Tescos and the bewildering array of impossibly perfect fruit in a United States Wholefoods.

There are two supermarkets near my apartment in Beijing. One is called WuMart, and you will find them dotted about the city. On my first visit I stared, awestruck, at the gigantuan noodle and soy sauce aisles. Other shoppers must have thought I was very odd, taking pictures of the giant bottles of baijiu (liquor), studying the various jars of eggs and preserves. But the real treat was in the meat and seafood section, where tanks of fish jostle for space with aquariums full of live bullfrogs. Giant slabs of animal carcass are hung on display and shoppers select from piles of pigs trotters and chicken feet.

WuMart is also notable for what it does not sell. There is no cheese, no Greek yoghurt, no pasta, tinned tomatoes or chickpeas. There is only a tiny amount of milk on offer. One of the hundreds of varieties of tinned fish is probably tuna, but I am yet to determine which.

The other supermarket near me is Ito Yokado, which is actually part of a giant upscale department store. The supermarket is smaller than WuMart's. This is for posh shoppers, with ladies offering samples of the latest brand of frozen dumplings and special displays of hairy crabs during Mid-Autumn Festival and a fancy sushi station.

Ito Yokado has a small selection of foreign goods, and so despite the high prices, I find myself bypassing the ladies shoe department upstairs to make the journey down to the supermarket in the basement to buy wine and passata, capers and cheese.

But the foreign goods aisle is pretty limited. My already small repertoire of recipes was squeezed even tighter.

It was then I discovered the market. Hidden away in a residential complex, I only found it after an in-the-know local led me there. It was a narrow building packed with food stalls. Vegetable sellers with heaving tables of fresh produce, a small butcher and a woman selling eggs and grain. One small stand has a man covered head to toe in flour. He spends his days making fresh noodles and dumpling skins, which you can buy for as little as 3 yuan (48 cents) a bag.

There is a preserves shop, and a husband and wife team who serve up freshly made baozi (steamed stuffed bun) and an odds-and-ends stall, where you can buy everything from a new shower head to a jianzi, a sort of hacky sack ... with feathers.

And finally, I had found the best place to shop. It wasn't the supermarket - it was the secret market. Where you can select the best-looking tomatoes and the ladies stuff a handful of coriander into your shopping bag.

And without my staples of pasta and cheese, I've been forced to expand my repertoire. Making a not bad attempt at jiaozi (dumpling), ginger chicken and more stir fries and fried rice than I care to admit.

I still love supermarkets, but if you really want to get a glimpse into China - shop like a local, find the wet markets.去國外旅遊時，有些人喜歡參觀名勝古蹟，有些人喜歡品嚐特色美食，還有些人喜歡找尋自然奇觀。

我卻喜歡超市。

華里絲·辛普森（Wallis Simpson）是一個美國社交名媛，嫁給了一位英國王子。她曾打趣說：“我每次去美國都會去那兒的超市。對我而言，超市比任何時尚沙龍都吸引人。

她說的很對。超市可以讓你更加深入地瞭解外國文化。如果你想要真正瞭解當地人的生活方式，那就把寺廟、市政廳什麼的拋之腦後吧，去法國家樂福挑挑奶酪，去英國樂購買點冷凍餡餅，去美國有機商品超市看看那琳琅滿目，新鮮香甜的水果吧。

我在北京的公寓附近有兩家超市。一家是物美連鎖超市，你會發現它們在北京隨處可見。第一次去物美超市的時候，我看着京醬面還有醬油貨架瞠目結舌。其他顧客肯定覺得我很奇怪，對着一瓶瓶大罐裝的白酒猛拍照，還在那研究各式各樣，品種繁多的蛋製品醃製品罐頭。但是最讓我驚訝的是肉類與海鮮區。這裏有一缸缸擁擠的魚和活牛蛙，大塊大塊的肉被懸掛起來，顧客在成堆的豬蹄和雞腿中挑來揀去。

物美超市另一個引人注目的地方就是它沒有銷售的商品。超市裏沒有奶酪，沒有希臘酸奶，沒有意大利麪，沒有罐裝土豆或鷹嘴豆。牛奶也只少量供應。魚罐頭倒是有數百種，其中一種可能是金槍魚，但我不大確定。

我家附近另一個超市是伊藤洋華堂超市，它實際上是一個大型高級百貨商場的一部分。這個超市比物美超市小的多。它專爲時髦的顧客而設。中秋節時超市裏有促銷小姐提供最新品牌速凍水餃試吃，並特別供應大閘蟹，裏面還有一個高檔壽司點。

伊藤洋華堂超市有售一小部分的精選進口產品，儘管價格高昂，我還是發現自己會穿過樓上的女鞋部，走到負一樓的超市去買紅酒、意大利番茄醬、酸豆還有奶酪。

但是進口商品種類十分有限。我本就有限的食譜這下更少了。

就是那時，我發現了一個藏在住宅小區裏的菜市場。這還是通過一個當地“百曉生”的指引下我才找到那兒的。它是一個狹窄的建築，裏面食品攤比比皆是。這裏有許多菜販，他們的攤位上堆滿了新鮮的農產品；有一個身材矮小的肉販；有一個賣雞蛋和穀物的女人。在一個小攤上，有一男人從頭到腳都沾滿面粉；他每天都在做新鮮的麪條和餃子皮，每包只要3塊錢。

這裏還有一個醃製品店；一個賣新鮮包子的夫妻檔；還有一個雜貨鋪，裏面應有盡有，無論是淋浴噴頭還是毽子，這裏都能買到。

最後，我發現了最好的購物地點。不是超市——而是這個隱蔽的菜市場。這裏你可以買到賣相最好的西紅柿，賣菜的婦女們還會免費送你一把香菜。

因爲買不到我想要的意大利麪和奶酪等材料，我不得不增加我的食譜。我嘗試了餃子、老薑雞還有多到我不好意思承認的炒菜和炒飯，不過這些嘗試都還不錯。

我仍然喜歡超市，但如果你真的想要一窺中國——那就像個本地人一樣購物，到菜市場去。