On a sunny day in Florida many years ago, I went to Disney World with my family. At the time they had a section of the park called "Mickey's Farm" or something like that where they had a petting zoo with barnyard animals, statues of Goofy holding a pitchfork and a couple patches of "crops" including corn, wheat, barley, soybeans, etc. to showcase American farming. We were standing in front of a patch of corn, which is arguably the most recognizable agricultural product in the world (other than sunflowers, maybe), when we saw a little girl point to the corn and say "Daddy, what is that?" He said "I'm not sure, sweetheart, I think it's wheat." My mom, good American farm girl that she is, was (rightfully) appalled. She turned around and exclaimed in an exasperated voice "That's corn! Where are you from that you don't know that's corn?" The answer was New Jersey. I should also point out that there was a sign in front of the corn that said "Corn" so there was really no excuse.
Anyway, what's my point? Good question. The point is, as modern day Americans, in this great nation, real hard workin' American people on main street who have to go out and put moose meat on the table, God bless 'em, who abide by our great constitution and believe in good ol' fashion hard work, we are sort of brought up in a culture where food is somewhat divorced from its natural state. As in, fish are turned into fillets, chickens are sold primarily as chicken breasts and New Jerseyians don't know what corn looks like/can't read. (Kidding) In Hong Kong, the closer food looks to what it looked like when it was alive is better because the implication is that it is fresher. That's why fish are sold whole and served whole in restaurants (usually you can pick one out of an aquarium and they will bring it to you in a plastic bag for your inspection prior to cooking). Chickens are frequently served with the head (I'm told they're delicious). Same thing with dogs. (Kidding)
So, now that you have (a) taken a walk down memory lane with me and (b) read the beginning of my diatribe on the agro-industrial complex, here are a few photos of the fish and other sea animals in the Central wet market. Enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment