Sam’s Club and Wal-mart both have a strong presence in China. They sell goods catered to the Chinese market, which means that the products here are very different from those you find in the states. On the first day of my trip, my grandmother and I made a trip to the Sam’s Club to buy some groceries.
Here are some interesting finds:
Pizza! I bet it tastes weird. I had tried some “cheese” for breakfast at my uncle’s and it was funky.
Crawfish. Go TD!
Chinese baked goods!
A whole bird! I think it might be pheasant or quail?
More poor birds, hanging for display.
Veggies…
And more veggies.
Live fish in the tank. Most Chinese people really emphasize the freshness of food, which means they rarely will buy frozen seafood or meat. Plus Shenzhen is by the coast so fresh seafood is actually affordable.
For example, here are live shrimp in a tank. You pick them out and scoop them up yourself. My grandmother bought a pound and it was only around $3.
Turtles and eels.
A whole alligator! By this time people were probably wondering why on the earth a girl was wandering around taking pictures of what is to them common food.
Live skinned eel! The worker grabbed an eel out of the tank, stabbed it with a stake to the table, and proceeded to skin in alive with a sharp knife. I had to shudder at the contrast between the violence and the commonness of the task.
It may seem disgusting and gruesome, but I think it is good to be so connected with your food and to know where it comes from. People tend to distance themselves from their food when they only buy nice-looking packaged chicken breast or already-sliced, clean deli meat. Yes, meat does come from live animals that had to die to become your sustenance. Whether you chose to eat it or not, you should recognize this fact.
On a lighter note, I just thought this display was funny. Selling toilets on the street. I like the fake person demonstrating. Just in case you didn’t know…
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