dinner from the marché

Perhaps this isn't that big of a deal for those of you that live in the rest of the world, but if you have ever lived in the Middle East you will know that the produce we get here, just ain't good.  The mushrooms go bad in two days, the lettuce is a bit wilty when you buy it, the tomatoes are always hard, no matter how long you let them sit on the counter.  When everything has to be shipped in, the quality just goes way down.

So, one of my favorite parts of our stay in Paris was going to the market, buying fresh things, and taking them back to our little apartment to cook.  We bought a bottle of wine, a handful of golden mushrooms, some pasta, beautifully plump tomatoes, basil, and entirely too much cheese and voilà (!) delicious dinner for two!

Jeddah Fish Market part II

I have gotten a lot of questions after the last post.  First, the fish and sharks sold at the market are for consumption.  Shark fin soup is a popular in much of Asia and the Middle East.  Besides the fins, the rest of the meat is dried in the sun for a few days, then cut into steaks, and preserved in oil.  Talk about smelly.  

After a couple of hours moving from pile to pile of sharks, we decided enough was enough.  We were pretty grossed out by fish at this point, but we decided to get some shrimp and squid for dinner.  We bought our couple of dollars of fish and took to to the rows of bangladeshi, indian, and pakistani men that stand all day peeling and cleaning fish.  These guys know what they are doing.  It will take me 1 hour minimum to clean 5 squid, these guys clean 1kg it in 10 minutes.  Professionals.

As to the legality of shark fishing, and fishing in the Red Sea in general, there seems to be a lack of regulation and clear statement of what is and is not ok.  Check out below for more info.

overfishing in 2002

what HEPCA has to say

conference in 2000

slaughter in 2010

Thanks to Pablo for photos

Jeddah Fish Market part I

No amount of pictures will do this justice.  This market happens every day.  Hundreds of sharks killed every day.  Juveniles, adults, pregnant mothers, loaded into trucks and dumped on the ground in piles.  We waded through the layer of rotting fish juice and inched our way between the trucks to measure the carcasses and place a tiny clipping of their fin into a vial for genetic analysis.  By 10am we had had enough.  

Warning!!

The next post is a little gruesome.  I went with some friends to the Jeddah Fish Market.  We were surveying illegally caught sharks from the Red Sea.  It was a blood bath....

...if you are squeamish, I would suggest not visiting Ice Cream Cone Life for a few days

Sai Kung Fish Market

Fish, fish and more fish!  Sai Kung, a thriving village outside of the main city center of Hong Kong, has the most spectacular fish market.  Along the main boardwalk, men tie up their boats and display their fresh sea creatures to the salivating audience passing by.  Besides the normal grouper, crab, and oysters, you can find conch, starfish, giant squid, goldfish, and other mysterious marine life.  Between the colorful displays, shiny white rubber boots (I wanna get me some of these!), and mad marketeering, this place is a must see on a Sunday afternoon.

the souq

Visiting the Souq was one of my favorite parts of our trip.  All of the foreign sights, smells, and tastes seem to stimulate every part of the body.  From the plump ripe dates, to the frankincense, to the very old (and young) shopkeepers, there is constantly something to entice the eye.

More photos of the trip have been added here