Malibu morning picture of the day - Thursday, October 9, 2014

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

Thursday morning in Malibu today looks like this:

Sort of looks like the sky has a belly button doesn't it?

If you don't want to look at Zeus' midriff, here's a view just to the right.

Looks like we're in an overcast pattern today. Nice and cool on the coast this morning. After I got off the bus, I ran into two coworkers who biked in all the way from Santa Monica and lived to tell about it. More power to them.

I'd like to try the man-powered two-wheel trip myself, but I've become to risk-averse with this 50-something body of mine.



Notes on Big Asian Grocery Stores in SGV - continued:
The three stores I visited in my quest were Hawaii Supermarket, S.G. Superstore, and 168 Market, all highly touted by reviews on Facebook and Yelp, and all three on Valley Blvd.

Chinese grocery stores that I went to in my childhood, while in tow with my Dadd either as a shopper or when he was called in as the repairman to fix their refrigerators, were small,  dingy, poorly lit, very utilitarian affairs, that I remember with things sitting on barrels or crates with Chinese characters on them. They usually had concrete floors or worn-out and cracked tiles on the floor, with noisy ceiling fans slowly moving above you, like large dark bird wings hovering ominously. There was always a meat case at the back of the store, manned by a butcher, who was usually smoking and who looked at young children like myself as annoyances to be carefully watched. There were usually flies on the meat too. I imagine this is what general stores looked like in America before World War II.

Somewhere along the line, the number of people of Chinese descent hit critical mass and they got the idea to start building their stores along marketing principles used by large supermarkets.

My first stop, Hawaii market, is pretty much set up on the standard supermarket model, produce, meat, and fresh bakery on the walls. The inner shelves have dry goods and canned goods, highest-traffic items at eye level, and featured endcap items. Those who go to the 99 Ranch Market will think of Hawaii as pretty much a clone. 99 Ranch has a deli section of hot prepared foods, but Hawaii does not. Most American shoppers will find this setup quite familiar. Not a bad selection of stuff, but no choong choy.

Next stop was S.G. (San Gabriel) Superstore. This is hybrid format that I have found in other Asian American communities where there are a lot of immigrant--it's a former big box store,where most of it is a supermarket set up in the pattern mentioned above, but with the existence of a lot of swap-meet stalls in the remaining portion. You may find specialty Asian goods (like media items such as DVDs, CDs, tapes, books), ethnic clothing, but more likely it will be all the stuff you find at Wal-Mart (housewares, electronics, appliances, etc.) but of off-brand makers.

This market had the choong choy I was looking for, but they stock a variety cured in sugar. Which is kind of OK, but it imparts the wrong taste--so reject. They had lots and lots of seafood in their meat department. Therefore, this place really stank. Typical for an Asian meat section, but maybe off-putting for regular American shoppers.

There's a joke if you want to judge the authenticity of a Chinese eatery, it must bear the Health Department's grade of "C" for "Chinese." If you're worried about food poisoning, here's a little assurance. Usually the culprit for such a grade lies in the preparation practice for poultry. Read a recipe book on prepping fowl with a crispy skin and it will usually involve a time consuming-process of hanging up a cooked bird and allowing the skin to become paper-dry, usually with a couple more moistening with marinade. It's the hanging at room temperature that blows the rating. There's a high-temp plunge at a later point to do a second cooking.


Final stop was 168 Market at the Alhambra-San Gabriel border. I love how it is nestled in this faux-Victorian-themed shopping center. I'm sure the original intent was to draft off a nostalic Disney-esque Main Street vibe (perhaps Alhambra was constructed in the Victorian period and this was an attempt to look like "old town"."

However, it's anything but 19th-century inside. Again it's on the model of staples on the walls, but all the inner shelves are set up in the Costco, Food-4-Less warehouse model with very industrial, large-capacity shelving.  Again, no salted-and-rolled preserved-turnip choong choy. 168 is a Cantonese joint, as that was the dialect announcing the bargains of the day over the loudspeaker--I found it comforting, though intelligible except in small bits. The clerk who checked out my orders  announced my total in Cantonese as well. Guess I still look the part.

Even if you are not Chinese, shopping at the ethnic stores are definitely worth your while if you a frugal shopper. Their produce is generally of the "second" variety, meaning not picture-perfect specimens that the buyers from Gelsons, Ralphs, etc. all snap up. Just as tasty and identical when cooked are these lesser grades, along with lesser prices. And, if you prefer more fat in your cuts of ground meat than the ultra-slim meats at the big chains, this is your meat department.

By the way, any of these places are just fine for the items called for in most Chinese cookbooks. It's the oddball stuff that becomes a challenge. But the hunt goes on.

Hope your week has been going well. I was down sick yesterday (just in case you checked in for a morning picture and found it missing...).

Love,
Pops