The Red Market

The Red market is essentially a mandi, where you can put your finger on the local palate. The market gets its name from the fact that it’s a red coloured building. It consists of three storeys of fruits, vegetables, meats, fish and flowers.

Walk in to find silvery fish on display, some of which swim around tanks until you pick them; strings of sausages which hang at stall entrances, heaps of bright, luscious vegetables peeking out of jute sacks, and then there’s fermented fish sauces sold out of cauldrons. And there’s a floor dedicated to the most fragrant and colourful flowers.
With English not widely spoken, you can spend hours here just trying to figure out the peculiar foods―what the sauces are made of, whether the sea-weed can be consumed raw, how long the meat has been aged, etc. If you’re the sort who travels for food, you’ll find yourself with one too many exotic food-bags to lug back home. The best part about the market is that even if you know your food, this market will leave you with many questions. The answers lie with (bi-lingual) locals. Or just download an app that allows you to translate from Cantonese to English.