Montreal market Friday

carolynstahl(76)

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Market Friday

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Hey Friends! Guess what? It's still Friday in Canada. What does that mean? It means I can actually do a Market Friday post thanks to @dswigle.

I'm pretty sure I haven't done a Market Friday for 3 or more years. The last one was probably in Bangkok. I'm not sure.

Now that Marc and I are unemployed, due to our workplace closing forever, we are able to see what goes on in our city of Montreal on Fridays. Being cooks in a restaurant means Fridays are usually spent running in a kitchen.

Last Friday was the day before New years eve and our first Friday off in almost 3 years. We stayed in, and hid from the world.

Today Marc's mouse, for his lap top, broke. He had to get a new one. I was not going to waste a shopping excursion on a mouse. I told him that if I went with him to the computer store, he had to come with me to Chinatown. Deal!

The computer store, is in the biggest shopping district, in the middle of town. This is where the trendiest, hippest, and financially capable folks go to get whatever they need. We are seldom in these parts. I usually get my clothes at the thrift shop except for on occasion. I enjoy window shopping even though I'm not interested in most things.

It was not too cold today so the streets were full of people. Perhaps it's always like this on Fridays. We don't know.

I was surprised and somewhat impressed with a person who parked a bike on the sidewalk. With all the snow and wet streets, you have to be quite brave to hop on a bike.

This pooch waited patiently for their person to get out of the store. Why only boots on the back feet?

When we got to the computer store I got instantly bored. I had to get into meditation mode to tolerate it.

There were so many mice to choose from. They all ranged in prices. I talked him into a less expensive one, since the expensive ones keep breaking. He finally made his decision.

Now it was my turn. I told him we would take a route through the mall to avoid the snow.

In the mall, there is a kitchen store. It has kitchen appliances, gadgets, dishes and much more. I saw an air fryer and thought about how I almost bought one, before we knew we would lose our jobs.

I usually look in this store but don't buy. In fact I don't think I've ever made a purchase here. It's fun to look.

After walking to the end of the mall, there are underground passages that take you to other buildings then to an exit that leads to Chinatown.

First stop is a store that I have browsed a few times for fun. Nobody tries to sell you anything. In fact the cashier just spends her time on the cell phone. Usually I don't like that, but this time, I'm relieved.

This is another store, where I have never purchased anything. Usually I want to get a special plate or bowl, then realize I don't want to carry it.

The items here are not overly expensive if you're into that stuff.

They surprised me with a giant bamboo steamer. I have never in my life seen a bamboo steamer this big before. I could only wonder who would buy this and what kind of heating element they would have, to heat it up.

Okay, time to move on to the destination where I would actually make a purchase. The Asian grocery store.

This is a fairly large store with good variety. It's in a basement. The only thing is that the customer service is intimidating. They are not the friendliest or helpful staff. I'm almost scared of them. You can forget about a smile, a "thank you" or "have a nice day".

There's a good selection of greens, which most of the time, I can't identify. I almost need an informed Asian greens person to accompany me and be my guide.

I know that some Hivers have ginger in their gardens. I've never seen a ginger plant in my life. I harvest my ginger on the shelf of a grocery store, specially wrapped in plastic.

The spice isle is full of dried chilies. It's like heaven.

I don't have space in my apartment for so many chilies but if I did....oh boy!

I usually don't bother with the frozen isle. I only consume plant based and usually this isle doesn't meet my requirements.

There are tofu products that I have never tried before. Usually I prefer organic tofu. I make the odd exception though.

Then there is the fresh wonton and dumpling wrappers. I used to buy them quite often. Now I try to make my own when I have time. It's more satisfying.

I always see these rice sticks and never buy them. I decided to try them out. I don't really know what to do with them. I suppose you cook them and put stuff on them.

Any recipe ideas? Help!!!

Marc and i saw a package of seaweed that we use to buy in the past. No we didn't use it for ourselves.

We got it for our cat. She would go crazy for any type of seaweed. She would rather eat seaweed then meat or seafood. She loved spinach as well.

I suppose I should try it someday in a soup or something, but when I saw this, I saw cat food.

When I set out for this Asian grocer, I had intended on getting rice wine vinegar. I like to keep it on hand.

I had to search among so many items. There are hundreds of sauces and condiments I have no idea, what to do with. Most are not suitable for me and have either fish or animal products in them. Many have MSG which I try to avoid.

I was unsuccessful at avoiding the MSG, when I purchased a bottle of black soy sauce. I didn't read the label this time, until I got home. I wanted to see what it was like. Oh well. I'll use it sparingly.

Marc found something we've never seen before, which was five spiced bean curd. We threw it in the basket to try.

We ended with the noodle isle. I love noodles. It's been a while since I was in this store. I discovered types of noodles that they didn't have before, and also some that I didn't know existed.