Hong Kong Market
I found Hong Kong Market, ( http://hkcitymall.com/store.html ) about twenty-five years ago when they were located on Gessner at Harwin. I had just recently become a single dad and was really starting to seriously teach myself to cook. I loved the aisles and aisles of mysterious ingredients wrapped in paper, and tins and glass. Sauces and pastes and powders, fragrant and enticing.
And the vegetables! A half dozen different kinds of cabbage. Fifteen or twenty kinds of fresh mushrooms. It was a home cook’s wonderland and that store alone probably had more to do with my love of grocery shopping than any other single thing. It was there I discovered Szechuan Peppercorns, Maesri Thai Curry Pastes, Shrimp Chips, Enoki Mushrooms, fresh Lemongrass and so many other mysterious and incredible ingredients. I was also awed by the shelves and shelves of soy sauces that weren’t named Kikkoman or La Choy and an equal number of exotic vinegars.
I was further awed when they built their new big store at what had been a failed and mostly vacant mini-mall out on Bellaire. At that time, Houston’s “Chinatown” was just east of downtown. But when Hong Kong Market moved in to anchor that mall, and the other smaller shops quickly filled it up, the current Chinatown was born. If you’ve never been down that strip of Bellaire, you’re missing a big part of the beauty of Houston. It’s not really “scenic” per se , but it just has to be seen. So many shops and restaurants in strip center after strip center. Uniquely Houston to be sure.
If you haven’t been out there just go walk the mini-mall where Hong Kong Market lives. There are all sorts of cool little shops to wander around in. If possible, head over there around 11:30 on a Saturday morning and start at Ocean Palace for dim sum. It’s upstairs on the Bellaire end of the center. Then walk into the mall and walk around to Hong Kong Market.
This is a “wet market” with a couple of dozen tanks with live fish in the very back. The produce section alone is as big as some smaller grocery stores. You can get a bbq duck on the right-hand wall. Freshly baked bread back there as well. It has whole aisles of sauces and vinegars, pastes and powders, spices and… more spices. It’s a magical palace for anyone who loves to cook.
Grab a cart or at least a hand basket on your way in the door. You’re gonna need it.
What makes it Special: Just about everything.
What makes it Avoidable: I have no idea.
