Note: The latest post about the Richmond Public Market is of February 2011 and is found on this link.

Suanne and I had a break from the boys today. Not knowing where to go for lunch, we ended up in the Richmond Public Market. The Public Market is located along the Westminster Highway and is another great place for authentic and cheap Chinese food. The food court, located at the upper level, are always very busy.

Because of the many food stalls in the public market, we are naming this blog the Richmond Public Market. Here is the first of the series:

Xin Jiang Delicious Food

Suanne went to the Xin Jiang Delicious Food. Xin Jiang is a remote province in north western China and is the province with a large muslim community. We just learnt that the people in Xin Jiang prefer to refer themselves as the Chinese Turkestan. That is why you see that there’s a Halal symbol on the signboard above. Suanne opted for a dish we have never tried before. It is called the Xin Jiang Flak Crystal and is serve is rectangular pieces. The owner told us that it is made from mung bean powder. Mung bean is better known as green beans or “kacang hijau” in Malay. The Flak Crystal is perhaps prepared the same way like the transparent noodle such as Tung Fun (Cantonese) but that it’s made into a cake and cut into pieces for cooking.

The dish is very spicy and we felt it is also a thad too salty for our taste. The price is $7.25 for a large serving.

Beijing Shanghai Delicacy

According to my Chinese friends, this stall is the famous siow lung pau stall. However, I opted for a dish called Deep Fried Oyster Cake which is very similar to the Penang Or Jian (oyster omelette). The ingredients looks the same except that this is deep fried unlike the Penang version that is lightly cooked with somewhat raw oysters.

Having gotten to used to the Penang version, we didn’t particularly like this a lot. It seems too starchy and “stretchy” (you know what I mean?). Not too bad, would say that it’s a three thumbs rating. The dish costs $4.50.

The Beijing Shanghai Delicacy is also famous for their Fu Zhou Style Fish Ball in Soup. While waiting for my order to be prepared, a lot of people came by and bought their fish balls by the pounds to cook at home. Anyway, we just order three fish balls to try — costs $2.50.

Although this is called Fish Balls, the fish ball is filled with beef inside it. We find that the fish ball is “mild and light” — i.e. not salty, very faint taste of fish and beef. It’s something that you would eat and eat without realizing how much you have already taken.