Today I am continuing my Cook to Save series with a guide for buying food from the pasar pagi (morning market). If you are an overseas reader, this guide will probably apply to your local farmer’s market. This guide is also applicable for shopping at the pasar malam (night market).

It can be intimidating for some to begin shopping at the wet market, especially if they’ve only done their shopping in supermarkets.

There are many reasons to buy your food from a market instead of a supermarket:

1. Food is fresher
2. Food is cheaper than supermarkets (with the exception of hypermarket promos)
3. You can bargain for a lower price
4. Personal touch when you make friends with the stall owners

This guide will be most helpful for those of us who are not sure how to start shopping at the market.

Which market?

The first logical thing is to decide which market to go to. The natural answer would be the nearest market, but this may not be the ideal answer.

Look for several markets near your home, then compare prices to find the best. Markets in certain areas are more expensive. For example, Mrs Beagle and I prefer to shop at the Sea Park market in PJ, where the prices are much cheaper than the Subang Jaya market.

How to Choose the Right Stall?

When you enter a market, it will be divided into different zones. There will be zones for selling meat, vegetables, fruit, a dry market section, eggs and fish ball stalls. Within each zone you will find several stalls selling the same thing. Which do you choose?

What I do is to choose the stall with the most customers. This usually means the best quality or the best price in the market.

However, also try buying at other stalls to compare prices.

After a few rounds, you will find your own preference.

How to Choose Items?

How do you choose the items at a stall when faced with many different varieties? For example, how do you know which cut of meat to buy or the right species of vegetable?

If in doubt, just ask.

I have not met any stall owner who is not willing to show me what to choose. Most of the time you can tell them what you intend to cook, and they will recommend the right ingredient or the right cut of meat.

Once again, you will gain experience in no time at all. As you cook at home and use the items you have bought, you will learn how to choose the right things you need.

How Much to Buy?

You may be tempted to buy one month’s worth of food at one go (like how you buy lots of food in bulk in the supermarket).

You could do this for meats that can be frozen, but vegetables start to go bad after a couple of weeks or so. What we do in the Beagle household is to purchase meats once a month, and purchase vegetables that we can consume in a week or so.

Conclusion

This post should help you get started. The important thing is to shop around and compare to find the best stall for you.

In the next post of this series, I will cover the topic of Buying Food from Supermarkets.

Do you have any market shopping tips to share?

Cook to Save Series:

• 3 Benefits of Bringing Lunch to Work
• Cooking Your Own Meals
• Save Money Through Healthy Eating

Popularity: 51% [?]