Organic farm

I learnt a new phrase during the Japan tsunami: agricultural polytunnels. And we spotted what looked like some outside Luk Tei Tong recently.

Turns out it was Mabel's Roselle Garden, which sells organic produce.

Mabel wasn't in when we passed by but we'll be back in hopes of snaring those really fresh greens.

DB Farmers' Market

The new Farmers' Market in DB North is really, as Buffalo Wilbur noted: "More of a farmer's market as imagined by John Lewis or Waitrose." Everything was so posh and well-packaged... where were the farmers, where was the dirt?

The only organic raw produce we could see came in the form of leaflets by Homegrown Foods advertising their vegetable boxes.

But it was a pleasant day out, nonetheless. After all, we hadn't been to DB North before so this gave us an excuse to explore and make use of the free shuttle bus.

The food on sale included chocolates, homemade sauces, Iberico ham and truffles... so you can see how upmarket it was.

The cupcake stand did a roaring business.

They were sold out and packed up by 1pm, before most of the other stall owners.

Return to the lands

Mui Wo has its roots in farming and fishing. And while fishing may be dying a slow death, at least it looks like farming is enjoying a revival.

We haven't taken a walk by the abandoned fish farms (don't you love the phrase? It smacks of "meet you by the abandoned fish farms, Batman" gags) for a while so we were pleasantly surprised by the thriving vegetable farm that has appeared there.

I bought some pak choy from the woman at the pier at HK$10 a bundle. Wonder if it came from this farm?

Sustainable living fair

We were walking through Chung Hau village when we spotted a huge crowd outside the art place, The Workshop on Rural Committee Road. Local entrepreneur Siu Ming was holding a Sustainable Living Fair.

She was selling organic produce from her garden in Nim Po Tsuen and giving free samples of her roselle tea, a refreshing beverage that's packed with vitamins.

She's also the distributor of So...Soap! which is made in the New Territories by farmers and housewives seeking some extra income for their families. The cakes of soap are HK$48 each and the bottle of bath and hand soap are HK$88 each.

Incidentally, Siu Ming is also going to be conducting classes on beekeeping and how to make organic fertiliser from buffalo poo.

There will be another fair next Sunday at the same place. Details are in Lantau Link.

You can contact Siu Ming on 6020-8829 or siuming@sosoap.com. She speaks English.

Going marketing

We may have two supermarkets in Mui Wo but for really fresh/unusual produce, I often do a little hunting and gathering round town.

The BBQ meat shop opposite Wellcome has some good cuts of imported meat. For Sunday lunch roasts, they sell legs of lamb and huge chunks of beef.

They also have a small section of fresh veg.

For fresh seafood, nothing beats the Mui Wo market.

But I am a bit squeamish and can't bear to see a live fish being bashed in the head for me to cook so I usually stick to the ones already on the slabs.

The market also has a small stall selling buns, which are great for a mid-morning snack after a tiring hour or so of marketing.

Stall-warts

We don't need to go to the supermarket to get fresh produce.

At the pier, there are always two regulars – I call them the Vegetable Lady and the Banana Uncle because I can't communicate more than "How much?" to either of them.

And sometimes, when the weather's good and the tourists spill out from the ferries, there is also Vegetable Lady 2.0, who sets up her stall outside the McDonald's.

Her vegetables are always so fresh that they catch the eye of many home cooks.

When I was there buying her beetroots (HK$13 a catty in case you're wondering), a couple stopped by and got some too.

Because I brought her luck, and translated for her, she gave me two stalks of spring onions. I'll definitely be back!