# Hong Kong Market in Dallas - I hit the mother lode



## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I took Parker over this morning to get the holes in his head filled up, and the Hong Kong market was 10 minutes away.

I swear, I could have spent $1000 and never gotten off the fish aisles. i have never seen so many fish, most of which I never heard of.

But, my smallish freezer is pretty full so I got mackeral, sardines, pork tongue, and pork heart. I filled up 4 of those plastic grocery bags and got to the checkout - $33!!

they had salmon and salmon heads but couldn't tell me where they came from so I didn't buy any. I am going to look up some of those other fish - LOTS of fish that looked like maybe they were oily, maybe not. And all kinds of beef and pork and chicken innards. No heads, though.

If you living within driving distance of Dallas, it is well worth the drive. I would have driven four hours to get there (heck I almost did by the time I was done).


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

Awesome find and $33...can't beat that...major motherload!


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Yea!!! good for you!!!!:whoo:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

frogdog said:


> Awesome find and $33...can't beat that...major motherload!


This is the first time since I've fed raw I really thought I got a good deal. Of course, everyone else may pay less for sardines but for me the price of one of those cans in the stores in only about 40 cents less than five giant sardines.

The problem is getting there. I had a giant panic attack on the top bridge of one of those spaghetti bowls. The traffic was almost stopped. I didn't know if I could move forward but my fear of the people honking at me ended up being enough to get me moving. So on the way home i drove way out of my way to avoid any high bridges. 

Not sure what I'm going to do to get back to Parker tomorrow. The spaghetti bowl is definitely out.


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## OnyxDog (Jun 15, 2011)

Wow! That is so awesome! Good for you! There is a similar market about 15 minutes away from where I live. All sorts of fish, pork parts, beef parts... most of which I have no name for. LOL.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

OnyxDog said:


> Wow! That is so awesome! Good for you! There is a similar market about 15 minutes away from where I live. All sorts of fish, pork parts, beef parts... most of which I have no name for. LOL.


Yes, next time I'm going to write down the names of alot of those fish. I bet some are really good for dogs, I just don't know it. And alot of them are pretty cheap.

Some of the parts had names I could understand, some didn't. There was some really interesting-looking stuff but I had no idea what it was. And the chicken/pork/beef was all mixed in together so I couldn't even tell what animal it came from.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

You are so lucky! I found a little asian market about 30mins away, and to my disappointment, they were about the same price as Publix. Good thing though was that I was able to get some quail eggs. And, I can get a whole frozen quail, about a pound for $10.00. They had beef offal though, don't know if thats any good or not.
Good on you though, at least if you head down that way in the future, you can prepare everything for a big, cheap stock up.


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## Amy18 (May 17, 2011)

What a deal! aren't Asian markets such a godsend for raw feeders?. I went the other day and they had a bunch of duck hearts and organs, pork hearts and other goodies that you would only find there. Places like these with such great deals are part of what makes feeding raw exciting.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

That's great! Definitely sounds like a honey hole


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## NewYorkDogue (Sep 27, 2011)

Sounds like a gem of a place. Were you/are you able to ask in English what the names of some of the things are? I know in parts of Chinatown in NYC (also Queens)- everything is written in Chinese (or Korean), and it's sometimes difficult to communicate. Unless you just point at whatever you want...

Anyway. What is a spaghetti bowl???


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

oh my that is wonderful....

if the salmon is from the pacific northwest, it will be a very deep pink, in comparison to atlantic salmon which is pale and it's an obvious pale.

here's the thing. atlantic salmon is mostly farmed and nutritionally deficient in omega 3 and pacific northwest salmon has the pesky parasite that cooking cures...although some say freezing will kill the parasite. personally, i don't take the chance...besides, wild caught salmon is not yet running...so it is probably not available in dallas.

having said that, mackerel, sardines and herring are the fishes you want and the hong kong grocer will probably have plenty of that....i think in the summer, you can get anchovies too...

you really scored today...yay...

well done you.


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

How awesome! This might just motivate me to check out the Asian market in the city by me this weekend....I keep meaning to go but haven't yet, it is only about 30 minutes away (maybe more if I get lost).


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

no asian market here. Just mexican markets. They are not cheap!


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I need to find me a market around here....

Awesome find. Way to go.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

NewYorkDogue said:


> Sounds like a gem of a place. Were you/are you able to ask in English what the names of some of the things are? I know in parts of Chinatown in NYC (also Queens)- everything is written in Chinese (or Korean), and it's sometimes difficult to communicate. Unless you just point at whatever you want...
> 
> Anyway. What is a spaghetti bowl???


I did ask the fellow behind the salmon where they came from, and he said "I don't know." But no one was around the beef/pig/pork place, and those are the ones that had all the stuff in an Asian language I couldn't read. Alot of the fish in the frozen section was from Viet Nam and India.

Re, the salmon was really pink. I'm glad I didn't buy it. And why are sardines 5 times as big as the ones in the cans?

A spaghetti bowl is when they have a whole bunch of roads going around, on top of, and through each other in the form of giant bridges all at one spot. Like spaghetti in a bowl. The bridge I was on was the tallest one, and it was tilted. I get a little woozy just thinking about it. The only one I've been on worse was the Sky Bridge going into Chicago.

I have to go back tomorrow to pick up Parker. Honestly, the only city I have ever driven in worse than Dallas is Houston. I haven't driven in every city in the US but I've driven in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami. Indianapolis is a piece of cake - not one spaghetti bowl!!!!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

MollyWoppy said:


> You are so lucky! I found a little asian market about 30mins away, and to my disappointment, they were about the same price as Publix. Good thing though was that I was able to get some quail eggs. And, I can get a whole frozen quail, about a pound for $10.00. They had beef offal though, don't know if thats any good or not.
> Good on you though, at least if you head down that way in the future, you can prepare everything for a big, cheap stock up.


Rats. I didn't even think to look for quail.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Sprocket said:


> no asian market here. Just mexican markets. They are not cheap!


I found a store here that caters to hispanics where I got the hogshead, lambshead, and chicken feet. those WERE cheap, thank goodness, but why is it that so much of this "trash" meat is so expensive? Cow tongue is outrageously high, both at the Asian and Mexican stores. At least in my opinion.

but the pig tongue was alot cheaper.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

there's always next time. 

doesn't dallas have back roads so you can avoid the spaghetti?

i never heard it called that, but i know what you mean...they are a bear.

quail, black goat, all kinds of goodies....pork things, beef things....fish things....lovely things for dogs.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> there's always next time.
> 
> doesn't dallas have back roads so you can avoid the spaghetti?
> 
> ...


yes, i need to go through more of the store next time. I am not a shopper on a good day so all I could think of was to look in the fish and meat areas.

I can probably take surface streets at some point. Coming back I was close to another road I was familiar with so i just took it - it took me an extra half hour and it wasn't the four lane road i remember, it is now an eight lane highway, so surely there's a way to go that doesn't take that long.

I hated going to Dallas 30 years ago and I hate it now. I can't believe there are so many people in one place, and any road you get on is an eight lane highway and they are all going 80 miles an hour, or they are stopped.


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

:clap2:

That's awesome!


I am horribly jealous. I'd move to Dallas immediately, but I'm pretty sure Dallas wouldn't have me... :wink:


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## funshine (Jan 21, 2010)

Yay!!! Good job!!! :first:

Houston traffic is not that bad... crowded though. I like our big parking spots :biggrin: ...I suck at parking :wink:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

funshine said:


> Yay!!! Good job!!! :first:
> 
> Houston traffic is not that bad... crowded though. I like our big parking spots :biggrin: ...I suck at parking :wink:


Oh I think it is worse than Dallas! Everyone drives faster down there. I just get in the left lane, floor it, and shut my eyes and hope for the best


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Sister, do I hear you. Coming from NZ, straight off the boat, and forced to drive the Miami highways, I can tell you I've never been so scared in my life. And, this is someone who turned down an opportunity to sail around Cape Horn, not because I was scared whatsoever, but because I thought it wasn't fair to leave the other half at home for a year. 
So, no problem sailing around the world, but Miami highways?? No way in hell!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

MollyWoppy said:


> Sister, do I hear you. Coming from NZ, straight off the boat, and forced to drive the Miami highways, I can tell you I've never been so scared in my life. And, this is someone who turned down an opportunity to sail around Cape Horn, not because I was scared whatsoever, but because I thought it wasn't fair to leave the other half at home for a year.
> So, no problem sailing around the world, but Miami highways?? No way in hell!


HAHAHA! That is hilarious - not afraid of the open seas alone but scared of driving in Miami. I have to admit, Miami was no piece of cake. And it always helps if you know where you are going. it seems I rarely do.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

MollyWoppy said:


> Sister, do I hear you. Coming from NZ, straight off the boat, and forced to drive the Miami highways, I can tell you I've never been so scared in my life. And, this is someone who turned down an opportunity to sail around Cape Horn, not because I was scared whatsoever, but because I thought it wasn't fair to leave the other half at home for a year.
> So, no problem sailing around the world, but Miami highways?? No way in hell!


you turned down an opp to sail around cape horn? what is wrong with you, woman?


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i was just thinking about the things we buy at the oriental grocer.

one thing we didn't get and should have was beef tendon.....bet snorkels would like it and you won't have a stroke when you feed it.

there's also something called 'melt'.. it's spleen...might want to try that as an organ if you're not feeding it already...


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

We have an Asian market here that I haven't tried yet because I just have one question about it that maybe you all know. Does anyone know where their meat actually comes from to make it so cheap? Is it the same that you would get at the regular grocery store, all inspected and everything? I'm assuming it doesn't actually come from Asia, but I've just been really leery about buying meat in a big bin when I have no idea what it says or where it comes from. Maybe I'm just being paranoid and I need to get out more! 

It does seem kind of odd to be first talking about getting only natural, unenhanced meat and then talking about getting meat from markets where we're not sure exactly what we're buying.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> i was just thinking about the things we buy at the oriental grocer.
> 
> one thing we didn't get and should have was beef tendon.....bet snorkels would like it and you won't have a stroke when you feed it.
> 
> there's also something called 'melt'.. it's spleen...might want to try that as an organ if you're not feeding it already...


I saw tendon!!! It looked like of like liver. I should havee remembered your thread about it, dang it. Dom't remember seeing any melt but I'll write it down and look for it next time.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

chowder said:


> We have an Asian market here that I haven't tried yet because I just have one question about it that maybe you all know. Does anyone know where their meat actually comes from to make it so cheap? Is it the same that you would get at the regular grocery store, all inspected and everything? I'm assuming it doesn't actually come from Asia, but I've just been really leery about buying meat in a big bin when I have no idea what it says or where it comes from. Maybe I'm just being paranoid and I need to get out more!
> 
> It does seem kind of odd to be first talking about getting only natural, unenhanced meat and then talking about getting meat from markets where we're not sure exactly what we're buying.


Yes, the frozen fish mostly said where it came from - Viet Nam and India. The stuff behind the butcher counter didn't say and they didn't know, so I didn't buy any. I didn't see anything that said it came from China. 

And you are right - i am ASSUMING this is meat meant for humans and checked, but I'm not 100% positive. And even if it is, we know how well that works out sometimes.

The pork looked fresh butchered but I'm going to go ahead and freeze all that stuff for awhile anyway.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

well, this place we go to is the same place my chinese restaurant buys their food....

i am betting their rabbits are from china, although their chickens are draper valley chickens...i know some of their fish is either from the phillipines, vietnam, or thailand...

i don't know from where their pork comes....

but not everything we feed is organic, grass fed/grass finished...they'd never get the variety i want.

so there is a little compromise.

the spleen is usa....the beef tendon is usa....the beef is usa and usda inspected....so is the pork....the quail are from washington or oregon, i forget which....

have no clue from where their veggies come, but these look better than some stores i've been in.

and i am pretty sure their rabbits come from china.


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## Maligatork9 (Feb 8, 2012)

Take a look at the labels, it may say where it's from. I went back to the Asian market here after I posted about it and people cautioned about where the meat was from. I checked the packages and it all says "USA Farms" or something similar. Now, Maybe there is a place called USA Farms in China, but I'm going for it and believing its actually meat from here! Haha :usa2:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Maligatork9 said:


> Take a look at the labels, it may saw where it's from. I went back to the Asian market here after I posted about it and people cautioned about where the meat was from. I checked the packages and it all says "USA Farms" or something similar. Now, Maybe there is a place called USA Farms in China, but I'm going for it and believing its actually meat from here! Lol :usa2:


It wouldn't surprise me! However, if I had to verify every single piece of meat i bought the dogs would starve.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

I don't want to hear it about your spaghetti roads. I have a hard enough time navigating a grid pattern that includes one way streets! :tongue:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Sprocket said:


> I don't want to hear it about your spaghetti roads. I have a hard enough time navigating a grid pattern that includes one way streets! :tongue:


no spaghetti bowls up there in Northern California? I swear, I've been to Dallas more in the past month than in the past 30 years.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

xellil said:


> no spaghetti bowls up there in Northern California? I swear, I've been to Dallas more in the past month than in the past 30 years.


They have spaghetti bowls but I steer clear of them. I do not make a habit of driving to the bay area. It is terrifying!


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## BoxerParty (Nov 9, 2011)

Sprocket said:


> I don't want to hear it about your spaghetti roads. I have a hard enough time navigating a grid pattern that includes one way streets! :tongue:


DUDE. We have ROUNDABOUTS here on the Island. They look pretty innocuous, but raise all manner of hell. :twitch:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

BoxerParty said:


> DUDE. We have ROUNDABOUTS here on the Island. They look pretty innocuous, but raise all manner of hell. :twitch:


Indianapolis has a suburb named Carmel and the mayor thinks he is very cosmopolitan so he put in a bunch of roundabout. 

I never figured those out either but I didn't mind diving in because they weren't 300 feet off the ground, tilted, and swaying.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

But I WAS the one driving round and round in the circle because I couldn't figure out how to get off of the stupid things.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Apparently most people call them mixmasters, not spaghetti bowls.

Look at the small bridge over the very top. That's where I was. Traffic was almost stopped, and I was so scared I was frozen and couldn't let out the clutch to move forward. Everyone started honking at me.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

BoxerParty said:


> DUDE. We have ROUNDABOUTS here on the Island. They look pretty innocuous, but raise all manner of hell. :twitch:


Let me tell you a story about a roundabout :smile:

When I was taking drivers Ed, my instructor took me to one. She said "go left". I went right, we came back around to it and she once again said "go left". I went around and then forward/straight...

Finally I got it right at the 3rd try.

Did I mention that I can't tell right from left off hand? That's how we found the truck the night it got stolen. I was driving, Drew said "go left", I went right. The truck was down the street I turned down. :biggrin:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Sprocket said:


> Let me tell you a story about a roundabout :smile:
> 
> When I was taking drivers Ed, my instructor took me to one. She said "go left". I went right, we came back around to it and she once again said "go left". I went around and then forward/straight...
> 
> ...


I'm glad I'm not the only one who is directionally challenged! When i left my house in Indy to go to work, I was supposed to get in the lane to turn on I70 West. at least one day a week I decided I needed to go East. And I did that for six long years.

but, you found your truck! I hope you found the thief, too.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

xellil said:


> I'm glad I'm not the only one who is directionally challenged! When i left my house in Indy to go to work, I was supposed to get in the lane to turn on I70 West. at least one day a week I decided I needed to go East. And I did that for six long years.
> 
> but, you found your truck! I hope you found the thief, too.


No didn't find the thief or the GPS or the Sirius radio they stole. The left the amps, sub and stereo, burned a little rubber of the tires (darn turbo diesels) 

It was a crazy night

I am actually a confident driver, I just can't see properly or tell directions.

Life is gonna be fun when I get old :smile:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Maligatork9 said:


> Take a look at the labels, it may say where it's from. I went back to the Asian market here after I posted about it and people cautioned about where the meat was from. I checked the packages and it all says "USA Farms" or something similar. Now, Maybe there is a place called USA Farms in China, but I'm going for it and believing its actually meat from here! Haha :usa2:


you're lucky. my oriental market has stuff from all over the world.....at least it's labelled.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Sprocket said:


> Let me tell you a story about a roundabout :smile:
> 
> When I was taking drivers Ed, my instructor took me to one. She said "go left". I went right, we came back around to it and she once again said "go left". I went around and then forward/straight...
> 
> ...


repeat after me.

one is your cookie hand. the other is your milk hand.


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## Yorkie967 (Mar 13, 2012)

MollyWoppy said:


> Good thing though was that I was able to get some quail eggs.


Talking about eggs, you guys know about those duck eggs that have the fetus still intact inside the eggs like a mini duck inside? well imagine how ga-ga dogs will go over for that? and imagine the nutrients they will get from eating from head to tail. I think I may get some for benny and daisy's birthday. 

As for parts, my dogs love, love, love chicken livers. Wholefoods have organic chicken livers from Mary's chickens in these small tins for only $2-3. I saute them in olive oil and mix with their kibble but sometimes it looks so good I get some and spread it on some good toasted baguette and it is so good my god. It's like really good pate.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> repeat after me.
> 
> one is your cookie hand. the other is your milk hand.


I usually just hold up my hands and see which thumbs make an L :smile:


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Sprocket said:


> I usually just hold up my hands and see which thumbs make an L :smile:


the one that makes the L.. is that your right hand or your left hand? LOL


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> the one that makes the L.. is that your right hand or your left hand? LOL


My Left Hand!

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/41605_312957927083_5721440_n.jpg


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