Some foreigners here buy everything imported, fruit, veg, meat, the whole lot. All I can say is that they must have more money than 
sense. There are plenty of scare stories about chemicals on fruit and veg and MSG in everything but I think if you are the sort of person who is fussy about food and air quality then you just shouldn’t live here.
The reason fussy people live here and complain constantly is that they are earning loads of money. Their greed keeps them here so really they should put up or shut up. I always go the market. The food is fresh, good and extremely cheap. I have never had a bad experience with market food.
In any case, the markets are not only about the food, they are also fantastic places to see Chinese life. All my neighbours shop at the market and sometimes as I am heading off to work, they are returning home with bags straining under the weight of fresh food. Not a tin or jar anywhere in sight. 
So today I decided that soup is so easy to make and so delicious I would spend a happy afternoon making some. I had some success with pea, mint and watercress soup last weekend and so I am on a soup mission.
I was a bit fed up of mushroom soup so I thought I’d try some brocolli and celery instead. I picked up a Starbucks and a croissant on the way to the market, to see me through until I cou
ld cook something for myself. By the time I had finished at the market I had got enough to make a full English breakfast and soup for less than my trip to Starbucks.
On the gorund floor are the meat and fruit stalls. Upstairs is all vegetables. I don’t often linger downstairs – the smell of raw meat and fish is not very pleasant. I sometimes buy meat there if I’m doig a pot roast. There is also a seller thre who sells something similar to Ikea’s vegetable balls. They are tasty and cheaper and of course, fresher not being frozen.
My full cooked English breakfast came from the market with the exception of the bacon which was purchased at Jiashan market from a foreign owned local business.
Wet markets are one of the best places to see normal Chinese life so you should hunt your local one out. They are scattered all over the country, in every district. They provide great food at fantastic prices and give you a glimpse of local live at the same time.. bargain!