You can pretty much find anything at your
local Walmart and even though many of the
products might be made in China make no mistake
walking into Walmart in China you probably
won't "feel at home". Walmart in China began
in 1996 when it opened locations in Shenzhen.
Walmart China now operates 443 stores. The
Chinese are known for their exotic taste in
foods and strange food products so as you
can imagine you can find anything from date
juice to every type of dumpling to tanks of
fish, frogs, and turtles.. (and they’re
not being taken home as pets). So get your
shopping list out and get ready to add these
top 10 Walmart foods only found in China.
Crocodile in Frozen Meats
Walmart in China is the only Walmart that
offers entire frozen crocodiles for sale.
Chinese food goes beyond the ordinary, especially
in the meat department. Not to mention their
presentation of the meat, specifically crocodile
meat. The crocodiles are usually arranged
in rows, with an orange stuffed in its jaw
and covered with ice. There is a popular saying
in Guangdong that describes the craze the
Chinese people have for exotic meats like
a crocodile, “There’s nothing Guangdong
people wouldn’t eat in the sky, besides
planes, and on the ground, cars". Now even
though these are readily available not everyone
is buying them on a regular basis because
crocodile meat is a treat to have as part
of your meal. The Chinese love the chicken
meat-likeness of the crocodile but also eat
it for it's "medicinal" benefits. Apparently,
it’s considered to be a highly nutritional
source of meat and one that can also cure
respiratory illnesses like asthma. Dishes
prepared with crocodile include Crocodile
curry, Crocodile tail steaks, and crocodile
soup! It's said that crocodile tastes just
like chicken... so would you buy and try a
croc for dinner?!
Whole Sharks
If you are looking to cook a special dinner
or scare your friend, you can get a full-size
shark in the frozen meat section. Sharks are
not the friendliest or cutest of animals so
to see them in the frozen section out in the
open is a little more terrifying than appetizing.
On the contrary, the Chinese find this very
appealing for some special dishes, and this
is a great marketing tactic by Walmart. The
sharks are on display where anyone and everyone
can touch it and see it before they decide
which one they will purchase for their tasty
dinner meal. The sharks are used to make
a special traditional dish called Shark Fin
Soup, shark fin is served at big events like
a wedding and is a symbol of class and wealth.
They may also grill shark steaks and wash
it down with some red wine or beer, not the
typical beefsteak we’re used too that's
for sure!
Buckets and Buckets of RICE
Rice is a staple in Chinese dishes and is
eaten with almost every meal, so of course,
buying it in bulk is the only way to buy it!
At Walmart stores in China, you can find entire
containers filled with rice to fill up as
little or as much as your heart desires. Not
only are there multiple buckets of rice but
there are different types of rice to choose
from! You thought it was just white rice or
jasmine rice? No, no there is a whole section
dedicated to these filled containers. As bizarre
as it may sound, there are no food handling
policies in the Walmart stores in China. Not
only can you feel the crocodiles and sharks
to choose the juiciest meat but the rice is
also left in the open for every hand to smell,
select and scoop into a bag. Customers are
allowed to smell the rice being sold to find
the specific aroma of their rice of choice.
You can only imagine how many times you would
need to wash the rice before considering to
cook it!
Mystery Meats And Chicken Feet
Now as if the large cold-blooded water reptiles
were not enough there are also all sorts of
mystery meat sections. Sometimes you know
what it is and sometimes you don't but for
the Chinese, it's one and the same, it just
depends on what's cheapest or what they are
planning to cook that day. They love their
meat and they will eat just about anything,
throw it in a pot or in a frying pan and cook
it up served with a mountainside of white
rice and maybe some garlicky bok choy. Chinese people
believe in using all parts of the animal in
their cooking, nothing gets wasted whether
it’s a chicken, a pig or a crocodile, they
have a recipe for a dish with an inch of any
animal. Chicken feet, in particular, are a
Chinese delicacy and a very popular dish to
eat out at restaurants or make at home for
dinner. Chicken feet can be cooked and marinated
or a popular crunchy snack if dried out.
Every Kind of Egg, Even Blue... Not Refrigerated
Eggs are plentiful and quite diverse in China.
In Canada or the US, it may seem very strange
to not have eggs refrigerated but in China,
you never buy your eggs from the fridge. Not
only that but you can find any eggs you’re
thinking about scrambling or having sunny
side up that day! Walmart in China offers
anything from little quail eggs to goose or
duck eggs or blue eggs and the standard chicken
eggs. Although even the chicken eggs come
in many forms, to give you an idea there are
brown eggs, white eggs, pre-laid eggs, and
bantam eggs, these eggs come from a species
of small chicken called a Bantam. Additionally,
in China, they do not refrigerate their eggs
because if they have not been washed clean
of their natural coating they do not need
refrigeration. In North America, they are
washed unlike China so we are only used to
seeing them in the fridge. See, once eggs
have been washed or refrigerated, they must
continue to be refrigerated. Eggs in Europe
and China don’t have the same procedure
so they can be left at room temperature for
weeks at a time.
An Entire Aisle For Instant Noodles
Instant noodles are a staple in almost every
Chinese home or at least in your to go bag.
They are cheap, easy and quick to prepare
not to mention come in so many tastes that
there is something for every palate. China
buys more instant noodles than any other nation
in the world! To get a better understanding
on how much the Chinese love noodles there’s
an old saying from China that represents their
enthusiasm for noodles, "I would prefer no
house to live in, rather than no noodles to
eat." You can begin to see why they have an
entire aisle dedicated to noodles at their
local Walmart now. When it comes to Chinese
noodles there’s a huge selection that varies from
flavors, ingredients, shape, and width of
the noodles and manner of preparation. The
instant noodle selection in Walmart stores
in China go far and wide and the Chinese can
choose from chicken, beef, pork, seafood or
vegetable noodles with pork, beef and seafood
probably being the most popular. The spices
in these instant noodle mixes are a wide variety
that varies from garlic, lemon, ginger or
lemongrass to cinnamon or star anise. They
sound like a tasty gourmet dish but they hold
little nutritional value, it's a kind of mind-blowing
how much everyone loves instant noodles!
Seafood Galore - Wet And Dried
Most grocery stores and restaurants in China
have a section where you can purchase lobster,
crabs and fish live but Chinese Walmart sells
almost everything from the ocean from an assortment
of fish to eel. There’s an entire row of
Seafood at Walmart China! You can find anything
from fish that you can quite literally fish
out of tanks, to an assortment of squid, octopus,
shrimp, and more in ice buckets. Now it might
be a little strange to fish for seafood while
grocery shopping but this is something you
can see at the Walmart in China and management
has even provided fishing equipment for them
to do so. It’s common to have fish tanks
at supermarkets like Walmart and restaurants
so that they can pick their meal and have
it as fresh as possible! And if you are just
looking to snack, you can also find calamari,
shrimp and more dried up and ready for munching,
just grab a bag like you’re at the bulk
barn and fill it up! Dried squid, for example,
is like stringy jerky with a seafood taste,
a favorite amongst the Chinese. Dried seafood
snacks are considered to be healthy snacking
options in China, therefore the Walmart stores
offer bunkers and bunkers of an assortment
of these snacks.
Frogs and Turtles
Here we go again! A pond or a lake are not
the only places you can find live frogs and
turtles. As mentioned the Chinese are known
for their expansive taste in food and will
cook up many different options into a delicious
dish. From crocodiles to sharks to chicken
feet and yes even frogs and turtles. It is
not uncommon for the Chinese to buy their
dinner still alive and take it upon themselves
to finish the job and get all the parts of
the animals cooking. Almost any Walmart store
in China will have live frogs and turtles
on display ready for purchase. Walmart's management
decided to adhere to providing their customers
what they love to eat and since there is a
demand for it, you can walk into Chinese Walmart
and truly see it for yourself. The frogs are
a delicacy and they especially love to eat
frog legs but remember they use every part
of the animal for their cooking, bones and
all, tossed in the pot. Don’t waste a thing!
Turtles are also a delicacy and the Chinese
consider eating turtles a form of "medicine",
they will eat hard or soft-shelled turtles
and use them in meals like soup. Not a typical
Western good idea for a soup, but broadening
one’s horizons is always a good idea!
Numb and Spicy Hot Pot Flavored Chips
When Western junk food comes to China there
are some strange and unexpected new flavors
that emerge like kimchi, seaweed, braised
pork, cucumber and none other than numb and spicy
hot pot flavor! There are many types of hot
pot in China all with different broth flavors
but two of the most popular hot pots are Sichuan
and Chongquin hot pot. Hot pot is a Chinese
cooking method with a simmering pot of soup
stock as ingredients are placed into the pot
and cooked right before your eyes. Lay’s
has a flavor inspired by Chongqing hot pot
available only in China. You can find it at
a few supermarkets but you can always find
it in the chip aisle at Walmart! Amongst the
various other flavors like grilled squid flavor
and sizzled barbeque flavor the numb and spicy
hot pot is probably the most popular! Mala
huoguo is the Chinese term for the numbingly
spicy hot pot that originates from Sichuan
and Chongqing which is extremely popular in
many areas of China. The genius' at Lay's
combined the zesty taste of Chongqing-style
broth and the kick of Sichuan peppercorn to
make this popular flavor for China.
Reptile Parts
As though all of the items earlier were not
interesting enough, here’s the cherry on
top or rather, the lizard tail and snakehead
to top it all off. Consumers in Chinese Walmart
stores can also purchase various dried pieces
from a wide variety of reptiles like heads,
legs, and different body parts. Why you ask
do they sell or even purchase these reptile
parts?! For soups, salads or even to make
a sandwich with this wide assortment of chunked
meat from different reptiles. Remember the
Chinese are very open and accepting when it
comes to taste, especially when it comes to
meats! Think of any reptile and you can probably
find it packaged and sold in clear bags of
different sizes. People who can’t afford
to buy a whole crocodile for dinner can come
to this bunker instead and get a bag of a
croc’s head or front leg or tail. So now
you’re prepared to shop smart in Walmart
China - make sure you’re getting the type
of meat you actually expect, or better yet,
try something new you’ve never tried before!
Of course, there are plenty more where that
came from! There are a few more honorable
mentions like frozen donkey meat, fox meat
skinned and dried ducks and even pig snouts.
Walmart China also carries the countries most
popular and favorite fruit, Durian and durian
chocolate bars, fermented dairy candies, beef
granules wrapped as candies, individual mini
Weiner snacks and meat snacks vacuum sealed.
They also have a roasting chestnut stand in
the store, makes you think of Christmas, doesn't
it? Last but not least you can also find a
variety of alcohol at the Walmart in China
anything from beer to wine to spirits! Shopping
at Walmart in China would be an interesting
shopping trip, to say the least!
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