Dong Ba Market in Hue

I am a sucker for a farmers’ market. I’ve been to farmers’ markets across the globe, and find them endlessly fascinating. But nothing really prepared me for the Dong Ba Market in Hue.

This is a very large outdoor market, at which many people do their shopping. This is NOT a tourist market. There are no souvenirs or trinkets to buy. This is a place to buy produce, fish, meat, spices and some prepared foods. The entire market is outside. There is no refrigeration, whatsoever. (This does not strike most Vietnamese as being particularly strange, as most people do not have refrigerators in their home and only the very rich have a refrigerator that is large enough to store food for more than a few days.). There are tables, but no fancy stalls. Everything is put out each day, and put away each night, as there is no place to lock anything up.

The produce section was interesting. Most of the items were recognizable to me, especially after being here in Vietnam for a week. Nothing too surprising here.

The section of grains, rices and spices was completely perplexing to me. I had no idea what most things were, let alone how you’d cook with them.

The section that had meats and poultry put Arie over the edge — no refrigeration, no ice, no sanitation, and the knives being used to cut/hack up the items looked like they hadn’t been washed in quite awhile. (Honestly, I thought that my generally stalwart hubby was going to be sick.)

The stalls that had fresh fish were better, as the fish looked shiny with clear eyes. I did find it interesting that fish that had been brined were laid on the plastic sheets on the ground for drying. When our guide saw me looking at this he said, “sometimes people step on them, but it doesn’t matter because we cook them before eating them.” The stalls also had bubbling pots of all kinds of fish broth, fish sauce and soups . . well, let’s just say that there was a powerful fragrance of fish.

As we strolled through the end of the market, in which there were “prepared” foods to buy, I asked our guide about the lack of refrigeration, etc., and what happened if someone bought food that made them sick. He looked at me perplexed. I repeated the question, and explained that if someone in the US went to a restaurant and got sick, they complained to the restaurant. He laughed and told me that if someone got sick after eating at a restaurant or stall in Vietnam, “that was their problem.”Read more