We are settled in our new digs now, but not too settled, of course, because we are leaving in less than a month!! As always, I am excited and sad and looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. But... Let's worry about that in a month! Today: a tour of our new neighborhood. In Toa Payoh, we were in a "heartlands" area with tons of people and shops and food options.

Here, we're in a more residential area near the university. It's a lot greener, but there are no shops or eating options immediately outside of our door.


We're also right by the port, so we get to see lots of the action of one of the world's largest ports. 



Besides all of the shipping containers at the port (a lot) there's the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Market--a fresh food market distributing the dried goods, fruits and vegetables that come in. I wish I knew where all the food comes from and where all of it goes, but I do know that there's a lot of it. Warehouse after warehouse. People are riding around on fork lifts moving onions and potatoes and tomatoes and pineapples and much, much more.

Early (early!) in the morning is when the market is really hopping, I hear, but it is open to the public at a somewhat more reasonable hour. Last Saturday we walked over to check it out.



We weren't the only people shopping; there were definitely plenty of consumers poking around and there were tables or "stalls" set up for us to shop from. We didn't have to buy tomatoes by the crate, or  spring onions by the bale.


The greens for sale didn't seem to be faring that well, but everything else looked great. We even saw things here that we've had a hard time finding before, like big, pretty beets and leeks. (Still no kale, sadly.) Someone is using them! We bought a bundle of mint the size of two loaves of bread for $2 and everything I needed to make a really fresh gazpacho for almost pocket change.

The fruit prices were more standard (in fact, I think we've seen cheaper mangoes in Toa Payoh) but that didn't stop us from coming home with a fantastic pineapple and blueberries.


Like the wet market in Toa Payoh, going to the wholesale market requires a bit of work and planning, but it's a nice option to have. And we've been enjoying the results of this trip for sure!