Journey to the Friday Muslim Market

Went last Friday. My experience most closely matched santochino's description: "You *could* walk around the whole thing in two minutes, but you'd miss the point." We were eating lunch on carpeted tables just as the afternoon prayer finished, and it was fun to watch men spill out of temple and fill the market, bringing it back to life. The almonds tucked into the dried apricots I bought were the first almonds I've ever eaten that actually tasted like amaretto. The icy-cold brown-sugar water was a great addition to our plate of opka hesip (glad I didn't know what it was as I ate it!). And the little Uighur kids running around, napping, or working at mom and dad's food stand were super-cute.

Two disclaimers, though. The yogurt and honey on ice dish was made with homemade yogurt, which has a kick to it compared to pre-sweetened grocery store yogurt. Also, the beggars described above can be pushy, and get in fights with the vendors; I found that being polite but firm ("please, auntie, we're eating lunch") worked well in smoothing things over.

I've been to this a few times, pretty cool and a nice change of pace when you feel like Shanghai is just one big monotonous shopping mall with food court. The meat dumplings are good, ask for some spicy sauce. Also a nice variety of breads on offer there. I bought some almonds but they weren't that good - suggest you ask to try before you buy. The beggars are very annoying, preying on the muslim tradition of giving alms to the poor, they are just old Chinese ladies who've tied scarves on their heads.

You're both a bit right, and a bit wrong.

The food is predominately from Xinjiang: pulao, lamb and lamb liver skewers, the lung-tripe-rice sausage dish called opka hesip, chipped ice with yoghurt and honey, pumpkin-stuffed dumplings. Sometimes there's an old Hui lady (from Shaanxi, I think), selling soy-braised chickens.

But the people are from all over. There are Hui at the market. There are also Uighurs. And Sala, from Qinghai. And Pakistanis. And Shanghainese Muslims. And traveling Malaysian businessmen. And, and, and... The relatively small community makes the crowd fairly diverse.

Super688 is right in that it's just a collection of streetside stalls. It's not Xian's Muslim Quarter. You *could* walk around the whole thing in two minutes, but you'd miss the point. With a plate of food as an excuse to linger and peoplewatch, it's a great, convenient reminder that there's more to China than the omnipresent Han.

And I don't know where else in the city you'd find tables of henna, knives, sweet dried tomatoes, Uighur-language DVDs, skullcaps, large dried chilies, etc., parked next to sheep strung up on metal frames.

You're both a bit right, and a bit wrong.

The food is predominately from Xinjiang: pulao, lamb and lamb liver skewers, the lung-tripe-rice sausage dish called opka hesip, chipped ice with yoghurt and honey, pumpkin-stuffed dumplings. Sometimes there's an old Hui lady (from Shaanxi, I think), selling soy-braised chickens.

But the people are from all over. There are Hui at the market. There are also Uighurs. And Sala, from Qinghai. And Pakistanis. And Shanghainese Muslims. And traveling Malaysian businessmen. And, and, and... The relatively small community makes the crowd fairly diverse.

Super688 is right in that it's just a collection of streetside stalls. It's not Xian's Muslim Quarter. You *could* walk around the whole thing in two minutes, but you'd miss the point. With a plate of food as an excuse to linger and peoplewatch, it's a great, convenient reminder that there's more to China than the omnipresent Han.

And I don't know where else in the city you'd find tables of henna, knives, sweet dried tomatoes, Uighur-language DVDs, skullcaps, large dried chilies, etc., parked next to sheep strung up on metal frames.

The pictures aren't bad, but give the wrong impression. It's like a half-dozen stalls selling the same sort of Hui stuff that Huis sell all over town. With the recent construction, it's maybe a 15 minute walk from Zhenping Lu. Definitely not worth it, unless you happen to be in the area anyway, which is incredibly unlikely.

They're not Hui, they're Uighur. Maybe you went to the wrong market.

Still have yet to visit! Thanks for reminding me.

The closest metro station is Line 3/4's Zhenping Rd, then cross the river and walk south for a few blocks. (On Google Maps)

Can't have too much information about this kind of thing- I'd forgotten it existed, and still haven't been.

Guess it's too late to call in sick today.

SH (RIP) did an article on this place last year - http://shmag.cn/feature/bazaar_shanghai

Now that sounds like a good place to be headed on a Friday, although I'd be careful of the meat during the hot summer months. Anybody know if they serve the famous Uyghur ice cream there? If so, you ought to try that out.

I highly recommend the pulao, rice pilaf dish. Amazing.