Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

saveur.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 415 posts

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#71

Post by metaphorm »

aardvark291 wrote: post #65
metaphorm wrote: post #33

this rarely gets mentioned in these articles but it's extremely important. The Chinese food culture is substantially different than the Western food culture, and I don't just mean the items on the menu. Chinese don't eat raw foods at all, and especially not vegetables, which they correctly (by the standards of Chinatown produce) view as being unsanitary until thoroughly cooked. They have created a market that is effi…

Indeed, the linked article doesn't say anything about lack of sanitation, and almost implies the opposite. »Imbruce, who's researched the Chinatown produce economy for over a decade, is the author of From Farm to Canal Street: Chinatown’s Alternative Food Network in the Global Marketplace. In the Journal she distills to Kadet the real reason Chinatown can keep prices low: “Chinatown’s 80-plus produce markets are chea…

they don't strictly need refrigeration because of rapid turnover (most of the inventory sells same day) and because the buyers are knowledgable about what condition the produce really is.

that said, if you've ever walked down Mott St. on a hot summer afternoon there will be no doubt in your nose that the produce isn't making the sanitation grade that you will find at Whole Foods.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#72

Post by metaphorm »

vlan0 wrote: post #62
metaphorm wrote: post #33

this rarely gets mentioned in these articles but it's extremely important. The Chinese food culture is substantially different than the Western food culture, and I don't just mean the items on the menu. Chinese don't eat raw foods at all, and especially not vegetables, which they correctly (by the standards of Chinatown produce) view as being unsanitary until thoroughly cooked. They have created a market that is effi…

Not even raw fruit?

many fruits have rinds or peels that are removed before eating. those that aren't, well, they aren't so popular, and they are typically washed and peeled before serving. I've never seen anyone in Chinatown take a bite out of a totally raw, unprocessed apple.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#73

Post by pm90 »

One thing this article doesn't assert too strongly is simply that many western supermarkets just don't have veggies that are quite common in other countries. e.g. Gherkins is quite common in India (fresh ones, not the pickled variety), tender young Okra (without the coarse threads that make it hard to chew) and something which is apparently called "Chinese Green Beans" but which is pretty commonly used in my native cuisine.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#74

Post by look_lookatme »

tn135 wrote: post #66

As a fish loving Indian, I was totally surprised to see that in Capitalist America the choice of fish was absolutely pathetic. At American fish places you only get "shrimps" may be "large shrimps" and "small shrimps". Salmon, Bass, Red Snapper and just few handful of usual fish. My small village fish market offers at least 20 varieties of fish in India's coastal region. A proper fish market would offer at least 100.…

For whatever reason Americans just don't eat a lot of seafood. This is why the choices are so bad in "Capitalist America" -- there's not enough demand. It's literally capitalism at work.

Some theorize that this is due to American's avoiding flavor in general [1].

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/07/01/327248504/the...

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#75

Post by sleepingeights »

Capitalism in America means as close to monopolization and price gouging as much as possible. Even Silicon Valley is a very close approximation to a monopoly, sponsored by masses of delusional participants deluded into thinking they're accepted within the same ranks.

The people in the US eat only two types of meat, a handful of types of vegetables and crops.

Also the cost of fish in the US is very high because the US wants to shove dangerous USDA beef and chicken down their pallets. They allow these fast food restaurants and groceries to thrive and lie to their consumers and say it is "food" and a "meal" where it really is a slow acting poison. It can be a very dangerous place.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#76

Post by throw9966 »

bgun wrote: post #55
pm90 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It works only as long as there are more Dabbawallas willing to do what they do. Once their kids (or grandkids) decide they can earn more/do other professions...who will deliver the lunch?

Instacart (or some other middleman). Prices will go up as India develops. The same is happening in Chinatown; the children of these shopkeepers are not as willing to stand in line at the warehouse at 3am, nor many of the myriad other unsavory chores to which their parents were accustomed.

What I believe is as long as there is a demand for this service and there is profit to be made, there will be people willing to cater for it, either the children or someone else.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#77

Post by metaphorm »

ithinkinstereo wrote: post #54
metaphorm wrote: post #33

this rarely gets mentioned in these articles but it's extremely important. The Chinese food culture is substantially different than the Western food culture, and I don't just mean the items on the menu. Chinese don't eat raw foods at all, and especially not vegetables, which they correctly (by the standards of Chinatown produce) view as being unsanitary until thoroughly cooked. They have created a market that is effi…

> Chinese don't eat raw foods at all, and especially not vegetables, which they correctly (by the standards of Chinatown produce) view as being unsanitary until thoroughly cooked. That's not strictly true. There are plenty of classical Chinese dishes - many of them family type dishes - that are composed of raw vegetables. Also pickling is pretty big in Chinese cuisine, but I guess that's not "raw" in the technical se…

> Lastly, Chinese people love raw seafood - sushi, oysters, etc.

Which Chinese people? There are approximately zero sushi restaurants in Manhattan Chinatown. There are a whole bunch of sushi restaurants in adjacent SoHo, which is filled with non-Chinese yuppies.

anecdotal: took my Chinese co-worker to The Pokespot takeout for lunch and he immediately turned around and went somewhere else when he saw that the menu contained only raw fish.

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#78

Post by dylz »

kbutler wrote: post #68
s0rce wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I met people in London who also pay people to grocery shop for them. For most staples I'm pretty sure this could probably be cheaper then having a grocery store in SF, they could have a warehouse in Fremont.

We could call it "HomeGrocer" or maybe that's too specific - how about "Webvan"? (I agree though, I think this is something that is going to happen - just have to find the right business model at the right time.)

Doesn't that exist in the form of primenow, doordash, seamless, grubhub, instacart, uber eats, [...]?

From what I remember I've seen quite a few "night time delivery only, no pickup allowed" grocery "restaurants" on those services

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#79

Post by robrenaud »

naravara wrote: post #41
bjt wrote: post #6

This feels like the proverbial dollar left on the street that economists say should not exist, so I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what's stopping chains from replicating this. I wonder whether this alternate network is as scrupulous about source tracking and food safety regulations. Those costs could be driving up prices on the traditional retail side.

>I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what's stopping chains from replicating this. Scale. Anything living has a level of variability and likelihood of failure/damage/spoilage to it that gets harder and harder to manage as your scale gets bigger. When you're a small shopkeeper who sells about 3 baskets of apples a day, it's both easier to sift through it and throw out the bad ones AND easier to find 3 basket's w…

I am skeptical that dis-economies of scale are the reason chinatown is cheap.

Why are Amazon and Walmart so successful and cheap?

Re: Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)

#80

Post by mistermann »

paulddraper wrote: post #12
bjt wrote: post #6

This feels like the proverbial dollar left on the street that economists say should not exist, so I'm racking my brain trying to figure out what's stopping chains from replicating this. I wonder whether this alternate network is as scrupulous about source tracking and food safety regulations. Those costs could be driving up prices on the traditional retail side.

> Markets also cut costs by eschewing extra technology and certain aesthetic choices—the Journal points out that shelves “are typically made of plywood and lined with newsprint,” prices are scrawled on cardboard instead of printed on stickers, and credit cards are not always accepted. Some people don't want to buy food with cardboard signs and cash. Hell, I've heard California even has people who are fans of convenie…

> Some people don't want to buy food with cardboard signs and cash.

Gee, I wonder why do you have to pay with cash....that might be one contributing factor why prices can't be matched by mainstream retailers.

Post reply on HN