What we're going to focus on are the bakery
cases near the entrance and the hot food counter just around the corner.
The glass bakery cases are filled with buns
and pastries, both savory and sweet, most under a dollar. I tried four. (I'm
guessing at some of the names here. Not all the shelves have an English
translation.) The combo bun (80 cents) is topped with finely-shredded
jerky, green onions in sesame oil, sesame seeds, and a chunk of hot dog. The
white bread itself is yeasty, a little sweet and nicely browned on top. It's
very filling and a variety of flavors in a hand-held package.
The bacon bun (80 cents) didn't look
promising to my Western eye. It's about as long as a hot dog bun with a single
slice of smoked pork belly draped on top. The baking cooks the bacon, but
doesn't crisp or brown it. That half-cooked look almost stopped me, but
overall, I still like the way the smoky flavor seeps into the top of the bread.
I just didn't look at it while I ate.
The ham and egg bun (80 cents) was a
turnoff, but mostly because it also included a generous plop of sweetened mayonnaise.
Room temperature egg and meat I can take, but not that sugary salad
dressing.
For desert, I tried the pineapple bun
(80 cents). I didn't taste the tropical fruit, but I imagine it's there in the
sweet, browned crunchy top. The bun looks like a big, fluffy almond cookie and
the taste isn't too far off either.
Over at the hot food counter, all meals are
to go. Many of the meals are in the $6 or $7 range, but there are bargains to
be had. I ordered both the sautéed chicken and the salted chicken
with rice (each $4.50). One of the
counter staff pulls a cooked chicken off a display hook and chops up a serving
of pieces. He cuts right through the bones, so if you're one of those people
who only eats boneless chicken breast, this isn't for you.
Again, because of the non-English labels, I'm
not sure which chicken was which, but I'll guess the one with the slightly
crispier skin was sautéed and the one with the slightly juicier meat was
salted. In both cases, the meat is
served moist, but plain. On the side, there's a dip made with ginger, onion and
(I think) fish sauce. The fried rice was really oily but also really flavorful
with bits of pork and scallion.
There's also a $3.50 lunch special. On
the day I tried it, the special was more chicken chunks and a green vegetable.
The guy in line behind me said, “I don't think you're going to like that.” He
was right. It's called bitter melon or bitter gourd. At first, it's a bit like
broccoli, but there's a strong alkaline aftertaste you must have to grow up
with to enjoy.
For the adventurous eater, $3.50 can also buy
you a pound of duck tongues. Well, not just tongues. You actually get a carton
of duck bills, the half with the tongue still attached. You gnaw on the bits of
remaining salty meat and then suck out the tongue. If you can manage that, the
meat itself if flavored with star anise. The texture is both fatty and
gelatinous like oxtail – but a lot smaller.
Over on the supermarket shelves, I found a
beverage called Calpico. In college, a Japanese guy on my dorm floor
tried to get us to try a milk-flavored soft drink called Calpis. That
sounded too much like “cow piss” to us, but now, bottles sold in America are
labeled Calpico ($1.79). With a less excretory name, I gave it a try. It's not carbonated
and very sweet, but with a yogurt tang.
Dish: Staff is helpful,
even when you share very little language in common. Pointing and nodding go a
long way. I think I even got a little more duck tongue than I ordered.
Damage: The $4.50
chicken specials have enough meat and starch that two people could even share
in a pinch – or save half for a meal the next day. Those buns are very filling
too.
Decision: The bulk of
the customers at 1st Oriental Supermarket go there for a taste of
home or ingredients they can't find at the regular supermarket. Even if
fermented shrimp and red bean paste isn’t your thing, you can still find some
filling Cheap Eats.
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