Inside Li Ming’s Global Mart: What You Really Find on the Shelves
The produce wing greets shoppers immediately to the right of the entrance. It looks and operates like a wet market floor in Guangzhou or Taipei. Misting systems regularly spray rows of fresh Asian produce, keeping leafy greens crisp in high-density wooden bins. Shoppers pick through mounds of Shanghai bok choy, baby choy sum, gai lan (Chinese broccoli), and water spinach (ong choy) that rarely cost more than $1.49, $2.99 per pound.
Beyond the daily cooking greens, root vegetables and specialty fruits dominate the floor space. You will find fresh lotus roots packed in damp shavings, knobby galangal, fresh turmeric, and mounds of nagaimo mountain yams. When season permits, whole durians sit in heavy mesh bags alongside crates of jackfruit, rambutan, lychee, and Taiwanese wax apples. Turnover moves quickly. Because regional restaurants purchase supplies here alongside neighborhood residents, produce rarely sits long enough to wilt.