Wellington Sunday Market (Willis Street)

I have to face the fact that I need to do a lot more cooking if I were to live within my budget when I am here ..Unlike in Malaysia, where food are cheap and easily available, here things are more expensive (considering the exchange rate and all) ...last Wednesday, I went out for a dinner out with my flat mates to Cinta - one of the Malaysian eateries here in Wellington, and I can roughly estimate how much a meal out would cost ..the portions are huge, mind you!  It is a treat to be able to eat out and not having to cook ...but, honestly, if I were to keep to my budget, i will not survive long ..hahaha as the cheapest main mean there is between NZD10 - 12 ...i had done a posting on that outing in the other blog (check it out!)

So, I was introduced to the Sunday Market by my flatmates ...Maryam loves fruits and veges and she took me to the Sunday Market on Willis Street Car Park last week ...the prices are very much cheaper than the fruits and veges at the supermarket ...but if you want to get a fresh produce, come early ...as they say, early birds get the worms (eeewwwwww!!!!)

you are free to pick and choose whatever you want here ..and bring the chosen items to the front where the sellers will calculate your purchase  very different from my experience in Newcaastle, where you have to tell the seller what you want, and they will weigh and get the items for you ..and most of the time, i ended up with fruits and veges that are not that good anymore ...here, you can choose for yourself- which is great!!!

 

and unlike in Newcastle, I can easily find veges like in Malaysia - sawi, labu air (though I dont eat it), morning glory (kangkong), lemongrass, galangal and herbs like basil (selasih), kesum and so on ...it is great ...these are also widely available in Asian Suermarket, albeit at a higher price (that's what I am told coz I have yet to go to the Asian Market)

a bunch of morning glory (kangkong) is NZD2 a bunch ..last week I saw there was a stall which sell it at NZD1 ..i guess, depending on the seller

there are really cheap stuffs here ..like a head of brocolli (very fresh) is only a dollar ..similar prices for cauliflower, celery etc ...coz different stalls have different prices, it is a matter of going round the stalls to check out the prices ....there are also stalls which sell a not so fresh item, and of course they are much cheaper ..like last week i bought a bag of button mushroom for NZD1.50, but if i were to buy the most fresh mushroom it is NZD8.99 a kilo ...huge difference! so, take your pick ...and Maryam got a huge celery today for only a dollar, and when w went to the Metro on Willis, a similarly size celery is NZD4.99 ...again, huge difference ...

love the vibrant colours!

Judging by the advantages of buying fruits and veges at the Sunday Market, you can definitely bet that I will be shopping here every sunday! I need to save money - as Fendi said - save money for my travels! By the way, there is another Sunday Market here in Wellington, the other one is near the harbour and a bit far from my flat ...but maybe, I will check that one out one of these days :-)