The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-11-23
All MoYs STREET MARKET.
Qu-er Vegetables, with. Odd Names. That
Chinamen Delight In.

lee Fong is the pioneer Chinese truck
gai dener and farmer in America. His
brother, Lee Foo, is his partner, and to-
gether they cultivate thriving little
plantation Of two acres in the far of and
beautiful region Of Astoria, l.. /.
Three mornings every week Lee tong
or Lee Foo drives down to. Chinatown
from the Ninety second street ferry,
perched high on the seat OF an old wagon
whose ribs and spokes still bear lingcr-
ing traces of former beauty, and pushing
on reins connected with a bay horse that
is not given to shying, curyeting or caro-
coling to any great extent. They supply
Chinese vegetables to the Chinese -store-
keepers in Mott, Pell and Bayard streets,
and to Mr. Yuet Sing. who maintains the
big grocery under the JOSS house al No.
10 Chatham square. These Chinese vege-
tables all come from seeds that Fong and
Foo imported from China last winter
when they made up their minds that
farming was the proper thing for them to
try. They are called long qua, Ia qua
and "bak tot" The principal customer OF
the Lee Brothers Agricultural company
Qimited), is a modest young gentleman
named All Moy, who does business on
the curbstone on Mott street, in the heart
of the Chinese quarter. He is coy
youth and an honest. He is afraid to
answer many questions about himself or
his vegetables, but Inc deals honestly
with his customers and gives them fair
weight No kind Of food is sold among
the Chinese by measure or byS count.
Everything is bought by weight
An artist did some quiet marketing in
order to establish confidential relations
with the proprietor, whose chief charac-
teristic was perpetual tendency TO say
"sik' cent pound TO every question that
was asked him. Every enc OF ms ycgo-
tables, including big invoice Of sugar
cane from Louisianaand some New y ork
state apples, was held at that figure. lie
weighed everything he sold on quaint,
old fashioned scale, whose rod was ma
hOganv, very old and much polished -
long friction. The chances are that with
it Moys ancestors weighed cut food to
500 Chow citizens long before the United
States were heard Of. The weight Is a
clumsy hunk of rusty iron, and the di-
visions OF weight are indicated along the
rod hv hundreds of fine brass nails, which
are driven 50 skillfully tfat the rod Is not
cracked anywhere. The vegetables sold
by Ah Moy attract large crowds of China
men every morning after Lee fong has
driven sway. The greatest OF ali these
Is ong qua, which Is a squash with odd
conyclutions and of weird, grayish green
coloring. There is a bloom on il ike the
bloom on peach, and its rind Is very
tender. Him good TO cook, explained
All Nov. Cook, boil, belly nice to eat
an good for pickle"
La qua and cha qua arc distant rcla-
tivos Of ong qua. Cha qua is a cucumber
covered with furry spincs and about four
times as big rs our ordinary gherklns. 1t
Is boiled and eaten like squash or picked
with spices. La qua is small squash
much used for the making of swcetmcats.
1t is candied and put away dry In boxes,
like candied ginger. Bak toi Is an odd
sort of vegetable To an American it i
a combination Of cabbage, celery and
caulihower. Al Moy says, You cook
him. fry n little or bolt, which are prob
ably as good as any other ways of serving
bak tot. The heart Of the vegetable Is like
the heart of the caulinowor. It. stalks are
white and resemble celery Gtallls, and At
the top they broaden out into very fair
imitation Of q cabbage leaf.
There is another variety Of toi known
as eai tot. This il like the other, with
the exception that It's stalks are green.
IL is used for boiling, cabbage fashion,
and is also put in soup like okra. The
sugar cane, called gam chiah, is a fine
thing for a man tocat who wants 10 Lave
luck. Fan tan players are very fond Of
il. The cane may be eaten raw, but il Is
best picked and fried in lard. All Of
the distinctly Chinese vegetables have
the peculiar taste that all Chinese foods
show when brought into contact with
the American palate. They are usually
bought up and cooked before they have
time to decav.-New York World.