It’s 630 am on a Saturday, at the Yew Tee Wet Market. And this is Mr Tan. I have been buying fish from him for ten years.
And this, is how his day begins. With a long empty counter he has packed with ice.
I have wanted to do this story for so long, but it was difficult. Rising early was the easy part. The hard part was my anxiety, and embarrassment as I trotted up to my favourite fish monger with a bulky camera in hand, feeling very out of place. This a neighbourhood market, an everyday place. What am I thinking?
“Can I take photos?” i asked politely. “Sure! I know I am famous!”. Mr Tan beamed.
And so this, is his day.
And this is Mr Yeo, Mr Tan’s childhood friend and now business partner. You may put on a tie to start the day, his day starts differently.
He puts his double apron on. And his day begins, as he walks into the stall he has had for so many years.
Its still early, and the first order of the day is to lay the day’s seafood out to tempt their regulars. Mr Yeo gets on with it. As he does so, I couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of all the produce he was laying out, the wonder of it all.
While Mr Tan gets on with the job of cutting, filleting, and chopping the larger fish.
Mr Yeo’s Aunt helps out at the store as well, as they all get into a well rehearsed routine.
As the day unfolds, Mr Yeo brings in boxes of deliveries
And the day’s fish is unbagged and lined up in neat rows.
And large fat octopuses are unpacked and displayed!
I stood back and looked on in wonder, as their ice counter filled with fish of all varieties. The very reason I go to a wet market for my fish – it is so much more interesting! Have you ever seen this one before?
And this beauty! Oh my God! And how i like my fish their heads still on!
And this! Just look at this beautiful Indian Trevally!
The counter fills, and the Trevally is no longer lonely.
They do the salmon fillets too, like you get at the supermarkets. The first customers arrive, regulars that make them smile. Its not just politeness. It’s their joy at meeting their friends.
They are funny folks who joke with their customers a lot. They seem to think that I am a really lucky bloke with a good life. I am glad they do what they do, cause I know theirs is not an easy life. It’s not the easiest or the most glamorous of jobs.
Well, there is one perk to the job.
Their drinks always stay cold!
I think these guys are awesome, are they not? I just hope that ten years from now, there will still be wet markets, and awesome guys like these.