Intriguing Markets : Food Emporiums Offer Varied Goods and Moods

What we choose to eat sets us apart from each other and defines our individuality. Those of us who care passionately about what we ingest are constantly on the lookout for new, provocative foods that will enrich our life styles and broaden our horizons. It’s easy in the Southland, where there is a wide and interesting variety of appealing foods.

Visiting any one of these markets is a learning experience and a rewarding adventure. Each is a museum of food that will tempt your appetite while you’re having a wonderful time. Bon appetit!

New Meiji Market, 1620 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., Gardena, (213) 323-7696. Open Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Sundays 8 a.m.-8 p.m. This is one of the largest-volume Oriental supermarkets in the United States. They stock hundreds of Japanese and other Oriental foods and dozens of varieties of fresh fish. You can purchase fresh lotus root or fresh bamboo shoots. You may also want to buy prepared food to take home. It’s hard to resist the aromatic yakitori (broiled chicken on a skewer) or the boxed sushi assortments. Bento boxes, the Japanese version of a box lunch, are also available.

El Mercado de Los Angeles, 3425 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, (213) 268-3451. Market open daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Upstairs restaurants open 9 a.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Sunday. A bowl of delicious ceviche (pickled fish) with chips sits on the seafood counter waiting to be sampled. This authentic Mexican shopping experience is not only a food market. Guayaberas shirts, squeaky huaraches and blooming plants are for sale. You can buy anything from a sofa to a bean pot. Mariachis play on the mezzanine where the restaurants are located. You might want to try pozole-- a pork-and-hominy soup that comes with a plate of garnishes.

Farmers Market at Atrium Court, 24 Fashion Island, Newport Beach, (714) 760-0403. Open Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Sundays 8 a.m.-8 p.m. The only thing missing at this sophisticated food emporium is Noel Coward leaning against a piano with a martini in hand. But there is a shiny black baby grand where a pianist entertains with popular music of yesteryear. The urbane atmosphere makes it hard to believe that this is a place where you can buy bread and paper towels. It is, but you can also purchase designer pates, veal bacon and dandelions.

The produce section is the cornerstone of the business. Fresh corn stays in the store only 12 hours before a fresher batch replaces it. You’ll see imported Hungarian peppers, Belgian endive and many types of fresh mushrooms. Look for the baby vegetables. The tiny turnips are the size of radishes.

If you get hungry while you’re shopping, there are hot dogs, a splendid salad bar, pizza, stuffed potatoes and other items.

A-1 Imported Groceries, 348 W. 8th St., San Pedro, (213) 833-3430. Open Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sundays 8 a.m.-noon. This resembles a mom-and-pop grocery store more than it does a supermarket, but there is a great variety of goods. It’s the kind of place where you don’t mind asking questions, and you may find other shoppers adding a few bits of pertinent advice. There’s a complete meat market with veal, octopus and tasty oxtails plus a produce section. Stock up on imported pastas, available in 5-pound boxes, dried salt cod and fresh pizza dough from the refrigerator case. There are many Italian products here, and everything at the deli is fresh.

Ganesh Groceries, 18411 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, (213) 924-4920. Tuesday-Sunday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Closed Mondays. Southern California’s Indian immigrants flock to this area of Artesia, now known as Little India, to buy saris, jewelry, sweets and groceries. It’s best to visit on the weekend, and there are many good markets in the area.

Bags of the fragrant basmati rice are piled high at the front of the store, and you’ll find bargains in spices, nuts and corn oil for frying. Mixes for Indian specialties, such as samosas and pakoras, are available, as are Indian frozen foods. Either chicken dikka (boneless chicken in a spicy onion sauce) or beef vindaloo (beef with tomatoes and onions) would serve as a fine introduction to the complex Indian cuisine.

Hong Kong Supermarket, 127 N. Garfield Ave., Monterey Park, (818) 280-8888. Open daily 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m. The market is Chinese, but you’ll find exotic food selections from throughout the Orient. There are the Korean kim chee, mixes for Philippine adobo and Japanese soy sauce. Seafood is a bargain. Crab and black perch are on view in big tanks. Giant squid are cleaned and ready for stuffing. If you get hungry, climb the stairs to the Deli World Cafe for a snack; the green-onion pie is outstanding.

Hickorysweet, 8768 S. Main St., Los Angeles, (213) 759-9935. Open Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Closed Sundays. It was 1925 when Fred Reich, an immigrant from Germany, first opened a small butcher shop and sausage factory. These days you may still see him here in his long, white butcher’s apron making sausages.

Hungarian sausage, knackwurst, delicate Weisswurst , Thueringer Bratwurst and Polish sausage are here in abundance as well as dried sausages, cold cuts and smoked turkey. (There are 90 kinds of sausage altogether.) There’s also an imported-grocery section and a tempting bakery with big pretzels.

Holland American Market, 10343 E. Artesia Blvd., Bellflower, (213) 867-7589. Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Closed Sundays. This is one of the largest Dutch and Indonesian markets in the country. They stock more than 2,500 products. Delft plates hang on the walls. Take your pick from the luscious Dutch chocolates or try one of the renowned Indonesian fruit syrups (rosenstroop is beautiful as well as delicious).

Tempeh, Indonesia’s most popular soy food, is filled with protein and essential vitamins. Many food experts are predicting that it will eventually be as much in demand as tofu, its close relative.

Tianguis, 1201 W. Whittier Blvd., Montebello, (213) 724-9232. Open daily 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Even the shopping carts are different here, decked out in bright colors. Strolling mariachis entertain you, and you can sip coconut milk or nibble on an exotic fruit plate.

At the bakery you can watch conchas and bolillos being baked in glass ovens, or admire a baker icing a cake that’s shaped like a pig. The juice-bottling operation and tortilla line are in full swing, and a woman makes tortillas by hand. Shopping is fun, with a splendid assortment of hard-to-resist viands.

Grand Central Market, Broadway and Hill Street between 3rd and 4th streets, Los Angeles, (213) 624-2378. Open Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sundays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. A Los Angeles landmark since 1917, this market is still the granddaddy of supermarkets. On Saturdays, thousands shop here for a wide variety of fresh produce and other goods.

You’re close to the source of your food. There are great slabs of goat ribs, and the pork heads are complete with glittering eyes. Pork tails, tongues, snouts, ears and maws are available.