Local Farmers’ Markets in Asia

A key part of Biohacking is eating food of quality – both in terms of getting good nutrition in, and keep the bad stuff out. That’s one of the reasons we focus on grass-fed food – including butter and meat, and one of the reasons we choose krill oil which is sourced so far from our toxic near-shore oceans.

One place – other than upscale supermarkets – where you might be able to get good quality food is a local farmers market near you. The goal would be to find food that isn’t mass-produced using antibiotics, corn-fed rather than grass-red (while the animals roam around), etc. Here are some local farmers markets in Asia – I will update them as I find more.

And for those not used to buying at farmers’ markets, here is a great post on how to get the most out of your visits.

• Australia

http://summertomato.com/farmers-market-update-sydney-australia/

• Hong Kong

:: Tai Po Farmers Market: 12 Tai Po Tai Wo Road (9am – 5 pm / Sun)   :: Tuen Mun Farmers Market: 2 Castle Peak Rd, So Kwun Wat (10am – 4pm / Sat)   :: Island East Markets: Tong Chong St, Taikoo (Sun)  :: Central Farmers’ Market: Star Ferry Pier, Central (11am – 5pm / Sun)  http://jetsettimes.com/2013/08/02/hong-kong-farmers-markets/

http://www.littlestepsasia.com/hong-kong/events/island-east-farmers-market

https://gogreenhk.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/local-organic-farmers-market/

http://hongkongfarmersmarket.org/

http://www.hkmarkets.org/en/

• India

Mumbai Farmer’s Market

• Indonesia

https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmers_99_Market

http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/ken-visits-korea-to-learn-about-farmers-markets/

• Japan

http://www.japanfarmersmarkets.com/

http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2011/08/how-to-find-farmers-market-in-japan.html

http://en.japantravel.com/view/nara-s-organic-farmers-market

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/08/31/food/farmers-markets-on-the-rise-in-tokyo/

http://summertomato.com/farmers-market-update-tokyo-roppongi-market/

http://summertomato.com/farmers-market-update-osaka-japan/

• Malaysia

http://foodloverscreations.blogspot.com/2010/05/one-morning-at-farmers-market-in-kl.html

Tamu KPD Market in Borneo, Malaysia

• New Zealand

http://www.christchurchfarmersmarket.co.nz

http://www.farmersmarket.org.nz

http://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/farmers-markets-in-new-zealand/

http://www.organicexplorer.co.nz/Events/Farmers+Market+locations+throughout+New+Zealand.html

http://www.waikatofarmersmarkets.co.nz

• Philippines

BF Homes Parañaque: in the Southern suburbs of Manila on Saturday mornings, which definitely has grass-fed butter

Salcedo Village: In Manila’s Makati City on Saturday morning

Legaspi Village: In Manila on Sundays

• Singapore

Kranji Countryside Farmers Market (association)

Pasarbella (although less ‘local’)

Singapore Farming (great resource)

• South Korea

http://aliensdayout.com/2012/07/the-seoul-farmers-market.html

If you are aware of other local farmers’ markets, or resources about Asian markets, please let me know so I can update this page. Thanks!

Bulletproof coffee (and other products) in Asia

For many people, the Bulletproof Diet was their first foray into Biohacking, most particularly the incorporation of Bulletproof coffee into their diet (whether they’re just adding grass-fed butter and coconut oil themselves, or going all the way with Bulletproof coffee beans and XCT or Brain Octane oil).

For those who do not buy and make their own coffee, so far I have only found once place in Asia that serves proper Bulletproof Coffee. (If you’re aware of other places, please let me know.)

• Australia

OptimOz. has a wide range of products, including many Bulletproof options.

• Hong Kong

In various places (Sheung Wan, Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Aberdeen) you can find the Elephant Grounds coffee shop, which sells Bulletproof Coffee with MCT oil. This place is very expensive, but if you have no other way to get the stuff, you might do it anyway. (It’s HKD60, which is about £5 – compared with the £2.95 that you can buy Bulletproof Coffee with MCT oil at Crush in London.)  You can usually find some Bulletproof products at Nature’s Village (Central) – including the protein bars, charcoal, cold coffee drinks, collagen powder, etc. And I’ve recently discovered The Store along the escalator which sells lots of Bulletproof products.

• New Zealand

A number of Bulletproof products are available from Biohacker NZ.

• Singapore

If you want to order Bulletproof products, you can find some at Quantified Asia.

Although it’s not actually ‘bulletproof’ coffee, you can get ‘butter coffee’ in various places in South East Asia, for example you can get so-called ‘Kopi Gu You’ at Heap Seng Leong coffeeshop on North Bridge Road in Singapore. Bring your own MCT oil:)

 

Grass-fed meat in Asia

In the same way that Biohackers focusing on optimal diets will choose grass-fed butter as a key part of their diet, so too they will aim to eat grass-fed meats when available. This means eating more Omega 3 and other nutrients from their meat, and especially eating less of the inflammatory Omega 6 fats found in corn-fed meats. Such meats can be harder to find and more expensive, but this is a Biohacking blog for health, not one aimed at saving money.

For a great infographic about what grass-fed is, why it’s better and how to cook it, take a look at this article on BulletproofExec.com.

• Asia

A general rule is to look in the meat section of supermarkets (the upmarket ones are more likely to stock such meats), looking for “grass-fed” options. If all else fails, New Zealand meats and some Australian meats are more likely to have been grass-fed, even if they aren’t labelled as such.

Don’t forget that local farmers’ markets (see my collection for Asia here) can be a great place to find healthy foods, including grass-fed meats.

• Australia

In a number of countries around Asia, when I have found grass-fed meat in supermarkets, it’s often from either Australia or New Zealand, and there it shouldn’t be a surprise that this is easy to find all over the place in Australia. That said, here are some options:

Boxgum Grazing delivers to Young NSW & Canberra & the ACT

Gold Coast Meats has stores in the area (Mermaid Waters & Benowa), but also delivers more widely

Solly’s Bulk Meat delivers to Canberra & NWS (south coast)

• Hong Kong

Here are two sites where you can order grass-fed meat for home delivery in HK. I have only used the former (watch for their special offers):

Feather & Bone (was ‘Three Butchers’, you can also visit them at 18 Gage St, Central)

My Meat Man

Tenderloin

There is an article in Liv Magazine that gives some other places for buying grass-fed beef in Hong Kong that is worth checking out.

• India

Joseph’s Mumbai Master Butcher

• New Zealand

In a number of countries around Asia, when I have found grass-fed meat in supermarkets, it’s often from either Australia or New Zealand, and there it shouldn’t be a surprise that this is easy to find all over the place in New Zealand.

Grass-fed Butter in Asia

For followers of the Bulletproof Diet (and similar diets) some of the first questions they ask are … “Which brands of butter are grass-fed? And where can I buy that near me?”  Kerrygold Irish grass-fed butter is often the starting point for the search (since it’s quoted in books & articles) but for those of us who live in Asia, that doesn’t work out well!

The good news is that Anchor Butter is grass-fed (according to Anchor it is both grass-fed and grass-finished), and is available unsalted in many parts of Asia. More specifically, I have found it in the following places.

Remember that you also have the choice of visiting a local farmers’ markets, where you could find really good grass-fed butter or ghee. Take a look at my Asian collection of markets here.

• Australia

Grass-fed butter is common in Australia, and is easy enough to find in most supermarkets.

• China

You should be able to find it at any of the supermarkets (usually in the bigger cities, though) that target ex-pats, including CitySuper & Parksons.

• Hong Kong

Aim to look in the Fusion supermarket chain as your first choice. Update: Recently Taste has started stocking unsalted Anchor on a regular basis.

(Although I sometimes see Anchor unsalted in Marketplace and Gourmet Food Hall, it’s usually salted butter only, which should be avoided. I sometimes find Kerrygold in Fusion – but again it is salted only.)

• Japan

I personally have not found Anchor in Japan – there seems to be a very large domestic butter production (milk from Hokaido?) and maybe that obviates the need for importing. Drop me a note if you know where to get it. (Or if you know which local brands are grass-fed thn please let me know.)

• New Zealand

Since the brand I recommend in most Asian countries is Anchor and that comes from New Zealand, it should be easy enough to find a plentiful supply of grass-fed butter out there.

• Philippines

In Manila I found Anchor unsalted in the Landmark supermarket.

• Singapore

Both Anchor & Kerrygold are available in the Mitsukoshi store on Orchard Road.

I have now also found both Kerrygold and Anchor in ColdStorage.

I will update this article as I get additional information on where you can buy grass-fed butter in other cities in Asia.

• Taiwan

I found Anchor unsalted grass-fed butter in Taipei, in a regular Wellcome store. Specifically, it was the one on RenAi, near Taipei City Hospital, but I’m sure it’s available at others too.

Common searches to find this article: Buy grass-fed butter in Hong Kong, Buying grass-fed butter in Singapore, butter from New Zealand, Where to buy grass-fed butter in HK,