Hi Dan,

I see we're back to our DaoMiu/pea shoots discussion again. I don't know
about the States but over here in the UK/London, it's also more expensive
than other Chinese veg. done the same way (Yao choi style). The only reason
i can give is that it's a seasonal veg. & restaurants will charge more for
it simply based on that. If you're familiar with Cantonese dining in
restaurants, you'll know that when it comes to ordering veg. etc. the best
thing to do is ask what veg. they have instead of reading the menu. The
waiters will then tell you what they have in stock & in season. Often
DaoMiu/pea shoots are not on the written menu. It's also one of those dishes
that sells out fast, so it's a case of first come, first serve i find. Some
Chinese restaurants don't even serve it as they stick to their menus. Really
decent Chinese restaurants will have a seasonal menu or a listing like
seasonal veg. - ask for price etc. like they do with seafood in other
restaurants or the waiter will tell you what they have in today's special
etc.

If i were you, i'd set up a simple wok burner on the end of the stall or
outside the restaurant & fry up veg. on the spot, charge $9-$10 : )

DC.


"Dan Logcher" > wrote in message
...
> If I can buy a big bag of shoots for $5 at the market, why does the food
stall
> in the same building charge $12 to saute them for me? I realize there is
a cost
> associated with growing and whatnot, and that 1 $5 bag shrinks down quite
a bit..
> but 1 bag is at least 1 order prepared.
>
> --
> Dan
>