On 28 Jan 2005, ax_food wrote:

> I had mussels my first time as well at a Chinese buffet, the ones with
> the cheese on them. Since then I have bought them and prepare them on
> my own in several different ways including white wine, garlic and
> butter, and tomato sauce.
>
> All were very delicious, but I have a question.
>
> The ones I had at the buffet were about twice as large and were much
> meatier than the ones I've been buying at seafood markets. Does
> anybody know why?

Apologies if this has already been addressed. The Chinese buffets usually
have the imported New Zealand mussels, which are usually larger than the
fresh ones from North America. The NZ shells are greenish, the NA are
blueish. The NZ mussels in the Chinese buffets have most likely been
frozen.

MK