Unlike its touristy neighbour the Mercado Modelo, Feira de São Joaquim is the real deal, with hardly a tourist in sight, and not for the squeamish. Alongside the sumptuous exotic fruits and vegetables, fresh fish and plump rolls of tobacco sit cows’ hooves, pigs’ trotters and other animal parts, as well as the standard steaks and loins that you would expect to see. There are also live animals such as chickens, goats and doves for sale as well as medicinal herbs and roots. The market structure itself is a collection of waterfront barracas, so if you’re ready to take the risk of eating the food (hygiene is not the market’s strong point), grab a ladle of sirimole (soft shell crab moqueca or stew, with coconut milk and palm oil) and a frozen coconut and stroll down to the beach to eat it. For a less rough and ready attitude to hygiene, the ‘Sete Portas’ (Seven Doors) market is much the same as São Joaquim, just with a more fastidious attitude to cleanliness.

Written by  Alessia Horwich.

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