Hakaniemi Market Hall also caters for Asian customers

Finnish stallholders boost sales by providing service in Chinese and Thai. Fish is available in French, too, and the spice vendor speaks Arabic

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By Katarina Malmberg
     
      ”I am interested in meat”, says Xin Huang in the Hakaniemi Market Hall.
      This time the Chinese man wants some pork spareribs, but he often buys also pork kidneys, liver, or heart.
      ”They are not often found for sale in supermarkets, and here the meat is always fresh”, he says, explaining why he buys food in the market hall.
      ”Ni hao!” calls meat vendor Petri Jokinen in Chinese. He can also say xie, xie (”Thanks”).
     
The meat and fish vendors in the Hakaniemi Market Hall speak a few Chinese words, and some also speak a little Thai.
      In addition, service is provided in Russian, Spanish, French, and naturally in English and Swedish.
      To be on the safe side, one sign reads: "We also speak Finnish!"
     
Many Asian customers visit the butcher's stall of Liha-Haka, as they know that there they can hear their own language.
      Shopkeeper Arto Lähdemaa has been standing behind the counter for more than 20 years.
      During that time, Helsinki has seen a birth of a modest international shopping area. Lähdemaa himself has learnt a few Chinese and Thai words just by listening to his customers.
      Lähdemaa does not believe that he could do big business by speaking Chinese or Thai, but it could maybe boost sales.
      Lähdemaa lists in Thai:”Kai (”chicken”), vuo (”beef”), huazan (”heart”)”.
      ”The vendor at the spice stall can speak some Arabic, while on the fish counters service is available at least in French and Russian. If we do not understand what the customer wants, we help each other out”, Lähdemaa says.
     
Whereas Finnish customers buy meat that has been hanging for three to four weeks, Asian or African buyers are used to meat that was slaughtered yesterday.
      ”Sometimes Africans find it difficult to believe that we do not sell ox hooves. Here they are regarded as offal that is not eaten”, Lähdemaa notes.
      Many foreigners also show up to buy fresh they cannot find elsewhere.
     
At the Ekström fish stall, customers may ask for fish caught in the Mediterranean, including gilt-head bream or dorada, and the European seabass, which are not commonly sold in supermarkets hereabouts.
      ”Chinese customers often buy fresh salmon heads and leftover bones, which they use to make fish stock”, explains fish vendor Jorma Siitari.
      Thai customers also buy scallops and other seafood specialities.
      The stall's owner is a Russian who speaks Swedish, and who has also hired a shop assistant who can speak Russian. Russians are a big customer group at the fish shop.
      ”I can also say spasibo and do svidanija in Russian (”Thanks” and ”See you”), Siitari says.
     
”French customers buy oysters” , says French shopkeeper Lionel Gouteux, who runs a fish stall together with Argentine Teresa Soengas.
      The sign above the counter reads Töölön Kala, but the wrapping paper carries a picture of a penguin and the text Kala Patagónico Ay.
      Gouteux also knows some fish names in Chinese, Japanese, and Russian - in addition to some French, Spanish, and English ones.
      ”Lo-hi (”salmon”), hau-ki (”pike”), sii-ka (”whitefish”)”, he is groping for the words of fish in Finnish.
      Or in Russian: ”Kakuju rybu vy zelajete? (”What fish would you like?”).
     
The Hakaniemi Market Hall will soon celebrate its 100th birthday.
      The building was completed in 1914, and currently houses 38 grocery outlets on the ground floor, and 28 speciality stores or stalls on the upper floor.
      The hall is open from Mondays to Fridays from 8:00-18:00 and on Saturdays from 8:00-16:00.
      It is one of three market halls left in Helsinki, although the only other bona fide food hall is the Old Market Hall (1889), close to the Market Square and the South Harbour. It is a popular tourist sight as well as a source for meat and fresh produce.
      The Hietalahti Market Hall (built 1903, opened as a market in 1906) at the western end of Bulevardi is nowadays devoted almost exclusively to art antiques, and collectables. Its time as a food hall came to an abrupt end in the 1990s, when the area around it became somewhat notorious for the illicit sale of alcohol and cigarettes (and even other delights) by foreign tourists, often from the then newly-created Russian Federation.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 15.1.2012


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki: city of immigrants (2.3.2010)
  Kamppi has become Mecca for lovers of Asian cuisine (16.9.2008)
  Helsinki cuisine goes increasingly ethnic (16.9.2008)

Links:
  Hakaniemi Market Hall
  Helsinki Old Market Hall (in Finnish and Swedish)

Helsingin Sanomat