The Legendary Avocado Lady

Whenever you hear "The Avocado Lady" uttered by Western lips it is quickly followed by "legend". Western palates have been enlivened, some may even say saved by the diverse array of produce offered at her ever expanding shop. Much has been written about The Avocado Lady: her 19 hour days beginning at 4 am for over 20 years, her astonishingly low 7-11RMB avocados depending on size, her ability to get nearly any imported item requested by her clients, touched upon but never fully captured, her modesty, incredible work ethic and great love of her family.

In fact, when you do come across a Westerner who hasn't heard of The Avocado Lady, shock quickly gives way to excitement as you get ready to paint the picture of this Shanghai-life-changer. She goes by many names. Attach any of her hard-to-find products to Lady and you can rest assured she's been called it. Formally Jiang Qin, she hails from Nantong, a rural town north of Shanghai. Together with her husband, his partner and many food sources around the city, she fills the pantries of hungry foodies day in and day out.

One passionate follower of The Avocado Lady is Tiffany Hynek. Originally from Los Angeles, California, Tiffany discovered The Arugula Lady through strangers while out for dinner. "They were like, 'Oh my God, you don't know The Avocado Lady.' I'm that person now." When asked how The Proscuitto Lady changed her life she matter-of-factly states, "She revolutionized my life."

Tiffany's relationship with The Basil Lady reaches beyond mere produce. Daughter of The Avocado Lady (not to be confused with her resident black and white cat The Avocado Lady's daughter) works at her mom's shop during school holidays. Tiffany gave her some informal English lessons while she shopped. "Her English is quite good. I would help her with her pronunciation while I shopped and then the Avocado Lady would give me free carrots. It was fantastic."

So what does this disciple of The Jam Lady make most frequently? "Definitely tacos. You can get it all there: avocado, sour cream, corn or flour tortillas. At City Shop that stuff is very expensive."

Avocados are delicious, but guacamole…that's why avocado was created. Tiffany shares one of her favorite recipes and she buys it all from you-know-who.

• 2-3 ripe avocados
• ¼ of a red onion (finely diced)
• Bunch of cilantro (chopped)
• Bunch of chives (diced)
• 1-2 garlic (finely diced)
• ½ a fresh lime juice
• Pinch of salt
• ½ a tomato (seeded and chopped)
• Mix all the ingredients

While the ingredients mix and mingle fry up some corn tortillas in hot oil. According to Tiffany, you're about to have a very good time.

As with any legend, The Dried Cranberry Lady's origin is shrouded in mystery and hearsay. Once upon a time in the Shanghai of yesteryear a giant avocado mysteriously sprouted in downtown Shanghai. The locals looked on with horror and awe as a woman slowly emerged fully clothed and covered in the delicious fruit.

Maybe not that mysterious, "…an expat told her [The Avocado Lady] if she could get imported products and not sell them for huge margins people would come in droves. A lot different from many of the vendors who seem more concerned with the up sell than repeat business…I can't confirm any of this of course." Tiffany heard and then says.

To confirm the legend you must go straight to the source. For a woman as famous as The Lime Lady, making constant transactions with regular clients, her shyness might come as a surprise. She bashfully accepts answering a few questions while working the check out. At the mention of her obvious fame in the expat community she slaps the air dispersing a slew of "mei you's" in all directions. The well-used scale and box brimming with RMB (and it's only 10:30 in the morning) confirms this is one of the hardest working women in Shanghai. "The Chinese people should just keep working hard and make a better life for themselves and their family." A motto she clearly lives by.

"I came here after high school to start a small business. At first I was just selling eggs and some Chinese vegetables." Her high pitched, undulating speech somehow fits her soft demeanor perfectly. "A French chef named Avi [sic] lived in the area. He asked why I didn't start getting the goods Westerners wanted. At the time there were many Westerners in the area, and they had to travel quite far to Carrefour to prepare food from their home countries. So Avi suggested it and that's when I started thinking about getting more goods. He's moved back to France and is married now."

Like any small business it didn't take off immediately. "It took me four years to locate providers for many of the goods. We've made many Western friends over the years and one of them gave me this." In her hands sits a thick paperback picture book of food. Flipping through the dirt infused pages she recalls, "We started finding what people wanted. Some things are very difficult like this one," pointing to a picture of passion fruit, "we very rarely get this one."

Locally sourced chickens and pigs come from The Feta Cheese Lady's parents in her home town of Nantong. "Free range and organic," she's quick to point out." At this point The Tortilla (corn and flour) Lady leaps about her shop helping carry fresh produce from a truck parked out front. Dropped in the appropriate place she quickly returns to the rarely unattended check out. Just 12 hours to go.

As far as future plans go, The Havarti Chilli Cheese Lady plans to just keep with her business and work hard. While there is an heir apparent to what must be a gold mine The Turkey Lady has larger hopes for her only daughter. "I want her to work hard and do well in school and then do something better than this, easier. It's hard work!" as she hoists a giant package of unsliced prosciutto on her shoulder, then down again.

First-timers, don't make the mistake of looking for a large white sign with a motherly woman holding a half-cut bright green and yellow avocado. Instead look for the shop with an impressively large number of expats milling about or follow these directions: Take the subway to Changshu Lu station, Line 1& 7. Exit from exit 7 (follow the arrows towards line 7). Turn left out of the station and left again on WuYuan Lu until you hit Wulumuqi Lu. Cross the street and take one more left and you're a few stride away from the legendary Avocado Lady's bustling shop. She's at 274 Wulumuqi Lu.

Special thanks to Sunnie Zou of Sunnie’s Tours and Stuff for her expert translating skills.



Colin Cayer is the Editorial Intern here at ShanghaiExpat. He loves The Avocado Lady. If you have any questions or comments about this article, please send an email to: colin.cayer@gmail.com.