Soy Sauce Overload

In the city there are a large number of western-style grocery stores, some locally owned and some, like Carrefour or Bonjour, are foreign-owned. Dry goods, produce, meat, fish, beverages and other items of all sorts, can be purchased in securely wrapped packages from aisle after aisle of displays under bright light. Some of them are easily recognizable, some are not.

The Kraft logo is easy to recognize even in Chinese but I'm trying to buy local brands whenever possible. Today was the first time I bought eggs, a half dozen labeled 'ecological' (local speak for organic), because I've been anxious that I'd accidentally pick up duck eggs or some type of treated eggs that are popular here but which I have a hard time eating (thousand year eggs, anyone?).

Tonight I wanted to buy soy sauce. I was naive when I thought it would be easy. I knew that there would be more options than in New York but I was taken aback by the sheer number of options. Instead of one or two different brands there was an entire aisle - different brands and styles, glass bottles and plastic bottles and plastic bags, light and dark, northern style or mushroom. I thought about asking someone which one they buy but no one was nearby.

I ended up picking up a 500ml glass bottle of HaDay Golden Label Superior Soy Sauce. I'll admit that I mainly chose it because the logo looks similar to Kikkoman, a brand I know and trust. It's not organic but there's an ingredient list in English and it doesn't say MSG.