About chicken, you can buy whole chicken (dead or alive) from those wet markets.

You may not get to select quality chicken breasts without buying the whole chickens.

Local method to prepare chicken is to chop the whole chicken to chunks and then use the more bony pieces for soup and more meaty parts for frying on pan.

That is to say, the meat is generally not separated from the bones until eating, so buying specifically breasts is tricky.

Wet market is a type of food market, it's where locals (and many foreigners too) go to buy their vegetables and meat. They have less of hygiene than supermarkets, but the food is generally fresher as it is sold by the farmers or people close to them in the production chain.

If you haven't yet, you should visit them just for the experience.

One thing we haven't been able to do properly, is (Swedish style) meat balls.

I don't know if it's the meat (from wet market) or what, but the meat-dough always turns up somehow wet. Tried with pork and beef.

In restaurants you sometimes see huge meatballs which get closer and are sometimes actually delicious.

I can do it in my home country, just frying the balls on a pan, but something goes wrong here, and it only works if deep fried in oil. Then it is not the same.

Anyone been able to get it right at home?

Speaking of Metro, I have learned (to disbelief of some visiting foreigners) that in China their business model is not towards consumers but for restaurants and others in the profession.

My wife tried to go shopping in Kunming Metro, and was turned back due to not having a business card.

Anyone know otherwise?

My biggest concern about buying meat is the non-existent cold storage in the production chain - or at least in the food markets.

But I trust my wife (a local) with groceries, I just report what I like and not like to eat (after trying) so she knows to avoid it in future. We do eat pork almost daily, chicken or duck once a week.