KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Grace Len buys her groceries at the wet market. She knows she is paying more than she would at the hypermarket, but that's the price she's willing to pay for freshness.

"The smell of chicken, meat and fish at hypermarkets tells me they have been been stored for a long time," said the 47-year-old home maker from Sri Petaling.

"I don't mind paying more at the wet market. The food tastes better."

The New Straits Times spoke to the mother of three during a price watch visit to wet markets and hypermarkets in Old Klang Road and Shah Alam this week.

We found that consumers were paying a few ringgit more per kilogramme for fresh produce at wet markets than at hypermarkets in both areas.

Big onions, garlic and ginger, for example, cost at least RM2 per kg more at the Old Klang Road market than at a nearby hypermarket. And the price of red chillies was generally 40 to 60 sen per kg higher at wet markets.

The only exception was the price of uncleaned ikan bilis in Shah Alam. The wet market price was RM4 per kg lower than the RM29 charged at the hypermarket.

The price of whole chicken was between RM6 and RM6.50 per kg at both markets.

The wet markets had a better selection of fish and seafood than the hypermarkets, but the prices at the hypermarket were only half what was charged at the wet market. Ikan bawal hitam cost RM18 to RM20 per kg at the Old Klang Road market, while the nearby hypermarket was selling it for RM9.50.

A walk around the stalls at the Old Klang Road wet market also showed that the price of the same fish varied from stall to stall. Stall owner T.H. Lau explained that the price varied according to where the fish was caught.

"Ikan bawal putih caught in Kuala Selangor costs RM15 more per kilo than that caught in Thailand," he said.

We noted that many vendors did not display their prices, and many were hostile and sometimes rude when asked.

"How much you want first?" one vendor asked before naming his price. And many did not like it if people didn't buy after asking the price.

"Ask for this price and that price and then don't want to buy," complained one stall owner. And another told us to "go next door" and weigh a packet of bean sprouts.

A butcher explained that even if they put up a price list customers still wanted to bargain.

"It's better just to tell them the price rather than displaying it. Otherwise the vendors will lose out," he said.