What is a Quay

Hmm as far as I know its like a jetty.  Are you sure that's the right spelling?  Googling it doesn't bring up anything about fruit/veg.

What do they look like?  That might help.  why do i think quail eggs?  I don't really know, just a wild guess

I believe they are a type of pickle.

I've checked all my references, and can't find it under cucumbers, melons, or squashes. Doesn't mean much, though, as there are hundreds of varieties that fit.

From your description, however, I'd guess that they are either a Russian or Japanese cucumber or pickling melon.

Be nice if your customer knows what they are.

Sounds like an armenian  cucumber.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_cucumber These are often pickled and quite tasty.

This forum thread supports my claim equating quays to the Armenian cucumber

http://www.idigmygarden.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-20187.html

One of my first thoughts, Phil, was that they were Armenian Cukes (aka, serpent cucumber, snake cucumber), which, of course, are really melons.

However, none of my references use quay as a synonym, which is why I suspect a lesser known Russian or Japanese variety. Or maybe even one from any of the Indian Ocean islands.

Of course, the way things go, "quay" is probably some foreign word that merely translates as "pickle."

Hmm. Where have you seen this term, precisely? I'm wondering about the spelling.

See, if this were printed in mainland China today, I would pronounce the word "chooway," roughly. If I saw it coming from maybe Hong Kong and an older label, I'd pronounce it "kway." If it's Japanese, I'd be up a creek, because there's nothing obviously parallel at all. And so it goes.

But the point is, the two Chinese terms, que and kuei are totally different. In roughly the same way as, let's say, "eye" and "aim" are different in English. And they could be transcribed into English in remarkably different ways. And, of course, that's just assuming Mandarin, which is a very bad assumption with imported foods, so many of which still come from Cantonese or Fukienese-speaking areas. So if one could narrow down roughly how it's supposed to sound, or at least what language it's supposed to be coming from, we might have reasonable odds of pinning it down.

They are called Quay and are some type of cucumber. When I was a kid I stayed at my moms aunt Tish's house in Brady Tx and she gave me some. They were hot but were so good I didn't care. Maybe someone from that area can respond with a recipe.

I know of kueh, as in Nonya Kueh, Ang ku kueh, etc.  Basically a Chinese/Malay pastry or dessert.

Ha, I was came across this looking for a picture of quay pickles to send to someone.  Quays are what people in Brady call Armenian Cucumbers.  My grandparents lived in Brady and I just loved those hot pickled quays!