A thumbs up to asian grocery stores

bella4uk

I just want to tell people how great those little asian/bangladeshi grocery stores are. I often felt a bit shy/awkward going into them, silly I know. Often the shopkeepers don't speak very good english but they are as helpful as they can be. But the difference in price, compared to the supermarkets, they are so much cheaper, for example a large bunch of fresh coriander is about 50p and all the spices are cheaper with a much wider choice. It is often a good idea to have a look in a recipe book before you visit as you will probablly not know what half the stuff is.
We also have a fantastic thai grocery store nearby which is equally great, an example of price is a tin of coconut milk (essential in a lot of thai recipes) is 49p, expect to pay around 85p elsewhere.
Just if you felt a bit awkward like me....don't...they are great places to shop!

Justie

we have a couple of thai shops and they're great - we're also seeing Polish shops opening and they're cheap too. :cool:

Poodle

I go to a brilliant one in Easton, Bristol - called Sweetmart. The veg is fantastic as are the herbs and breads. Though when they're putting items through the till i feel guilty i have too many that come up simply as 'English' - which are baked beans or jammy dodgers! It's pushed me to experiment more with the choices i'm luckey enough to have. And they are always happy to suggest cooking tips.

kaaloo

Sweetmart!!! What a shop! Amazing organic range for an independent shop as well.

jap200

Anyone know if there is one anywhere near Ashford in Kent?

Ems*Honie

Theres a large one (I dont think it's sweetmart though) at the top of Canterbury, used to be a petrol station, up by the gates nr the train station. (opp end to the Ashford exit) HTH

ETA, There are several smaller ones in Northdown road, Cliftonville, nr Margate too, if you travel down that far at all, one of them does huge bags of lemons and limes really cheap Might have to get my sis to pop in and grab me a bag tomorrow.

wendym

There are two fabulous (and large) Asian supermarkets in Bradford.....if only my daughter had stayed there after graduating.

I manage to get there 2 or 3 times a year, and stock up. One of the greatest treats is fresh guavas (in season in the autumn, I think).

bubblebathgirl

my vote goes to bradford too lots of bargains to be had

Beninio88

Have you tried the Mangos from Asian stores? 100 times better then the ones you can get at Tescos or Sainsburys

Red_Panda_2

jap200 wrote:

Anyone know if there is one anywhere near Ashford in Kent?

Something has just opened in Beaver Road, not sure what it is though, its meant to be a speciality store.
There is a fab chinese shop in Canterbury by the West Gate, I really like that one and stock up when in i'm there.

reehsetin

Beninio88 wrote:

Have you tried the Mangos from Asian stores? 100 times better then the ones you can get at Tescos or Sainsburys

and cheaper too

ealing road in wembley, 24 hours grocery shopping, always makes me laugh:p
im asian so used to the shops, Customer service isnt exactly great but cheap as hell