A thumbs up to asian grocery stores

baked_beans_lady

Oriental Food Shop on Baxter Gate in Loughborough has loads specialist foods - Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai etc. and they have cheap pre-packed beans and spices. They also sell fresh tofu (which is amazing!) and kimchi (which is smelly but delicious.)

baby_fuzz

bella4uk wrote: »

Just if you felt a bit awkward like me....don't...they are great places to shop!

What a great discussion! I discovered asian supermarkets a long time ago - and I often feel like there is more emphasis on good food, than there is in the pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap approach in Tescos or Sainsburys! I'd have to say that if you are in bristol, the best place for oriental stuff is a Chinese supermarket called Wai Yee Hong.
http://www.waiyeehong.com/

They are pretty good for other cuisines too, so I go shopping for thai and japanese recipes here too.

Mander

Any recommendations for Newcastle? I often shop at Wing Hong in Chinatown, but there are a couple of Japanese products that are still eluding me. I have heard that the one on Brighton Grove (I think?) near Newcastle General is pretty good, but there are so many ethnic grocery stores that I'd love to try a few more.

And speaking of ethnic shops, how about Carribean or African shops? I don't really know anything about the cuisine, so I wouldn't know what to buy, but I go past the ones by the hospital on occasion and I'd love to see what they sell.