Chinese supermarket - any tips?

duchy

I miss Wing Yip since I moved from near Croydon to Medway.
Will have to check out the Canterbury one-thanks.
See ya by the rice Jackie

baby_fuzz

Back to the original topic of the discussion; I always stock up on the following things on my trip to the Chinese Cash & Carry:

Frozen Seafood
Frozen Dim Sum/dumplings/wonton
Rice - Thai Jasmine, of course
Sushi Rice, & Sushi vinegar, yaki nori etc.
Stir-fry sauces - they always taste better than the ones you get in normal supermarket. I like the fact I can't read half of what's on the label!
Soy Sauce - staple of chinese cooking
oyster sauce - not so easy to find in Tesco, and very good for simple stir fries.
Noodles - cheaper, unless you are getting instant noodles - but their flavours are better, so I don't mind spending a few extra pennies.
Curry Paste - I buy Chinese, Thai and Japanese curry paste - I use as much as I need and toss the rest into the freezer (spread out onto foil to keep the flavour, and to make it easier to break off bits later) - I can then chip off what I need for the next curry etc.
Herbs and Spices - Much cheaper than the schwarz spices, and they taste good. What I would say to people is that you will probably find that your spices go out of date because they come in bigger bags. I usually keep and use my spices past the best before. I find that by keeping them in a cool, dark, dry cupboard, you can keep them for much longer than the best before.
um... what else?... I bought a chopper/cleaver once - have been using it forever - a very good buy.
you can also get huge drums of golden syrup and ketchup/brown sauce etc. if that's your thing...

baby_fuzz

Oh, and don't be shy to ask about their wholesale products! I was catering for a large party at home once, and got a real bargin on huge boxes of noodles and prawn crackers!

baby_fuzz

And Chilli Sauce!

belfastgirl23

Wee_Bargain_Hunter wrote: »

Thanks elantan but i'm in Belfast, on that wee island across the water! For anyone who's local to Belfast, there's definately one on the Ormeau road + maybe one on the Lisburn rd? Getting loads of ideas off this thread. Thanks everyone!

Hi wee bargain hunter

The supermarket on the ormeau road (just off agincourt avenue on the town side of the Ormeau bridge) is more old fashioned and pokey but has some great stuff. The Lisburn Road one (off one of the streets on the town side of tesco) is fairly recently built so is probably better laid out. There's one on donegal pass as well that looks very bling! I've only been in the Ormeau one and although it's hectic there are some good deals.

BTW I see no one has mentioned fresh veg - I always go there for eg aubergines and peppers - much better quality for less money.

Swan_2

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

BTW I see no one has mentioned fresh veg - I always go there for eg aubergines and peppers - much better quality for less money.

I'd forgotten about that ... they do French beans much cheaper than supermarket, Bobby Beans I think they're called, but same thing

baby_fuzz

and oriental veg too! - I always feel ripped off when I buy pak choi from Tesco at almost £6 per kilo... It's normally only around half that at the Chinese supermarket.

mouseymousey99

Peterborough here, we have Janson Hong...which is terrific, they have recipe sheets and always help you (sometimes even to pack your bag). I go in and buy my garlic there, the bulbs are HUGE and always fresh...ditto everyone else too rice etc etc. That's how I came across this thread, I have a big bag of Pak choi...

Ellonquine

I will be paying my first visit to our local chinese supermarket next week.

Can anyone recommend any good (tasty) items that I can look for when I am there.

Cheers

baby_fuzz

I wouldn't leave without some char siu sauce, fresh ginger, pak choi, sesame oil, Lee Kum Kee premium oyster sauce (premium is very important!) and rice. However, if you are looking for more convenient food, I find the frozen dim sum to be quite a good bargin, as well as enjoying some lotte chocolate pandas, pheonix rolls, pocky biscuits and my current favourite is Pokka drinks...