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So you’ve finally made the trip to the oriental supermarket. You enter and you are bedazzled by row after row of jars, packets, brands, all the things. Where do you start? Well here are top 5 things to do to get you started!
DON'T KNOCK THE FROZEN AISLES
They will have pretty good frozen food ranging from dim sum dishes to dumplings to frozen meat which can actually be cheaper than the local supermarkets. We always like to have a gander here as sometimes it could be easier to just fry up some dumplings then making them from scratch.
BUY IN BULK FOR EXTRA CHEAP.
Things here seem to be in a parallel universe. Lots of things like noodles, rice, eggs, frozen meat are just so much cheaper. You can buy them singularly/in a lower quantity too, but buying in bulk saves you a lot of money and if you don’t come here often it’s a blessing really.
GET YOUR MORE UNUSUAL INGREDIENTS HERE.
Fortunately the oriental supermarket is where you can buy your more unusual ingredients when you can’t find them in your local supermarket.
Things like tofu, black bean, vermicelli noodles, certain sauces like maybe hoi sin, yellow bean. You’ll find things like these will also be a lot cheaper here too.
THE BAKERY.
Most have a bakery section and if they do make the most of the Chinese pastries on offer. We love the Roast Pork buns, Hot Dog buns, Chinese custard tarts, custard and coconut buns etc. They are seriously delicious and normally other than the oriental supermarket the only other place you can get them is China Town.
MAKE THE MOST OF THE FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
Even some of the veg here you won’t have seen in your local supermarkets. Variations of Chinese cabbage like the more usual Pak Choi, but also Choi Sum which has a mustardy taste (it’s very nice). They also have lots of different types of mushrooms as well and they will all be very fresh. Their fruits can also be unusual too, like Dragon Fruit, Long An, Durian Fruit, Pomelos (we love these). Give them a go!
So don’t be afraid, you’ll soon learn to know what you like and what you don’t like and what to stock up on. You’ll be savvy in no time!
Let us know how you get on!
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