Speciality Food Shops

amandajane · 01-02-2008, 09:56 PM

Hi there

Whilst cooking dinner tonight (red meat curry) I was reminded of something and thought it might be worth mentioning. Here in NZ the Asian food shops are full of great bargains, not to mention fascinating places to shop! I'm wondering if it's the same in the States, Canada, Uk etc?

The dried beans are cheaper than the supermarket as are their spices, and just as fresh, if not fresher. I got a 250g bag of meat curry powder (Malaysian) for less than $2.00, that would have been five at the local supermarket at least. Fresh curry leaves and red chilli peppers are another great buy, I store mine in the freezer and they last a long time. Soya meat is well priced too. Herb pots are $2, gotta love fresh coriander :0) Small amounts of spices are good value too, and cost very little.

There's also cheaper noodles and rice, two great staples that I always have in the larder.

There's also the bonus of being able to pick up cooking utensils etc at a good price too. I got a bamboo veggie steamer for $5.00 and a very heavy and good quality imported granite pestle and mortar for $40.

Great prices when compared to the mainstream supermarkets and might be worth considering for gifts for foodie family or friends when the time comes.

Anyone else have any speciality food shop favorites?

Will · 01-03-2008, 03:13 PM

Hi Amanda!

I used to live close to Korea Town and Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, and they have the most amazing selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. They are not necessarily a lot cheaper than their mainstream counterparts, but they are certainly a lot fresher.

amandajane · 01-03-2008, 04:30 PM

Hi Will :0)

There is such a wide variety of Asian veggies here, the only thing is I don't know how to cook them, lol. I must google for some recipes, it would be interesting to try them out. Since becoming more frugal I've been really interested in cooking again.

01-02-2008, 09:56 PM	#1
amandajane Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 490 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (287)	Speciality Food Shops Hi there Whilst cooking dinner tonight (red meat curry) I was reminded of something and thought it might be worth mentioning. Here in NZ the Asian food shops are full of great bargains, not to mention fascinating places to shop! I'm wondering if it's the same in the States, Canada, Uk etc? The dried beans are cheaper than the supermarket as are their spices, and just as fresh, if not fresher. I got a 250g bag of meat curry powder (Malaysian) for less than $2.00, that would have been five at the local supermarket at least. Fresh curry leaves and red chilli peppers are another great buy, I store mine in the freezer and they last a long time. Soya meat is well priced too. Herb pots are $2, gotta love fresh coriander :0) Small amounts of spices are good value too, and cost very little. There's also cheaper noodles and rice, two great staples that I always have in the larder. There's also the bonus of being able to pick up cooking utensils etc at a good price too. I got a bamboo veggie steamer for $5.00 and a very heavy and good quality imported granite pestle and mortar for $40. Great prices when compared to the mainstream supermarkets and might be worth considering for gifts for foodie family or friends when the time comes. Anyone else have any speciality food shop favorites?

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01-03-2008, 03:13 PM	#2
Will Administrator Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 381 Thanks: 2 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Reputation: (23)	Hi Amanda! I used to live close to Korea Town and Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, and they have the most amazing selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. They are not necessarily a lot cheaper than their mainstream counterparts, but they are certainly a lot fresher.

01-03-2008, 04:30 PM	#3
amandajane Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New Zealand Posts: 490 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Reputation: (287)	Hi Will :0) There is such a wide variety of Asian veggies here, the only thing is I don't know how to cook them, lol. I must google for some recipes, it would be interesting to try them out. Since becoming more frugal I've been really interested in cooking again.