Asian supermarket

In the western world, an Asian supermarket, sometimes called an Oriental supermarket, stocks items imported from many places in Asia.

They carry items and ingredients generally well-suited for Asian cuisines and not found in most mainstream supermarkets. These markets often have Indian food, large sacks of Thai jasmine rice, soy bean milk from Hong Kong, chrysanthemum tea from Mainland China, Japanese seaweed, bamboo shoots, various chili sauces, as well as Asian snacks - for example, prawn crackers and rice crackers - and other imported foodstuffs. Asian vegetables such as bok choy, bean sprouts, leeks, ginger, green onions and mustard vegetables are frequent items in produce sections. Other merchandise like Japanese rice cookers and woks are also sold in these markets.

They may sell varieties of live fish, clams, crabs, lobsters, oysters, abalones, which are kept swimming in aquariums. Delicacies such as sea cucumber, black duck eggs, ginseng and shark fin may be stocked as well. Asian markets may also carry Asian brands of beverages and cigarettes.

These supermarkets are often started and operated by first- or second-generation Asian immigrant entrepreneurs and their families. Asian supermarkets can range from small mom-and-pop grocery stores to large supercenters and may cater specifically to one ethnic Asian immigrant group or to a wide pan-Asian crowd. In addition, they have tended to served as anchors for new Asian shopping centers and Chinatowns. Some Chinese shopping centers and supermarkets have been constructed using traditional Chinese architecture and provide a wide range of goods and services geared towards immigrant customers, such as Asian restaurants, beauty salons, bakeries, book stores, and other businesses. Some Asian supermarket chains with large supercenters have become successful enterprises, such as 99 Ranch Market in the western United States and Wing Yip in the United Kingdom.

[Top]