Asian supermarket - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

An Asian supermarket, sometimes called an "Oriental supermarket

Supermarket

A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...

", is a grocery store in non-Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n countries that stocks items imported from the many countries in East

East Asia

East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...

and Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

. They carry items and ingredients generally well-suited for Asian cuisine

Asian cuisine

Asian cuisine styles can be broken down into several tiny regional styles that have roots in the peoples and cultures of those regions. The major types can be roughly defined as East Asian with its origins in Imperial China and now encompassing modern Japan and the Korean peninsula; Southeast Asian...

s and not found in most Western supermarkets.

The Asian market is an ethnic food store in a foreign culture. These markets go farther than a typical market in that they sell quintessential general merchandise, goods, and services related to Asian countries of origin and immigrant communities. They are prevalent in Asian enclaves in the United States and Canada, particularly the North American West Coast. Urban centers such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle have Chinatowns or Japantowns and other ethnic neighborhoods with specialty small business, but surrounding areas or smaller cities will have Asian supermarkets providing the same but reduced amenities for the same purposes.

Sometimes, there is an Asian-themed strip mall

Strip mall

A strip mall is an open-area shopping center where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front...

surrounding the market. The markets can be ethnocentric and be a mainly Chinese, Japanese or Filipino market; however in many areas there is no majority Asian population or there is a mix of cultures. It is this diversity that led to the establishment of Pan Asian goods in a one-stop shop with aisles selling foods in common and others dedicated to other groups such as Pakistani, Indian, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Thai, Samoan, Taiwanese, Korean and others. One major United States chain is 99 Ranch Market

99 Ranch Market

Although most of its customers are ethnic Chinese Americans and Taiwanese Americans, shoppers also include recent immigrants from China, ethnic Chinese from Vietnam, and others. The chain sells a wide range of imported food products and merchandise from Hong Kong, Japan, Mainland China, Taiwan, ...

Operation

Most of these supermarkets are started and operated by Asian immigrant entrepreneurs and their families. Others are started by investors of existing corporate conglomerates already headquartered in Asia, namely Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

or the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

Asian supermarkets can range from small mom-and-pop

Small business

A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...

grocery stores to large big-box store

Big-box store

A big-box store is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store...

s and may cater specifically to one ethnic Asian immigrant group or to a wide pan-Asian crowd. They serve the generally unserved or underserved immigrant and descendant population. They are usually the main attraction for food shopping within overseas Asian shopping mall

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

s and Chinatown

Chinatown

A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...

s. Asian supermarkets may re-occupy older buildings formerly anchored by mainstream regional or national supermarket chains.

Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

shopping centers and supermarkets have been constructed using traditional Chinese architecture

Chinese architecture

Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details...

, and provide services catered toward immigrant customers. Examples include Asian restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

s, beauty salon

Beauty salon

A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for men and women...

s, bakeries

Bakery

A bakery is an establishment which produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises.-See also:*Baker*Cake...

, foreign film rental stores, travel agencies, book stores, and other businesses.

In recent years, some mainstream markets have attempted to compete with Asian supermarkets for the minority customer base by stocking certain Asian goods as well as directing marketing towards various Asian ethnic immigrant populations. Conversely, some Asian supermarkets attempt to appeal to the general population. Asian markets are reputed to have lower prices than the mainstream chains.

Asian supermarkets represent a new trend in which Asian immigrants no longer settle in old enclaves such as Chinatown, San Francisco (still the largest in the US) but in suburbs where shopping centers provide services as well as cultural amenities such as hosting ethnic festivals, shows and dance.

One of the major redevelopments highlighted in the press has been Buford Highway

Buford Highway

Buford Highway is an international community along and on either side of a stretch of Georgia State Route 13 in DeKalb County, Georgia. It begins just north of Midtown Atlanta, continues northeast through the towns of Brookhaven, Chamblee, and Doraville, and ends northeast of the Perimeter at the...

in the Atlanta suburb of Doraville, Georgia

Doraville, Georgia

Doraville is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 8,330.-History:Doraville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly, approved December 15, 1871...

, where Asian supermarkets have done brisk business in a once-blighted neighborhood. Such supermarkets have also revitalized the once-rundown sections of Bellaire Blvd in Houston, Texas, and turned it into a thriving new Asian shopping district. There are also many competing Chinese supermarkets in the Southern California Chinatowns

Southern California Chinatowns

Chinese Ethnoburbs in the San Gabriel Valley are a vital demographic component of the region and the San Gabriel Valley has achieved international prominence as a hub of overseas Chinese or hua qiao...

and Vietnamese markets anchoring communities such as Little Saigon

Little Saigon

Little Saigon is a name given to any of several overseas Vietnamese immigrant and descendant communities outside Vietnam, usually in the United States...

Asian branded products
Category	Examples
Vegetable Vegetable The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....	laver Laver (seaweed) Laver is an edible algae often considered to be a seaweed that has a high mineral salt content, particularly iodine and iron. It is used for making laverbread, a traditional Welsh dish. Laver is common around the west coast of Britain and east coast of Ireland along the Irish Sea.It is smooth and... (gim/nori Nori is the Japanese name for various edible seaweed species of the red alga Porphyra including most notably P. yezoensis and P. tenera, sometimes called laver. Finished products are made by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking... ), bamboo shoots Bamboo Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family.... , bok choy, bean sprouts, welsh onion Welsh onion Allium fistulosum L. is a perennial onion. Other names that may be applied to this plant include green onion, spring onion, escallion, and salad onion... s, ginger Ginger Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal.... , kang kong, mustard greens
Grain GRAIN GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...	jasmine rice Jasmine rice Jasmine rice , sometimes known as Thai fragrant rice, is a long-grain variety of rice that has a nutty aroma and a subtle pandan-like flavor caused by 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline.Jasmine rice is originally from Thailand...
Beverage	soy milk Soy milk Soy milk and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage is a beverage made from soybeans. A stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein, it is produced by soaking dry soybeans and grinding them with water... , chrysanthemum Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:... tea, bubble tea Bubble tea Bubble tea is the name for pearl milk tea and other similar tea and juice beverages that originated in tea shops in Taichung, Taiwan during the 1980s. Drink recipes may vary, but most bubble teas contain a tea base mixed with fruit and/or milk... , sake, soju Soju Soju is a distilled beverage native to Korea. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter due to sugars added in the manufacturing process, and more commonly consumed neat.Most brands of soju are made in South Korea...
Seasoning	chili Chili sauce Chili sauce is a condiment, similar to ketchup but with onion, garlic, and spice. Despite its name, it does not contain chili peppers and thus is not hot.... , soy sauce Soy sauce Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
Ingredient Ingredient An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture . For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial products contain a secret ingredient that is purported to make them better than competing products... s	black bean Douchi Douchi , also called Chinese fermented black beans , is a flavoring most popular in the cuisine of China, and is used to make black bean sauce.... , century egg Century egg Century egg or pidan , also known as preserved egg, hundred-year egg, thousand-year egg, thousand-year-old egg, and millennium egg, is a Chinese cuisine ingredient made by preserving duck, chicken or quail eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice hulls for several weeks to several... s, ginseng Ginseng Ginseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....
Packaged snacks Snack food A snack is a portion of food oftentimes smaller than that of a regular meal, that is generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged and processed foods and items made from fresh ingredients at home....	prawn cracker Prawn cracker Krupuk or kerupuk in Indonesia; keropok in Malaysia; kropek in the Philippines; bánh phồng tôm in Vietnam; kroepoek in the Netherlands is a popular snack in parts of East and Southeast Asia as well as former colonizer the Netherlands and another of its former colonies, Suriname... s, Pocky Pocky is a Japanese snack food produced by the Ezaki Glico Company of Japan.-History:Pocky was first sold in 1966, and consists of a biscuit stick coated with chocolate. It was named after the Japanese onomatopoetic word for the sound Pocky makes when bitten, pokkin . The original was followed by... , rice cake Rice cake A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten, and are particularly prevalent in Asia. The origin of rice cake seems to be... s, tobi nuts
Merchandise	rice cooker Rice cooker A rice cooker or rice steamer is a container or kitchen appliance dedicated to cooking rice. Rice can also be cooked in general-purpose saucepans.-Overview:... s, wok Wok A wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China. It is used especially in East and Southeast Asia.Woks are most often used for stir frying, but can also be used in other Chinese cooking techniques, such as in steaming, deep frying, braising, stewing, smoking, or making soup... s, fashion magazines, newspapers, cigarette Cigarette A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well... s
Bakery Bakery A bakery is an establishment which produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises.-See also:BakerCake...	Chinese pastries Chinese bakery Chinese bakery products consists of pastries, cakes, snacks, and desserts of largely Chinese origin, though some are derived from Western baked goods. Some of the most common Chinese bakery products include mooncakes, sun cakes, egg tarts, and wife cakes....
Seafood Seafood Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...	fish Fish (food) Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:... , shellfish Shellfish Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater... , sushi Sushi is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
Delicacies	sea cucumber Sea cucumber (food) Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea used in fresh or dried form in various cuisines.The creature and the food product is commonly known as bêche-de-mer in French, trepang in Indonesian, namako in Japanese and in the Philippines it is called balatan... , shark fin Shark Fin Shark Fin is the peak which has the triangular shape of a shark fin when viewed from the south.... , abalone Abalone Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis... s
Meat	Chinese Sausage Chinese sausage Chinese sausage is a generic term referring to the many different types of sausages originating in China. It is commonly known by its Cantonese name "Lap Cheong" or "Lap Chong" .-Varieties:...

International brands
Producing polity Polity Polity is a form of government Aristotle developed in his search for a government that could be most easily incorporated and used by the largest amount of people groups, or states...	Brand
China	Haw flakes Haw flakes Haw flakes are Chinese sweets made from the fruit of the Chinese hawthorn. The dark pink candy is usually formed into discs one millimeter thick. Some Chinese people take the flakes with bitter Chinese herbal medicine.-History:...
Hong Kong	Lee Kum Kee Lee Kum Kee Lee Kum Kee International Holdings Ltd. is a food company which specialized in manufacturing oyster flavored sauce and a wide range of authentic Chinese and Asian sauces founded by Lee Kum Sheung in 1888 in Nanshui, a small town in Guangdong. Its primary brand, Lee Kum Kee is well known throughout... , Vitasoy Vitasoy Vitasoy is a brand of beverages and desserts in Hong Kong. Founded in 1940, it now operates under the Vitasoy International Holdings Limited based in Hong Kong.... ,Bamboo Garden
Indonesia	Indofood Indofood PT. Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur Tbk., better known as Indofood, is a major Indonesian company involved in the food industry. The company's headquarters are in Jakarta....
Japan	Calbee Calbee Calbee Foods Co. is a major Japanese snack food maker. It was founded on April 30, 1949. It launched operations at a new plant in the United States for making its mainstay products "Kappa Ebisen" shrimp chips and "Saya-endo" snow pea crisps on Sept 18, 2007. Its snacks are hugely popular in Asia,... , Calpis Calpis is a Japanese uncarbonated soft drink, manufactured by , headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo.The beverage has a light, somewhat milky, and slightly acidic flavor, similar to plain or vanilla-flavored yogurt or Yakult... , Glico, Kikkoman Kikkoman is an international company based in Japan.Founded in 1917, it is based in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is a combination of 8 family-owned businesses founded as early as 1603 by the Mogi and Takanashi families.... , Meiji Meiji Seika is the trade name of a pharmaceutical company in Japan, , until March 31, 2011.It was the confectionery and pharmaceutical company that manufactures a wide range of products including Hello Panda and Yan Yan... , Lotte Lotte (conglomerate) Lotte Co., Ltd. is a South Korean-Japanese Jaebeol and one of the largest food and shopping groups in South Korea and Japan. Lotte was established in June 1948, in Tokyo, by Japanese-educated, Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-Ho – also known as... , Shirakiku
Korea	[CJ CheilJedang]]Crown Crown Confectionery Crown Confectionery is a confectionery company headquartered in Jamwon-dong Seocho-gu Seoul, Korea and it was established in 1947. It's manufacturing is based in Jungrang-gu Seoul and Anyang Gyeonggi-do. It is historically an old popular biscuit brand because they invented Sando and Big Pie... , Orion Orion Confectionery Orion Confectionery Co, Ltd. is a confectionery company, headquartered in Munbae-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea. The company which is one of the three biggest food companies in Korea was established in 1956 and Orion has manufacturing facilities in Seoul, Iksan Jeollanam-do and cities in China,... , Haitai Haitai Haitai is a Korean business, with its main business in retail and instant foods, especially confectionery, beverage and ice cream.... , Lotte Lotte (conglomerate) Lotte Co., Ltd. is a South Korean-Japanese Jaebeol and one of the largest food and shopping groups in South Korea and Japan. Lotte was established in June 1948, in Tokyo, by Japanese-educated, Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-Ho – also known as... , Nongshim, Ottogi Ottogi Ottogi Co, Ltd. is a South Korean food company headquartered in Daechi-dong Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and Pyeongchon-dong, Dongan-gu, Anyang, Gyeonggi-do...
Malaysia	Julies, Ayam Brand, Brahims
Philippines	Barrio Fiesta, Goldilocks, TOBI Nuts
Taiwan	Uni-President Enterprises Corporation Uni-President Enterprises Corporation Uni-President Enterprises Corporation is an international food conglomerate based in Tainan, Taiwan. It is the largest food production company in Taiwan as well as Asia, and has a significant market share in dairy product, foods and snacks, and beverages markets. It is also responsible for... , Wei Chuan, I-Mei, Chin Chin Chin Chin (disambiguation) * Chin Chin, a fried food popular in Nigeria.* Chin Chin Gutierrez, a Filipino actress and environmentalist.* Chinchin, a town in Armenia.* A ceremonial toast in Argentina, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Also, cin cin in Italy.... , Ve Wong

External links

Chinese Supermarkets
Great Asian Malls & Supermarkets
Why Asian Food Saves You Money—comparison between Asian supermarkets and mainstream supermarket chains
"The New Chinatown? Try the Asian Mall", The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

—article on the growing trend of Asian supermarkets in the United States
Asian food dollars go east—article on impact of Asian supermarkets in New Zealand
"Grass Jelly, Anyone? 99 Ranch Brings Asian Flavor to East Bay"—newspaper article from Berkeley, CA
Asian supermarkets in Boston
Vietnamese Grocery Supermarket Search

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