A Few of My Favorite Asian Groceries
This is by no means a comprehensive list, and, as with almost everything I write about, has a Northwest Columbus focus. I promise you Eastsiders that I will become more adventurous soon! I know the East side has tons of Asian restaurants and groceries, and I will try to hit them at some point, but for now, I wanted to help point you all in the right direction when it comes to Asian shopping. All ethnic grocery stores can be a little intimidating to the average American, but with some familiarity, you can find almost every hard-to-find ingredient you're looking for. Columbus is blessed with a large ethnic populations of all sorts, from Asian to Latin to African, and we should relish the diversity our city has to offer. Don't be afraid to ask questions about what a product is or how to use it, especially as some products offer little or no English translations.
Sunrise Asian Market (1841 Henderson Road 614.326.1999) is a newcomer, and boasts a very clean and orderly interior. Many selection of sauces, noodles, condiments and produce are here as well as some of the best prices on live crab and lobster in the city. There is a large fish counter as well (a very clean-smelling one, might I add), with many varieties of clams and mussels to boot. For the more adventurous, Sunrise also sells live turtles, frogs and eels. There are some cooking & serving items as well, including my steal of the year, a 1 quart marble mortar and pestle for $16.
Yao Lee Oriental Supermarket (2848 N. High St 614.262.7631) is very close to my house and so I frequent them a lot. The slightly cluttered store has a Korean focus with a giant noodle selection. Also great for low-price spices, they have decent Japanese, Chinese and Indonesian items as well. Yao Lee boasts a large selection of frozen items, including Lime leaf, which can be purchased for a fraction of the price you'd find it at Whole Foods.
Crestview Market (2950 N. High St 614.267.2723) is also nearby, and features a comprehensive selection of Asian foods, with each aisle roughly arranged by country - Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese. There is also a very large selection of frozen items - tons of varieties of dumplings - and a large butcher counter,. Duck is also roasted on premise and is available for takeout. Crestview usually has live giant crabs, tilapia, lobster and turtles. One of the few places in the city where you can purchase the much-feared and much-loved Durian fruit, not to mention pig's blood.
Tensuke Market (1167 Old Henderson Road 614.451.6002), about which I have frequently written, is the place for fresh fish in Columbus - especially if you are planning to make sushi at home. Impeccably filleted fish is always on hand, with a focus on sashimi-ready cuts such as tuna (yellow and blue fin), otoro (fatty tuna belly), salmon, snapper and yellowtail. A large in-store sushi operation cranks out fresh sushi for the lunch and beyond crowd, with a large selection of brown rice offerings. Nice bentos and rice balls are also available for takeout. Good selection of Japanese groceries, green tea, noodles, miso, and many hard to find items such as nato (fermented soybeans), pickled ume plums, Japanese pastries and herbs such as shiso and mitsuba.
Columbus Asian Market (817 Bethel Road, in the Olentangy Plaza shopping center 614.442.1888), aka CAM, is the supermarket-sized Asian Market. There is a large produce section and butcher counter, where one can purchase such things as cow's stomach (three kinds) and pig's uterus. Large frozen section with a giant selection of frozen dim sum treats, should you choose to steam your own. Large noodle selection, huge selection of sauces, condiments, spices, tea - anything you can imagine. Probably one of the best selections of Asian cooking implements and serving pieces I've found in Columbus. Duck and pork are roasted on premise and sold for carryout, and there is now a large selection of mainly Chinese lunch offerings available for carryout as well.
Hopefully I have given you some food for thought. Get out there and try some of the great things our city has to offer. Be brave! Learn to make laksa at home! See how many varieties of rice you can have on hand at any given time (we have around 7). Try to convince me to cook pig's uteruses! If you have a favorite store you'd like to tell me about, please do - even if it isn't Asian. I plan to do some checking on Latin and African groceries soon.
