Asian markets in Providence

A quick google of "Asian markets in Providence" brings the typical plethora of useless links -- city guides or faux yellow pages orbiting in cyberspace -- although several gems hang there ripe for the picking. The "New Asian Market" on Broad street, Yang's" on Thayer, "Asian Star Market" on Elmwood or the "Sunny Market Place" on Reservoir Ave., all in Providence proper are likely candidates for finding Asian groceries.

I've tried Asiana Market on Warren and found it clean but small with a large dose of Japanese specialty items and some produce at very nice prices. (Napa cabbage for example at 20-30 cents cheaper than the grocery chains.), I've also visited Mekong Seafood on Broad street. I thought the place smelled terrible, was very dark and seemed to focus on very little outside of Southeast Asia. Word is they are known for their seafood but I can't vouch for that. I must say, however, I found it refreshing to watch the Asian butcher speaking in Spanish with the Hispanic customers (in fact, except for me all the customers there were hispanic or latino) -- rather reminded me of Paris.

As for the local Whole Food stores in Providence they have little more variety than say Stop 'n Shop, although of course they do carry a number of organic Asian products naturally.

The simple fact, for me at any rate, is most "Asian" stores do not stock a wide variety of those Chinese condiments that I have grown particularly fond of over the years: bean sauces (spicy or garlic or black, you name it), hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, chili sauces, almost anything by the Lee Kum Kee group for example. (Maybe I got spoiled living so close to Chinatown in paris.)

Well a quick modification of my google search, substituting the word "chinese" for "asian" market and I soon learn that there is but one store listed in all of the greater Providence: the "Chinese American Mini Market" on Park avenue in Cranston.

So the other day I jumped in the car and, with fingers crossed and expectations high, I headed off for Cranston.

Talk about exceeding expectations!

As I pulled off of Rte. 10 onto Reservoir Avenue my eye immediately caught sight of an Asian market right at the end of the exit ramp. I quickly pulled into the parking lot at the rear of the building, walked around to the front and found the door locked -- but the hours posted said they were open. And so they were. A woman came and unlocked the door and ushered me inside the tiny shop. Less than 30 seconds later I came face-to-face with a long shelf lined with nothing but, you guessed it, Lee Kum Kee products! I was ecstatic!

I began grabbing first the spicy bean sauce, then the plain bean sauce, then the black bean with garlic, and then the hoisin sauce, on and on it went until I had an armload of condiments.

All of which came to barely twenty bucks.

I had discovered H & P Food Service Co. Located at 445 Reservoir Rd., I had no idea they were there of course. What a find!

From there I headed off to the Chinese American Mini Market just five minutes away, in the shadow of the Cranston city hall.

I have no idea as to where the idea came from to call this a "mini" market -- it is of course not that at all. This is one of the largest Asian markets I have seen since living in Paris. The place is HUGE inside with several walls of cold and frozen Asian stuff, piles and piles of massive bags of rice and several walls of just noodles, packaged in every size, shape and variation imaginable, from ready-to-heat 'n serve to plain dried noodles. If you are a serious noodle person this is a one-stop shopping mecca for you.

And the sheer volume of Korean products was overwhelming -- row upon row of Korean and Chinese newspapers that greeted me as I entered should have warned me I was in a wholly different world now. They also advertise themselves as a major purveyor of Filipino and Japanese products as well, but I can't attest to that.

And of course the condiments: the oils, vinegars, spices and seemingly limitless amount of stuff for you to put in your food is astounding. And Kikkoman even got their own shelf space, there had so many products on display.

I will say that the prices on Lee Kum Kee was, I think, a bit lower at H & P -- but I certainly didn't undertake a serious comparative study.

If you are a serious aficionado of Chinese and Korean food and are looking for those hard-to-find items, head on over to H & P at 445 Reservoir or Chinese American Mini Market at 834 Park in Cranston