Oriental & South East Asian markets

There is no shortage of Oriental and South East Asian supermarkets in the area. But some offer more by way of fresh produce, or live fish, or a take-out or eat-in counter of local dishes, a bakery or good meat counter. My favorites are marked * and will eventually receive an individual and detailed review if they haven't already.

Daruma* is a Japanese supermarket at 6931 Arlington Rd, Bethesda, 301 654 8832, with a good light-lunch counter.

Aji Ichiban*, N. Washington St, Rockville, 301 610 7798, is a Japanese munchies shop. It's full of weird and wonderful snacks, from Hello Kitty candies, jellies that look like miniature hamburgers and hot dogs, to crispy dried fish and spicy olives. Great stocking stuffers or party favors. (Eat next door at Bob's Noodle 66, 301 315 6668) along with Chinese families tucking into Taiwanese food. Crispy Smelled Bean Curd and Slice Stomach with Sour Mustard, anyone? They also make wonderful food for the less adventurous...)

Jack's Oriental Gift & Grocery offers cooking tips and recipes from Jack himself, in the Sugarland Shopping Center, Route 7, Sterling, 703 450 5141.

Maxim Gourmet Oriental Market* sells breads, desserts and buns, both meat-filled and sweet, 460 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, 301 279 0110. They even sell dried shark's fin, which costs as much as the entire week's grocery bill, live frogs, and fish from a tank, as well as the usual wide range of Oriental ready-to-cook or eat buns and dumplings. There is also a cafe. Their Silver Spring branch at 640 University Blvd East, 301 439 0110, is vast and has a lunch counter.

Looking for jellyfish or sea cucumbers? You'll find them behind Maxim's at Kam Sam Supermarket, 300 N. Washington St, Rockville, 301 315 9558, along with live fish. But if large scallion pancakes or stuffed and glazed buns filled with barbecue pork, vegetables or red bean paste are more to your taste, they have them too. Enthusiasts of the French salade gésiers will find the ducks gizzards here to confit. What makes this Orient supermarket more helpful than some is that most of the labels are also expressed in English.

While most Oriental supermarkets sell fresh fish, Pacific Market often has them swimming around in a tank; 5900B Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, 703 671 8727.

Ready for a peanut-butter popsicle? A bean paste or taro root one? Or, more likely, one flavored with mango or guava? All are popular Asian treats. Try them at Oriental Market, 891F Rockville Pike, Rockville, 301 340 8018.

A trip to the Eden Shopping Center* on the Wilson Blvd at Seven Corners is a complete social experience - almost a holiday in itself. Programs from the local Vietnamese radio station broadcast across the parking lot. Every enterprise is Vietnamese. There are cafes, restaurants, bakeries, all selling Vietnamese and Asian specialties. There is a nails beauty parlor, several jewelry shops, travel agencies, a herbal medicine pharmacy, an Oriental fabrics store and various gift shops. And there is the Eden Supermarket*, where live fish swim in a tank and freshly roasted ducks, chickens and a whole crisply roasted pig hang in the front window. (See the separate Eden Center unscrambled article in Markets.)

Sukhothai, 1904 Mt Vernon Ave, Alexandria, 703 683 4016, sells a good supply of South East Asian ingredients.

Ask the staff of the Thai Market*, 902 Thayer Ave, Silver Spring, 301 495 2779, for cooking tips. They are very helpful and can point you to the right ingredients, as well as sell you some of their ready-cooked dishes to eat in or take out that will show you how recipes should taste.

Another supermarket with a take-out section that grows larger at weekends is Asian Food, 2301 University Blvd West, Wheaton, 301 933 6071. Their range of Indonesian foods and snacks is among the best.

Among its Vietnamese supplies, Vietnam Imports, 922 West Broad St, Falls Church, 703 534 9441, also sells the ingredients for making Indonesian rijstafel.

Asian Supermarket, 2200 Viers Mill Rd, Rockville, 301 424 1808, is a good resource for South East Asian ingredients.

Angkor Oriental Supermarket has a good selection of fresh vegetables and vines for soups, as well as a staff who will answer questions, at 937 University Blvd, Silver Spring, 301 445 4174.

In Takoma Park, the Best World supermarket opposite Pho 99 at 2065 East University Blvd, MD sometimes has unusual ingredients like fresh chive flowers (also known as leek flowers) and four different kinds of wasabe peas. Everything is reasonably priced. But the main stock is Latino food. Across the parking lot is a Vietnamese bakery.

At weekends a mass of people throngs the aisles of the vast Korean supermarket H Mart*, piled high with some of the best and cheapest produce around, from standard Western to standard Oriental vegetables and fruits. It also sells finely sliced meats for hot pot cooking, excellent fresh fish and cheap fresh shrimp, plus ready-packed soup or stir-fry selections complete with fish or meat, vegetables and dipping sauces. There is a wide range of beautiful china dishes, plates and bowls, and a big lunch counter where you can stop for a bowl of noodles or a stir-fry. 8103 Lee Hwy, Merrifield, 703 573 6300, opposite the excellent Merrifield Garden Center. After 2 p.m. on Saturdays is slightly less crowded. Their branch at the Wheaton Park shopping center, 12015 Georgia Ave, 301 942 5071, is always less crowded than the Merrifield store, and offers much of the same wide produce and grocery stock, though more slanted towards the Latino community. It doesn't have a lunch counter and its supply of kitchen tools and china is limited. The Korean Bakery, located just inside, sells some interesting breads, but their iced coffee is granular and thin.

Annandale Catering is a good source for ready-made Korean dishes and snacks that has a full catering service, as well as stocks of frozen dumplings. 4221 Annandale Center Dr, Annandale, 703 354 4989.

The 76 year-old Capital City market that runs in a square from Morse St NE, to 6th St NE and Florida Ave NE to Penn St NE is open for retail as well as wholesale bargains. Some of the stores cater specifically to the Oriental market: Far East Noodle, 1325 Fifth St NE, 202 546 8033, makes Asian noodles, crepes, rice sticks, pancakes and more. Premium Seafood, 300 Morse St, # R, 202 543 8881, sells whole fish fresh and frozen and some Chinese groceries. Sam Wang, 300 Morse St, #A, 202 544 5163, fresh fruit and vegetables. If you're there early in the morning, grab a Korean breakfast at J & P Cafeteria, 1301 Fourth St NE, 202 546 2892.

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