The Relocators: In Search of Asian Groceries

  |  March 27, 2013

The past few weeks, Mark and I have had some experience trying to find grocery stores in the area that specialize in or carry Asian ingredients. We are particularly interested in Indian food since we don’t cook Chinese, Japanese or Korean. Occasionally we will cook something with a Thai flair, but those ingredients can usually be found at Adams Fairacre farms or the local health food store.

Indian food ingredients are a whole other story. And because of that, you usually need to find a grocery story that either specializes in these ingredients or carries them along with foods from other Asian cultures. Here’s what we found…

Welcome Oriental Grocery – This is a small store located in the outskirts of Poughkeepsie. Honestly I wouldn’t have even known it was Poughkeepsie except that’s what Google says. Upon entering the store, we were greeted with a hostile glare from the teenager working behind the register. I tried not to take it too personally; for all I know she was just angry at the world. An adult, perhaps the mother, came out to greet us after seeing the exchange and asked if there was anything she could help us find. She was very nice and tried to help us find the few Indian food ingredients they carried. But there were very few. If you’re looking for Chinese food ingredients, then this is the place for you. The shelves are stocked full. But since this wasn’t the cuisine we were after, it was a bust for us.

Hopewell Farms
Hopewell Farms – Hopewell Farms is a large-ish grocery store in Hopewell Junction. It carries an odd mix of Japanese, Korean and other Asian ingredients, as well as Latin and Italian, with a little ‘health store food’ mixed in for good measure. In the freezer, you can find Portugese food right alongside Korean, next to Latin and Mexican, on top of Japanese. There is a deli case selling salami next to a sushi bar. They have fresh fish and seafood in the back that seems reasonably priced. Down the aisle from that, are butchered whole goats or sheep. Honestly I have no idea what they were because it freaked me out so much. I told Mark to go take a picture as I stood back…way back. LOL.

They sell a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, and seemed to have a few of the Asian variety. But honestly I wasn’t all that impressed with the selection. But they do have a lot of canned, packaged and frozen food from various cuisines and cultures. Alas, Indian food ingredients were not present. So we bought some fresh wild-caught salmon, and called it a day.

Krishna Indian Groceries

 

Krishna Indian Groceries – Pay dirt! Okay…that should have been obvious. Right? We should have been searching for INDIAN grocery stores and not ASIAN grocery stores. But it gave us something to write about. Krishna Indian Groceries is a little store on Route 9. It is filled to the brim with ingredients for making just about any kind of Indian food you desire. They even have both fresh and dried curry (tree) leaves. They aren’t big on the fresh ingredients aside from the curry leaves. From what I could see, they have a few sad looking vegetables in the cooler and boxes of hot peppers on a table. But that was about it.

What they do have is aisles of packaged goods and spices for making your Indian food at home. We were in heaven. They even rent Bollywood tapes behind the counter and sell a few religious items as well. But wait! Don’t leave without trying at least one of their samosas. OMG! These were the kind of samosas I’m sure my grandmother would have made had she been Indian. They were so much better than anything eaten in even the yummiest of Indian restaurants in three states.

We went on the weekend, but it looks like they sell a full meal Monday through Friday. We WILL be eating lunch or dinner there one day soon. I really need another samosa. Another bonus?? They are actually opened later than most grocery stores around these parts. So if I’m hankering for something hot and spicy but need some besan flour or cardamon seeds before 9:00pm, I know where to go.

Saraswati Grocery – Down the street and on the other side of Route 9 is Saraswati Grocery store. Honestly…we never made it there. But we will be going very soon. From their Yelp reviews, it looks like they might have some fresh ingredients. So it’s worth checking out. Uncertain if they sell prepared food. I’ll report back when we visit.

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