Shopping for unusual ingredients

[taxlady]

We’ve got 3 of them here in Vegas. They’re a bit pricier than some of the other Asian supermarkets, but their seafood section is great! Sometimes they’ll have live lobsters on sale.

I don’t know how they came up with the name either. Something for me to google later. Took me the longest time to figure out if it was 99 Ranch, or Ranch 99!

You made me curious, so I looked them up.

"It was originally called 99 Price Market but was eventually renamed 99 Ranch Market to give the supermarket a somewhat trendier name."

from: 99 Ranch Market - Wikipedia

 

[Dawgluver]

Stores like yours fascinate me, GG. DH used to love stopping at exotic grocery stores when we'd go out of town.

 

[JustJoel]

You made me curious, so I looked them up.

"It was originally called 99 Price Market but was eventually renamed 99 Ranch Market to give the supermarket a somewhat trendier name."

from: 99 Ranch Market - Wikipedia

Thank you! For some reason, I never think to check Wikipedia. Maybe it’s the “pedia” part. Pre-computer, the only thing that ended in “pedia” was the encyclopedia, and you didn’t look up weird stuff like “where did the market 99 Ranch” get its name?”

The only one I’ve been to here in the Valley is the one dead center of Chinatown. It’s small, and crowded, with narrow aisles, and not as clean as one would like.

 

[roadfix]

Markets around here with the word "Ranch" in it is usually associated with Latin food, mostly Mexican.

 

[Andy M.]

One of my favorite places to "shop" is H Mart. It's a gigantic Asian supermarket with uncommon ingredients you won't see anywhere else. It even has a live fish tank where you can select the fish you want for dinner.

I usually go there with a short list of things I need and end up with more in the grocery cart.

If there is one in your area, it's worth a visit. It's like DisneyWorld for foodies.

 

[jennyema]

The really cool thing about this one is that it's about half "regular" grocery store items plus several aisles and refrigerator/freezer sections with more unusual ingredients. So you can get both in one place.

Swoon ……

 

[jennyema]

One of my favorite places to "shop" is H Mart.
If there is one in your area, it's worth a visit. It's like DisneyWorld for foodies.

H Marts totally rock!!!

If I only had an HMart and a Wegmans I would be happy forever

 

[Andy M.]

Yes, this one has tools and dishes, too, along with 25-lb. bags of rice etc. [emoji38] Way too much for us, but I can see that being necessary for families that eat rice 2-3 times a day.

I buy 20-pound bags of rice. It's exactly half the rice per pound of a 2-pound bag ($1.00/lb. vs. $0.50/Lb.). It keeps forever.

 

[CharlieD]

Ru e doesn’t go bad. I too buy large box. And seats in the kitchen till gets used up. though in all honesty I buy it for taste not the price. Price just an added bonus .

 

[dragnlaw]

I love stores like that. Dragnlaw and I went to Marché Sheng Tai, something similar. It's just under 5 km from where I live. I need to get there again.

taxy, had to take a friend to Brossard and sure enuf just where she was going was another Asian market. It seems it is a franchise, this one seemed a little more stocked than the Dollard one. I overspent of course, .

The really cool thing about this one is that it's about half "regular" grocery store items plus several aisles and refrigerator/freezer sections with more unusual ingredients. So you can get both in one place.

GG - lucky you! to have one close! The prices are really cheap compared to the big box grocery stores. But you have to watch prices on the ones you can get easily at the other stores.

I buy 20-pound bags of rice. It's exactly half the rice per pound of a 2-pound bag ($1.00/lb. vs. $0.50/Lb.). It keeps forever.

I know it's not a good picture but this is brown rice - unfortunately you can can hardly distinguish between the larva and the rice - it was a solid mass of webbing - yech!

 

[dragnlaw]

finally found the picture!

Brown rice yechhy yech!

 

[larry_stewart]

One of my favorite places to "shop" is H Mart. It's a gigantic Asian supermarket with uncommon ingredients you won't see anywhere else. It even has a live fish tank where you can select the fish you want for dinner.

I usually go there with a short list of things I need and end up with more in the grocery cart.

If there is one in your area, it's worth a visit. It's like DisneyWorld for foodies.

I think they just opened one up about 1 month ago, not too far from me. Ill have to give it a look-see. It was a big enough deal that it made the news and the news papers.

 

[taxlady]

finally found the picture!

Brown rice yechhy yech!

Oh ick! *shudder*

Where is that picture taken?

 

[Sandrii93]

This stores are the best when finding fresh ingredients in an urban environment. ^^


I happen to have one which is of a peruan family in my neighbourhood and is a bless with all the supermarkets and such surrounding.

 

[GotGarlic]

Oh ick! *shudder*

Where is that picture taken?

I'm thinking at home. Everyone knows that insect eggs are in all kinds of flours and grains, right? It's almost impossible to eliminate them. I freeze all that stuff before putting it in the pantry.

I don't have the space to freeze or store a 20-lb. bag of rice.

 

[dragnlaw]

You're right GG - unfortunately it was a lesson I only just learned. I especially now do it with my dog's treats as they get those moths all the time. Drive me crazy.

taxy - the rice was at the back of my cupboard. So by the time I got to it... shudder.

I've also found beetles in my pot barley. Not the pearled barley -just the pot barley which is, of course, my preferred barley.

 

[taxlady]

Good tip about freezing the grain and flour before storing it in the pantry. I had heard about that before, but I forgot. Thanks GG.

 

[Addie]

When I first moved to Southern Texas, I learned REAL QUICK to buy any grain foods in small amounts. I got a couple of gallon jugs from one of the restaurants in my area and stored all grains in them. Then into the fridge. One dose of crawly creatures was enough for me. My neighbor put me onto how to store them. Bless her sweet heart.

 

[pepperhead212]

Freezing kills some insect eggs, but not all; in fact, for the most part only the ones from the warmer areas are killed by freezing. Eggs are the way most insects in temperate and colder areas survive the winter! Of course, if you have one of those commercial freezers, that go to - 40°, or below, like they use sometimes for sterilization of sushi, that would probably kill most of them! lol

I'm one of those people who stores almost all of those things in glass. Chili peppers were the first thing I ever had infested, and started keeping all of those in glass, and later on, all of those beans and grains. I have a few large plastic containers, with vacuum valves, and rubber seals, but they are the only plastic ones I use.

I have one of those H Markets near me. It is mostly a Korean market, but the produce section is incredible! This store is rather small, but I think that the produce is half of the store!

 

[dragnlaw]

I'm not sure I understand you pepperhead. My picture of the rice is in a glass jar.