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East Asia Market

Great bargains, kind of creepy

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If I had to pick a favorite food genre, Asian cuisine would right up there. It has everything I love: noodles, tofu, vegetables and lots and lots of salt! The only thing missing is cheese, which is why it will never be my absolute number one. Also, ingredients for Asian inspired meals at a regular grocery store can be pricey.

They don't have to be. Enter East Asia Market.

I haven't shopped at the EAM for sometime because, well frankly, it creeps me out a little bit. Strange smells, lots of animal parts, and the building needs some serious attention. However, all of this is fairly easy to get over once you begin to explore their intriguing inventory.

Good luck getting by all the New Year sweets and treats at the entrance like the candied ginger pieces and coconut milk flavored rice cakes. Once you escape those be sure to check out the live Dungeness crab for $2.89 a pound. Fortunately they are all alive but not kicking. Clearly doom and depression has set in.

Fresh whole tilapia at $1.79 a pound looked really good, but who wants to clean it? Headless mud carp anyone? Nothing says deal like frozen chicken parts in a tub. OK, OK, aside for my aversion to dead stuff with faces, the condiments and canned/jarred items blow me away.

Lee Kum Kee Hoisin Sauce is only $2.69 for the 36-ounce bottle; Great for barbeque sauce. Panda Oyster Sauce can be had for $2.99 for the 32-ounce bottle, as well as a huge jar of spring roll sauce, which is really garlic chili sauce for $1.89.

Now I am a pretty savvy foodie, or I at least think I am, so when I run across something I've never heard of, I have to have it. Even if most likely I will hate it. Ever had "grass jelly"? Yeah, just don't. It's an acquired taste. The great thing about most Asian food is that it is what it says it is. I was hoping in the case of "grass jelly" this was not true, but it is.

What I would like to see at East Asia Market is more tofu. The selection is pretty weak, which surprises me. Also, there was no fish cake to be found, and I LOVE fish cake. I have to remember this is not the fabulous Uwajimia market in Seattle.

Another interesting discovery is that EAM dabbles in Mexican ingredients too. It has a wonderful selection of spices, peppers, beans (dried and canned), mole sauce, and much, much more. And your Mexican inspired meal would be complete without some yellow onions at only .29 cents a pound!

I highly recommend East Asia Market for many items in your kitchen. It just really depends on how adventurous and brave you are.

[East Asia Market, 602 S. 38th St., Tacoma, 253.473.3799]

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