It was about seven years ago that I was fully introduced to the wonders and flavours of a truly…read moreauthentic Thai meal. I had gone over to my friends house, and she had brought a load of ingredients from Paya Thai Market to make a Thai green curry - my first ever one. I watched as she laid out herbs that I had never seen - kaffir lime leaves, sweet basil. The vegetables too - I had never eaten baby aubergines, or seen them in supermarkets. The meal was so good that I can still remember the taste of the flavours in my mouth as I sit here. Since then, whenever I have wanted to make a Thai curry, I have come here. My favourite discovery at Paya Thai is the red paste, sold in containers. There are no artificial ingredients in it whatsoever, just chilli's and herbs. I still get the baby aubergines here, as well as big bunches of herbs that are always cheaper then in other supermarkets. It is a well stocked market, and does ingredients from all different regions of Asia, so this place can be visited for plenty of culinary reasons. The food is always reassuringly inexpensive, and on my way out, I always make sure I pick up their jumbo sized bags of Thai crackers!

Anytime I need ingredients for a delicious home-cooked Thai dish, I head to Paya Thai Market…read more I really like the layout of the market. Ingredients common to several Asian cuisines are grouped together (fish sauce, for example). All other ingredients are generally grouped together by cuisine. So for example, coconut milk and Thai curry pastes are in the Thai area, while rice vinegar and panko bread crumbs are together in the Japanese section. The selection of ingredient is impressive. The rice section carries a few different varieties of Thai rice including Jasmine and glutenous rice, and Thai curry pastes, including my personal favorite, panang. Also, you can get a pretty good selection of spices for usually no more than 80p per packet. It's an especially good deal considering Tesco will charge about three times the price for a third of an amount of ingredient. The only downside is that Paya does not accept cards for purchases under £10. So if you're not certain how much you are looking to buy exactly, make sure you have some cash on with you.

Finally a sushi restaurant like NYC, I can't believe it. We have tries a number of places and…read morealmost gave up. The Salmon sashimi was the largest I have ever had and it was fresh and delicious. The eel was top notch, I highly recommend this place to people who want to eat REAL sushi in London. We will definitely be back for more. Hooray my sushi fulfillment is back on track.

My boyfriend and I are big sushi lovers, so after seeing that after only 3 months of being in…read morebusiness, Oka was already rated #2 for all restaurants in Kingston, we had to visit. We went along on a Thursday night, it was quite quiet, apparently uncharacteristically so according to our waitress. Straight away we received a friendly welcome, and the good service lasted all through our meal. I'm a vegetarian and ordered the vegetable sushi assortment, and a side of fried tofu. When my food arrived, I was amazed at how beautifully presented and fresh everything looked. The food didn't disappoint, it was tasty, fresh and left me feeling the way all good Japanese food does; full and content without feeling bloated or stuffed. My boyfriend had the spicy prawns and mixed sushi, he was blown away by the prawns, which were a special on the day we visited, and also very happy with the sushi. The price isn't super cheap, we paid about £15 per head, but we felt that for the quality of the food and the overall experience, it was more than fair. Will be recommending Oka to all my friends.

An ideal venue for homesick South Africans or curious locals; you'll get a warm welcome here even…read moreif you wander in shortly before closing time, as I did the other day. Meat eaters will be spoilt for choice, with the slightly baffling array of biltong on sale here. You'll need to be adventurous to try some of the selection... If you've visited SA and enjoyed their delicious exotic fruit varieties, you can recapture the essence of your holidays here with Liquifruit juices or dried fruit bars. Reminisce too, with Peppermint Crisp bars and musk chewing gum... If Rugby's your game and you're not too hurt over the World Cup result, you can get the shirts here, at a price...

It's a South African shop that sells biltong and other South African greats .. A little slice of…read morehome ..

Soo much pretty packaging...Soo colourful...and HELLO KITTY SWEETIES!…read more My local Japanese supermarket is rather handy if i don't get a chance to pop in to Rice wine or The Japan centre in London. Kewpie mayonnaise, miso paste, noodles, pickled daikon, hi chews and frozen gyoza are all staples on my shopping list. It costs about £5 for a bag of 30 frozen gyoza, which on first glance seems expensive..but if i am willing to pay £4 at Wagamamas for 5, then it works out to be a bargain! They have an extensive fresh fish counter, and make sushi to order. Damn good sushi, and i don't even like sushi that much. The staff are always very friendly, and it's open til 7pm on a Sunday which just impresses me.

Stopped in for some fish and boy was it worth the one hour drive. Being new to London we drove…read morefrom the Northside to tour Wimbeldom so it was fairly close to the village by car. Really pleasent and friendly staff. Growing up in Vancouver Canada and then spending a lot time in San Fran I have a high bar for sushi fish. The salmon, tuna, scallops, and surf clam was really good. The salmon on hand that day didn't look that nice in terms of skin trimming etc but it tasted excellent. The scallops and surf clam did not smell at all fishy as they usually have a very short shelf life. Tuna was above average but not premium. Overall a great experience and I recommend.

I visited there during my Londontrip, because I love Korea. I was happy to see a huge range of…read moreproducts there, even bigger than those we have in Berlin. Here they have many different korean drinks, what I really liked. Also a lot of sweets, selfmade Kimbap and some totally other products you wouldn't expect. Even some notepapers and salt... I will visit there again next week during my short return to London. The prices are allright for the UK. If the shop was in Germany I'd say expensive. We can get things cheaper here, but out there in Seoul Plaza at UK is the better and bigger range of korean products. So for me, Seoul Plaza wins and I'm sad, that I live far.

Everything you need to make a Korean feast can be found here, including genuine Korean maple…read moresyrup. There's a larger Seoul Plaza around the corner, but Seoul Plaza 2 manages to pack a punch in a small space. I got a couple of interesting items that I hadn't seen elsewhere such as pumpkin noodles. Prices are low, and I even got a 2 for 1 soft tofu discount.

If you suddenly realise you have run out of Kimchi...this is the place to come. They have ALL…read morethings Korean here, and a few japanese goodies too. It's fresh fresh fresh. They have an extensive meat counter, and lots of ready-made dishes to take home...chapchae, dumplings..and various other tasty looking stuff. And there are always free samples of fresh fruit by the checkout. A nice healthy touch! It's open until 9.30 pm too! Marvellous.

Sometimes it's hard to believe but there are mainstream companies that have a heart where profit…read moreisn't the sole raison d'etre. I admire this clever idea, that has recently been put into action, at select branches of the high street supermarket chain. Once you've paid for your shopping, the cashier will hand you a little green plastic token (at no extra cost). On your way out, you'll notice three large, transparent, plastic containers filled - to varying degrees - with the little green 'buttons'. Above each container, there's a summary of information relating to each local project, charity or good cause. After reading about them, you make your choice, deciding which container is most worthy of your token, place it in the green-'coin' slot and, at the end of the month, Waitrose will divide and donate £1000, accordingly, between the three chosen causes. Each month the selected local good causes change; if you have a deserving project in mind there are leaflets on-hand for you to provide details for consideration. What a brilliant, original and smile-inducing idea!

A great Waitrose stocking loads of the regular stuff and also a wide range of ethnic, gluten free…read morefoods and all sorts of obscure products and the chocolate range is awesome. The fish counter is good and well dispalyed and so is the cheese counter. Late Saturdays the most of the fresh bread is gone :-). Only Waitrose staff know exactly where anything is. AND THEY WILL PERSONALLY TAKE YOU THERE unlike other supermarkets where staff just go it's over there ! Food is always good quality and they will willingly take something back if it's not of the required standard. excellent range of beers and ciders.

it was an amazing experience. the man there was very helpful and directed me to what i wanted. They…read morealso sold foods at an amazing price.

Lots of fresh fruit and veg as well as the usual sundries. Some european cakes and sweets too.read more

From the owner: Welcome to Ecklee, your one stop shop for culinary delights and excellent foods from all around the…read moreworld. Ecklee is the Arabic for "My Food," and that's what we're about: anything food. We specialize in foods from around the world. We stock a wide variety of teas and coffees, herbs and spices, chocolates, Mediterranean sweets, cooking sauces and pickles. We now offer a wide selection of kitchenware products from the renowned Legnoart Emotions and Classic ranges. We bring you the best food and kitchen products from around the globe

Deepak Food and Wine is a store I wish I'd discovered before spending hundreds of Pounds at the big…read morename grocery stores. Deepak specialises in Middle Eastern, Indian and Mediterranean foods. And is it cheap! You'll find lots of interesting foodstuffs for around half the price you'll find them at the nearest high street grocery store. Deepak is also a spice haven: their spice section extends along two lengthy aisles. They're also really good for cheap fresh fruit and vegetables, though if there is one thing they fall a little short on it's their selection of fresh meat. Deepak is a must do if you're looking to fill your cupboards with food!

Brilliant selection of spices, herbs and lesser spotted food stuffs from around the globe…read more Something different every time too. This is where local restaurant owners shop and their fare is anything to go by you wont go wrong here. Avocados are the best here, forget your big name superstores, shop deepak