This place is an absolute gem for the neighborhood! It is clearly a well-run family business; you…read morecan really feel the pride of ownership and the personal care they put into the shop. Beyond the great atmosphere, the inventory is surprisingly deep. They stock a fantastic selection of hard-to-find goods that I usually struggle to locate anywhere else. We are lucky to have a spot like this in the 'hood. Highly recommended!

Always amazing products in stock and the people are always friendly and warm. I purchased freshly…read moremade Biltong and honey bush tea. The kids also took home some treats. I will be coming back for another visit soon!

A small store front with some great specialty items. Go for the Portuguese egg tarts (Pasties de…read morenata). Freshly baked and delicious.

Today i went to Beira mar and i had an awesome service and good quality imports and also the place…read morewas very pleasant that i even had a late and lunch it was very good . Many thanks

Love this place, even though its cramped like a sardine tin! My favorite place to get hummus (best…read morehummus in the city--it's on the label), fresh cheeses, spices, legumes, and fresh pizza dough! I have been coming to this shop for years. I love viewing all the sauces and dips they have (many of them are European). The place is tight but they pack every inch with a wide variety of products. My go to is to grab their pizza dough, sauce, and fresh cheese and make, at home, the best pizzas! Prices are the best in the city. The people who work their are so helpful and on top of things.

Friendly, helpful staff. Great selection of canned goods, frozen goods and deli meats…read more Yummy samosas and the best hummus!! Highly suggest checking it out

They had what I wanted. Powdered pounded yam! And melon seeds for egusi soup with powded yam…read more Nostalgia food from when I was in Nigeria 45 years ago. Two years there and you get a bit of a longing for some simpler things. There was NO "cuisine" in Nigeria but local foods like this are unique to Nigeria and surrounding West African nations.

Great grocery for real shea butter direct from the Ghana…read more Love the friendly owners/staff. It is best to call before you come. A very happy experience and vibes at this spot. Thank you for the kind smiles and laughs.

Was around the neighbourhood and my significant other needed some supplies, that to make some…read morehome-made broth for her pho. We already passed up a few other locations and I remembered this place, I haven't been here in years, so I didn't know what to expect. Most people who live in the Lower Mainland might not come to this place, as it literally is in the (as my friend use to say) "armpit" of Canada. From the amount of beggers, crack whores, drug dealers, drug takers, let's just say this is not the rainbow and unicorns neighbourhood of town. I found parking a block up, and once we exited the car, a person asked us if we had any change.... yes... this is a stones throw away from Hastings and Main! We entered, and the guy working here was unloading, and putting things away, as well as setting up the front display of food items, and my dear went off in her world to look for items. This place is spacious, no overloading of shelves, no narrow aisles, no short store, this place is pretty wide, and pretty long. We started on the left side, walking down their open refrigerated section, you see very clean, and packaged vegetables. Anything from Thai chili's, Thai basil, mini limes, coriander, green onions, bean sprouts, just to name a few, everything had their own packaging where you could see what your buying, and everything was, as I said, clean! Through the aisles we noticed stuff like shrimp paste, sections of Sriracha sauce, fish sauce, cane sugar, brown sugar, cans of bamboo, powdered soup broth for your favorite pho dishes, laksa sauces, a variety of different rice noodles, even labelled by the width of the noodle. This place is a specialty store, and one I wouldn't hesitate on sending anyone too, sure you have to actually get out of your car, or go down there with public transit, and open your eyes to a different part of society. Sometimes part of the journey of making your dish at home, is the journey less spoken, that of where the hell you got your ingredients. The words, "you can't believe where I went to get this stuff" may come out of your mouth the next time you actually decide to prepare a Thai, Viet, Cambodian, Malaysian, Indonesian, etc..., dish... but if your working through some cookbook that is telling you things you need for a particular dish that you have no clue where to get cause your normal supermarket wouldn't have a clue what it is.... you maybe surprised here by finding it. The one thing we were looking for.. which they didn't have was freshly package pho noodles..... as all of the noodles we saw were dry, can't win them all!

Being Thai- speaks for itself now. I should know where to shop right? Right?…read more This is the only bona fide place to get That ingredients if you want that authentic green curry with real Thai eggplant (so round and cute, definitely not long and skinny which will give you soggy eggplant) or the hard to find actual Kaffir limes (not just the leaves) for your tom yum soup. Pick up some "real" oyster sauce for your Pad Bai Graprow, and the grapow leaves too (Thai basil). There's so much more, from frozen desserts, great Jasmine rice, rice noodles, and on and on and on.. spices. BUT, caveat, its in a sketch neighbourhood on East Hastings, druggies, street merchants (which are not necessarily sketch), homeless folks (also not necessarily sketch). So you might feel a bit out of place if you plan on sliding up in your Range Rover or Mercedes. But that's just a feeling, nothing bad will happen. It's not the prettiest of places, it's a big warehouse kind of space, no cute labels and fun signs, just the facts and prices. Ladies who work there, super nice, super helpful. A lot of things are kept in the back so use your big girl voice and ask for things if you can't find it. Delivery day seems to be Friday, so the weekend is a good time to go in. Prices are so good, I don't know why anyone and I mean ANYONE would buy Thai ingredients in the Asian food aisle in the supermarket. Case and point, fish sauce should never, ever cost more than $2 for the largest size bottle. EVER. You're welcome. Happy Thai shopping, cooking and eating :)

I am a big fan of South China Seas at Granville Island and I actually went all the way to this…read morelocation from the west side to see what they had to offer. I found this shop in an unlikely place in the middle of a housing neighbourhood near Commercial Drive. The shop is quite small to my surprise but that's probably because I didn't see the kitchen. It's well stocked with uncommon spices and herbs such as fresh galangal and fresh green peppercorns and other rare ingredients. They also sell paella kits, mortar and pestle, cookbooks and more. However, I find the selections very similar to the Granville location and there's really no incentive for me to travel all the way to Victoria Drive. But if you live in the east side, this is great place for people to get a hold of ingredients they've never tried before without having to squeeze their car into the already crowded Granville Island. Pop some galangal into soups or use coconut water in your stew. Life is indeed too short for boring food.

Cute, clean shop with awesome service and a great selection of exotic ingredients from all over the…read moreworld. Came here in hopes of finding a few hard-to-source chiles for an enchilada sauce; left with two bags full of amazing imports. Mexican cheeses, fresh and dried chiles, corn tortillas, hot sauce, tomatillos -- this place is paradise. Even better, the woman behind the till (owner perhaps?) was super knowledgeable and loaded us up with some extra freebies of produce she couldn't sell. We will be back!

Can get good Indian stuff on food , However fresh Indian vegetables still missing . Fresh…read morevegetables and fruits does not carry taste

Came here looking for some hard to find Indian ingredients. Only place in Vancouver where I could…read morefind Amchur powder (powdered mango) and Kasoori Methi. I didn't bother browsing --its a warren in there-- and instead asked the staff where to find what I needed. The staff were very helpful!

You name it and they have it. Yes!! Latino , Mexican , puarto Vallarta grocery hub. It's neat and…read moreclean with a good ventilation in place. In the beginning of the grocery store there are tables and chairs to sit because they serve Mexican finger food freshly prepared at the back of the store which is open and live. All products especially fresh tamarind is available here, drinks and other kitchen supplies are clearly priced for the shoppers. Great lively music play in the speakers and staff is just a call away to help you with anything in the store.

This grocery has everything authentic needed for cooking Mexican and South American food- all…read morevarieties of dried peppers and spices, as well as Mexican chocolate and frozen foods. Wonderful staff that are very helpful and give GREAT advice. Lovely well-lit store with accessible names and available products.