PSA: There is (FINALLY) an Asian grocery store in Richmond Hill! Can you believe it? Silk Road Market (SRM) completes the availability of Asian grocery stores in the three main cities in this area (3 in Savannah, 1 in Pooler and now 1 in RH).
A friend told me about Silk Road Market (SRM) last week, so of course, I had to check it out! SRM is located in the Ways Station at the Crossroads shopping center, in the corner lot between Midnight Star Pottery and The Book Store on the Hill.
- Parking -
Center lot.
- Service -
The owners are a husband and wife team. The husband was present at the time of my visit and he was really nice. He told me that they had been open for a couple of months already and that it was going well. He has been overwhelmed with the response they have been getting, which makes me smile because that just goes to show the NEED for specialty grocery stores even in small towns like RH!
- The Goods -
The shop is well spaced out, giving the impression that it is well stocked, but not stuffy or disorganized.
When you first walk in, to the left, there are baskets of snacks and produce that do not require refrigeration propped on wooden box crates. There are things like Korean Sweet White Potatoes (my fave!), garlic, squash etc. The left wall is lined with the freezers filled with dumplings, seafood, Korean fish cakes and refrigerators with kimchi (made in-house) tofu and produce that do require refrigeration like herbs, different variety of mushrooms (Enoki, King Oyster, Shiitake), cilantro, watercress (yes!), Thai Sweet Basil, bok choy, Japanese eggplants (win!), Perilla (sesame) leaves (say what?!), Nappa cabbage, fresh Kaffir lime leaves (yaaaaaaas!), etc. There is also a small stand alone fridge (kind of looks like those drink fridges at the checkout aisle) on the back wall, by the back office, that have Korean daikon radish which are fatter (can I get a whoop whoop?) and Japanese daikon radish which are thinner and longer. This is amazing (for me)! Most of the produce is already portioned, packaged and priced.
There are 4 aisles:
1st - mostly dried goods and dried noodles (variety of rice, pho noodles, pancit canton noodles, rice sticks etc., rice papers)
2nd - sauces and canned goods
3rd - instant ramen noodles and snacks
4th - housewares (love this section, brings me back to the markets in Asia) and coffees and teas
I picked up a few things, but this visit was more to check out the shop. My friend had told me about SRM AFTER I had done a major shopping trip at Viet Huong in Savannah a few day prior (I'm like, Nooooow you tell me LOL). They seem to carry a good mix of products of most of the Asian countries (except Indian, didn't see any Indian products). For me, the produce section is the biggest win in any Asian grocery store. You can do one trip every few months of dried/canned goods and condiments that will last you for awhile, but it's the produce that I need more often.
Love that SRM has come to RH and that the community has embraced it! The owner told me that they've had a hard time keeping the shelves stocked, which is great because as a biz owner, that's a good problem to have and as a customer, that means faster turnover for the produce which means fresher! Also, another note, the prices are pretty reasonable at SRM. Even though stores like Publix and Kroger have diversified their International sections, the prices tend to be a bit higher.
COVID-19 observations:
Owner was wearing a mask and so were the customers.
Stay safe, Friends and happy cooking! Oh, btw, on their Facebook page, they share Asian recipes so you can get some inspo and plan ahead! read more