Shopping Mekong

It sure looks like a variant of an American supermarket, perhaps of the discount genre.

The minute you get past the cashier barrier, though, you know you're in foreign territory.

Maybe that's why you've hesitated to shop at Mekong Market.

After all, if you're just interested in throwing together a little Americanized stir fry, you're likely to find just about all you need to your larger local supermarket.

But if you really love exploring ethnic cuisines, and if you want to add a huge new dimension to your family dinners without resorting to going out or foraging take out…ya gotta try this.

This region has dozens of ethnic markets that can give you not just different tastes on your table - but a little taste of other cultures, too.

Some of the largest food and gift markets around offer delicacies and pantry staples from every corner of the Asian world.

Mekong's not a mammoth market, but it's laid out in a fashion that's vaguely related to what Americans tend to think of as a "supermarket."

First, those huge bins of fruit and vegetables in front are just major indicators of produce specials. Last week there was also a large display of immense golden pigs and apples - it's new year's, after all!

Step inside. Take a minute to get used to the atmosphere. Asian muzak is not necessarily familiar to American ears, but it's a good reminder this is a different kind of store.

Once beyond the cashier line barrier, move to the right for frozen foods, meats and seafood.

The meat and seafood department straddles frozen and fresh; everything is labeled, and you will know most of the seafood, fish and meats.

(Okay - you probably don't use duck tongues, chicken feet or even snail meat every day. But neither do most Asian cooks, and if you have the right recipe, you just might try these in your own kitchen.

Next to the meat and seafood department, you'll find the freezer cases. These aren't labeled, aside from specific food items, so you'll want to browse a little. There's only a small section devoted to desserts or sweets, but it includes examples from India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan.

Against the back wall are refrigerated cases, holding eggs, tofu, noodles, kimchi in several versions, and more.

Aisles are stacked more than 10 feet up, but the highest shelves are clearly the in-store warehouse system.

These are organized, but not in the way you might expect. We'll explore these more carefully in a next post, when we'll also get to the produce and prepared food section at Mekong Market.

Pan-Asian

Exploring Mekong Plaza

I love Mekong Plaza (Mesa, on Dobson, between Apache and Broadway). I love its cool, pale marble floors and I love the lions near the entrance and I love the soothing splash of water inside.

It is a cool space, scented with the notion of lemongrass and ginger and hot, spicy oil.

And I love Mekong Supermarket.

True, not LeeLee’s, but then, it would be hard to come up to that mammoth. I love LeeLee’s, too, but Mekong is like the cool neighbor down the block, while LeeLee’s is the super-cosmopolitan world traveler. One with a gigantic backpack of goods and groceries.

What I also love about Mekong are the really friendly and chatty Hispanic guys behind the butcher and seafood counters at Mekong. Essay a “Como esta?” after “Hola!” and they will tell you all you want to know about the day’s offerings (they’ll do this in English, by the way, so not to worry you’ll need a translator!).

Mekong features a good array of seafood and fresh fish, much of it cleaned and prepped, more offered in its entirety. There’s also an extensive frozen selection. True – this isn’t an array as boggling as the giant’s, but there’s more than enough to satisfy most kitchen needs and then some.

I’ll be heading toward Mekong later, and will have few more details about the fish and meat counters. Then we’ll move ahead to explore the produce section and all those intriguing aisles stacked 10 or 12 feet high.