ADR Guide: The capital’s best Asian supermarkets
Mad about mochi? Silly for seaweed? Crackers for kimchi? If you’re looking to expand your culinary pallet, or you’re missing tastes from home, there’s some great Asian supermarkets in Abu Dhabi selling a wide range of foods from countries including Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
1004 Gourmet
Nestled inside Boutik Mall on Reem Island in the capital, 1004 Gourmet sells grub from Japan, Thailand, China, Korea, and Taiwan. Those countries cover a massive range of savoury and sweet dishes, and inside you’ll find cans of Ocean Bomb flavoured sparkling water (check out the cute characters on the cans - we recommend the pear flavour) and red bean-flavoured ice flakes (also in a cute up, but this time with a penguin on it). Adventurous seafood lovers can try a tin of canned whelks, and we were particularly impressed with their range of frozen dumplings. You can also buy non-alcoholic Asahi here.
QKO
You’ll find QKO in Yas Mall – and this outlet sells kitchenware, toys, beauty products and bags as well as a wide range of foodstuff. This place is a real treasure trove – you can buy K-Secret Collagen Boosting Secret Sleeping Masks from Korea, and we also love this Artbox mug with its cute pajama sisters logo. Food on offer includes Vegan-friendly instant noodles from Yamadai, a great range of ramen products, dried seaweed snacks, and a fun range of canvas bags, such as the one here. QKO is an established brand in the UAE now, which has been in business here since 2015.
Madang Market
Close to Abu Dhabi’s Corniche and Qasr Al Hosn is Madang, a Korean supermarket. Some of the more fun food items on sale include honey and butter flavoured crisps, Japanese-style mochi from Bamboo House, egg cookies, kimbap with tuna (small triangles of rice wrapped in sheets of dried seaweed) and the classic Korean food, kimchi. Want even more obscure flavours? How about some walnut-flavoured ice-cream?
Deans Fujiya
Deans Fujiya has been selling a wide range of goods from the Far East in the UAE since 2005, with some eclectic products on offer. Fancy trying Belgium chocolate-flavoured water? Or how about some sweet potato-flavoured vanilla and red bean ice cream? You’ll also find here a wafer/chocolate/vanilla ice cream that has gone viral on Instagram – the Choco Monaka Jumbo. There’s plenty of savoury dishes on offer as well, including boiled octopus’ leg. It’s best to order online, although they have a branch in Diera in Dubai.
