Was around the neighbourhood and my significant other needed some supplies, that to make some home-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! read more

Asia Market - Far left side, spacious, roomy, and you will be mesmerized as to the stuff you find in here. - International Grocery Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Being Thai- speaks for itself now. I should know where to shop right? Right? 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 :) read more

Thank you Boot for the outstanding service and helpful advice today. So nice to find authentic Thai ingredients, reasonably priced. I will definitely be back! (I should have bought a green curry while I was there). read more

As previous reviewers have already said, this is the place to go if you're cooking up any Southeast Asian food and can't find the right ingredient... or at least the fresh version. Don't worry about the location - it's in the heart of the DTES but my wife and I walked in there after work in our suits and such and the street peeps paid us no mind. The guy in the store was super helpful as we're new to cooking Thai food. He gave us some excellent pointers and introduced us to a few ingredients that aren't found in any other store in Vancouver. Fresh veggies come in every Friday. I'd imagine this is where all the restaurants shop for their exotic Thai herbs so get there early. read more

My trip to Southeast Asia last year ignited a love of Thai cuisine and cooking, and just recently I was on a quest to find a decent Southeast Asian grocery store when I discovered Asia Market. Husband and I were on our way downtown for dinner one particular Saturday when I asked to stop in to pick up some ingredients for a recipe I had been wanting to make. The area is horrible, I'm not going to sugar coat it. I had my husband wait in the car up the street while I ran in. There were people hanging around the front of the store selling items, but I didn't get hassled by anybody. It's not a place you would feel safe at night time, but the daytime is better. The interior of the store is spacious, clean, and modestly stocked. I wish I had more time to browse the aisles, but I had arrived literally 5 minutes before store closing and we had dinner reservations, so I only had time to look for what I needed. The Thai lady working at the check-out (the only employee I saw in the store) was very kind and offered to help me find the various types of dark and sweet Thai soy sauce I needed for my recipe. Prices for the bottles were very reasonable, less than $4 each - and they were large bottles too. I also noticed they sold some items like noodles and sauces for cheaper prices than what you would see at the bigger chain Asian grocery stores. In the end I purchased 3 tall bottles of sauce and a jar of tamarind paste for my homemade pad thai -- all for about $10. Sweet! Despite the shady location, I loved the store and would definitely come back. It was authentically Thai and brought back wonderful memories of my trip last year. I only wish the location was a bit closer to home (and in a better neighborhood), but the journey was worth it. I've definitely found my go-to store for Southeast Asian ingredients. read more

Looking to make something Thai, but overwhelmed with an extensive ingredient list? Look no further than Chua A Asia Market. A spacious store with excellent products including fresh herbs - Galangal, Thai Basil, pureed Lemongrass, Palm Sugar - it's all here with excellent service. They're importing a line of authentic curry sauces from Thailand that are to die for, as well as a killer Pad Thai sauce that will have you from pot to plate in 20 minutes. This is where local chefs shop... read more

After leaving empty-handed and overwhelmed from two other southeast asian grocery stores ( which will not be named here), we stepped into this little hidden gem of a grocery store. Immediately, we are greeted with a modest, clean space with nice, neat aisles, which is more than can be said about the other two places we went to. Anyway, onward with this review... We bumbled in with a cookbook of Thai recipes in hand and managed to find most of our fresh ingredients (galangal, lemongrass, baby eggplant, thai basil, finger root, fresh chilis etc...) and the rest of our dry ingredients with assistance from a friendly staff member, Deer ( pronounced as Dia, I think). She went as far as to lead us around the store with our cookbook, point out where everything was, even made suggestions as to which products were preferred in thailand and what she would personally use in her own cooking! A note about fresh ingredients: Deer told us that fresh ingredients are generally arrive on Mondays, so that would probably be the best time to visit for the most choice. We visited on Saturday night and some things were sold out (hence, one lost star) All in all, this will definitely be our go-to place when the mood strikes to cook some authentic thai food!!! read more

No frill store with hard to find Thai and other south east asian produce. Yes they do have Thai Iced Tea leaves and tea socks Ask the owners for the curry paste locals use, the Green Curry knocked my socks off. read more

Was able to find most everything I needed for proper street pad thai like I've had in Bangkok. As others have noted, unlike a lot of places (you know who you are T&T), the owner is extremely helpful. I particularly like many of the ingredients are effectively in bulk, so you're not forced to buy a giant bunch of thai basil when you need a few leaves, or a bag full of peppers. One thing I forgot to buy was banana blossoms, so not sure if they carry those. The green papaya was excellent and the only place I have ever seen actual Thai Green Papaya (including the place on Granville Island). Prices are very reasonable, in some cases (magrut or keffir limes), about half what they can be other places. As the fresh stuff can be hit and miss since it gets shipped from Thailand, be sure to call ahead if you are going for something specific to make sure they have it. There is street parking right out front. Yes, it's a "scary" neighbourhood, but it's not that bad, especially when we were there on a Saturday morning. read more

I used to go to their Hasting's location, but they moved to Kingsway and Boundary. Their store is not well stocked as when they were on Hastings street downtown, but that isn't their fault as import requirements are monitored very strictly by the government (Bilingual labels). However, I spoke with the owners and they would try to get you anything you want if you ask them to get it to their store. The owners are very friendly. They carry lots of foods from Thailand and some from Indonesia. Will visit them again. read more

The store was rather poorly lit and felt like a warehouse, but it had a lot of fresh Southeast Asian herbs and spices. I found fresh galangal, kaffir lime leaves, kaffir limes, Thai basil, and green Thai chilis. The owner was also very nice and helpful. The area is iffy so be careful, but as long as you go during the day you should be fine. read more

Was in Vancouver over the weekend and had a hankerin' for some Thai cooking. A quick Google search for "thai ingredients vancouver" yielded Chua A Asia Market located on the ever-so-charming East Hastings Street, right near where Main and Hastings meet. Despite the terrible neighborhood (I've never seen so many heroin junkies in one place in my lifetime), the market was well-lit, staffed by a friendly, elderly lady, and full of all the Thai ingredients I was looking for. Was able to find a lot of things I wasn't able to find easily in Seattle too - fried rice powder, Thai eggplant, ground bird chilies, for instance - and the prices were quite cheap. The woman behind the counter readily helped me find things I was looking for, and wished me a happy New Year on my way out. Overall, a really enjoyable experience - if you don't mind walking through the freaky neighborhood. Will absolutely shop there again! read more

I am surprised somewhat to see the four and five star ratings for this business. I didn't want to put 2 stars would have preferred to put 2.5 but don't see how to do that. My wife is Thai so perhaps we have a higher standard of what to expect, but the two times we have been to this store we found it to be amazingly messy and totally lacking in any sort of organization. Products seem to be all over the store with no rhyme or reason. We also found a number of items on the shelves that had already passed their expiry date, so do keep an eye out for that. The days we have been there the produce section was poorly stocked and looked like it just got off a 18 hour flight from Siam. All in all there are a couple of things that my wife can't find anywhere else so she heads back to this store but other than that she can find 90% of her Thai cooking needs in cleaner, newer, brighter stores (usually in Richmond) without having to step over all the Junkies.. read more

Not sure when it happened but as of March 2018, Asia Market is closed and the space is for lease.

Great place to pick up fresh and packaged grocery items from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and elsewhere in SE Asia. For example, you can get frozen locally made tempeh, different types of fresh chillis and cooking ingredients, snacks, sauces and so on. If you enjoy cooking SE Asian, shop here. The owner is very friendly, too, and if you ask about missing items he can usually tell you when they will next be in stock. read more

Never mind the non-descript store front and dubious location in Vancouver's Downtown East Side, this market is a little gem awaiting discovery by those looking for a wide variety of well priced Thai products, some of which I've never found anywhere else in Vancouver. To be sure, the store can be a bit daunting and overwhelming to the uninitiated, but the staff are super friendly and helpful. If you show an interest in Thai cooking they will soon be showing you new ingredients and explaining new dishes for you to try. Next to the friendly staff, I'm most impressed with the array of fresh and often rare Thai goods that are consistently in stock. In addition to the more common items such as galangal, lemon grass, red & green bird's eye chillis and Thai basil, you usually will find the more rare items such as holy basil, kaffir limes, fresh kaffir lime leaves, finger root, green Thai papayas, big red chillis, fresh green peppercorns, Thai apple eggplant, Thai pea eggplant, yellow eggplant and pandan leaves. Occasionally on a lucky day you will even spot the elusive coriander roots. The rest of the store offers a wide variety of items including the basic Thai staples such as palm sugar, dried shiitake mushrooms, Golden Mountain Sauce, a wide variety of quality curry and chili pastes, sweet / dark / white soy sauces, coconut milk, rice noodles, dried chillis...just to get started. read more

There are a lot of ingredients from Thailand , Vietnam , Malaysia , etc. staffs are friendly . The bad thing is the location. There are many homeless guys selling drugs near by. Its quite scary . read more