Does what it says on the tin... *ba-dum-cha*…read more Jokes aside, a shop with a brilliant collection of spice mixes, sauces and other cooking ingredients of that variety. It is a little pricey, but from what I could tell, everything is ethically sourced and the shopkeeper really knew her stuff (I asked her about smoky spice mixes and she spent a fair bit of time explaining types she could recommend and the differences between them).

Super cool spice shop with all sorts of goodies…read more They have their own spice blends, tea, curries, tons of hot sauces, and everything else you'd need to *spice* up your cooking (duh). They also have their own book for sale!

Situated opposite Waitrose on Western Road, this is an interesting supermarket, focusing on Asian…read morecuisine, with the emphasis on natural, organic and fairly-traded produce. The array of exotic fresh herbs and spices is impressive, but they also do a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables and dairy products, which are as locally sourced as possible. They also have an extensive range of special diet products - for example, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian products, and organic baby food. Prices vary hugely, though: pittas are very good value, for example, but some other items are more expensive. But with such a wide range it is unlikely you won't be able to find what you want. The main downer - as others have said - is the staff, who vary from friendly to downright dismissive. The other particular gripe is the awkward queuing system, that means that on every visit, someone who has arrived later has ended up getting served before me.

I'm sorry but it has to be a 5...I have never ever seen such an amazing assortment of (mainly)…read moreAsian food...wow...that is in addition to all the usual fruit & veg...everything you ever wanted and more including things you have never heard of or seen! If only there were more like this. No wonder it was full of people from every clime and shore...brilliant...we took the opportunity to stock up on a few things we can't get anywhere but we really had to restrain ourselves...good thing we don't live in Brighton! Go there - its worth it; ignore prices...if you want it they've got it

If you want to cook Oriental food, but cook it properly then this should be your port of call,…read moreopposed to Sainsbury's or Tesco. Firstly, you will get way more produce for your money and also was more items that you would ever see on a supermarket shelf. As a chef, this place has allowed me to cook far more dishes than I would have been able to without the stock they sell. From expected noodles and soy sauce to palm sugar, if it's in a recipe they will likely sell it. There is also a nice range of cooking items like woks and crockery all at decent prices. What I also like is having a hunt through the freezer compartments for dumplings, Chinese buns and dim sum. You can even get random Chinese sweets like white rabbit candy (very tasty). The owner is a really sweet lady, who will happily have a little chat and offer the odd cooking tip. You will also find a lot of adverts on the shop front for Oriental cooking lessons, which would be a good way to get more out the shop. A very nice supermarket that offers something a little out of the ordinary.

I've got a real soft spot for places like this - speciallity foods but without the high prices…read moreand pretension. This is somewhere for real cooks, who want to make Oriental food properly, with authentic ingredients. They have all the basics - sweet chilli, soy, noodles rice - that you can get anywhere, but at much better prices and with a better range than any supermarket. They also stock lots of things that you won't find everywhere - unusual herbs and spices, and an array of tins and packages with unfamiliar and exciting looking names. Well, those bits I can read, anyway.

Pineapple Veg is a great little place to pick up fruit, veg and other bits and bobs. As part of a…read morebid to stop using Sainsburys in favour of supporting local small businesses and independent shops, I have found myself popping in more and more. As the fruit and veg stalls at the Open Market seem to be in decline- some having moved on altogether and some there only once in a while- Pineapple has become my new fruit and veg hot spot! The selection is great and they often have interesting seasonal fruit...watermelons, blood oranges, plantains and pomegranates to name but a few! Beyond the produce, they also stock all sorts of ethnic yummies and dried and tinned food too. A great place to look for inspiration and new recipe ideas! The guys who work there are really nice and on 'Snow Day' earlier this year they built three hilarious little snow people out side the shop, which made me love the place all the more!

Me and my flatmate went via Pineapple fruit and veg ltd on the London road, to look for some tasty,…read morefresh ingredients for a long awaited curry we had planned to make that night. Even though the daylight hours had long gone, and we were getting increasingly hungry, the eclectic, obscure and affordable selection of products on offer kept us in the shop browsing the aisles like two old ladies. Pineapple, has all the usual suspects of the fruit and veg world; potatoes, onions, tomatoes, peppers, chilis (scotch bonnets are 13p each!) etc...all at a lower price than the high street supermarkets dotted around Brighton, so worth a visit for your standards. What though is the trump card of this place is the selection of Middle Eastern, Turkish and Polish speciality foods such as the huge naan style bread which looks like it could feed a family for a week, and the massive 1kg jars of pickled cabbage, jalapenos, gherkins etc etc... (1kg!!!) all for around the £3-4 mark. Also a good selection of dried and fresh spices and herbs (such as a bunch of coriander for less than £1), fruit juices, and interesting condiments, Pineapple is a treasure trove of ethnic food, for a really reasonable price. I highly recommend taking a look.

Just one passing thought about Unithai Oriental Market sets me off into dream land again…read more.. thinking about the amazing red curry (likely the best I have ever had) and the spectacular soup (6c). It was like something out of dreams... and something that I never wanted to end. I wanted to become un-full so that I could go back and do it all over again. The bok choy was also amazing... simple, lovely sauce. Every dish could not have been any more tasty. The issue was with the time. We got there and were lucky to get a seat (arrived around 2:20pm on a Saturday). It was the last two seats in the house (not a large place to start with). Then the food took almost 45min to come out. And were I not so crazy-hungry it would have been okay. I heard the employee tell others over the phone that it would take an hour just for carry out. What this means is that the food is fresh - it's not some food stuffs hanging out in big pots just waiting to be placed in front of you. Just don't go too too hungry - it hurts. But the reward is so worth it. So so worth it. The staff are super friendly and the little food stuffs they sell at the market are great as well. I just love this place, and can't wait to be back in Hove at eating-time. It's what I'll go to sleep thinking about... then I'll likely have lovely happy dreams.

Ok so I'd happily live in here…read more My review is for the restaurant in the back of the supermarket - I've been back a few times since my last review and the food is always incredible. It's now my favourite restaurant in Brighton without a doubt. The noodle soups (6a and 6b on the menu) are fresh and always delicious. They taste just like in Thailand and are truly a cure for anything, be it a hangover, cold or a bad mood (or just because...!) 6a is a huge bowl of clear, flavourful stock, beansprouts, perfectly cooked rice noodles and fish balls, amazing fish sausage and ground pork. SO good. 6b is the bolder, richer older sibling. A dark and seriously aromatic broth with rice noodles, tender pork slices, springy pork balls and ground pork. For just over £6 it can't get any better! Add some (or all) of the condiments on the table, but be especially generous with the chilies in vinegar, so good. The chili flakes are HOT though! Both noodle soups are wonderful, textural experiences and a true meal in a bowl, although we always order a side of morning glory in either oyster sauce or chilli and garlic - both are perfect. The service is always great but at it's best when the aunty is there because she is lovely, clearly passionate about Thailand and Thai food and is very chatty and impressed if you speak any basic Thai. It's always busy but you'll always get a table after a wait. When it's especially packed or if you're dining alone you may be put on the communal table which is still comfortable, fun and people are often very friendly. If your a fan of real Thai food and are happy to eat somewhere casual, unlicensed, cash-only and in the back of a Thai supermarket, you definitely won't be disappointed!

Really great spot for healthier salads with copious options. I stopped in for lunch one day, and…read moregot their 1 main + 3 salads (£11.50 for eat in, £10.50 for take away). They had about 10 salads to choose from, most of which were vegan, and a bunch of mains, two of which were vegan. For the main, I got a decadent butter bean dish that was wonderfully flavoured, albeit quite oily. The salads were all quite intensely flavoured too, with a broccoli salad that had a nicely horseradish-dominant dressing, a tomato and bell pepper salad that was nicely dressed, and roasted sweet potatoes. Very filling and good value. I was really happy with the food. I capped off the meal with an American (£2.40), which was definitely above average for UK -- seems like the place is run by Italians, so that might be it. Super friendly and helpful staff who kindly pointed out everything that was vegan. All in all, highly recommended spot near the centre and beach.

Random stop for lunch today as I was wandering through the streets of Brighton fresh off an…read moreinternational flight.. I walked past and happened to notice the sign out the front advertising an all you can eat lunch for £6.95 per person. If that wasn't enough of an arm twister, the food on display in the window looked AMAZING! Today's hot menu offerings were vegetable soup, beef goulash, vege moussaka and Caribbean chicken drumsticks with mash or rice. And then a gorgeous array of 7 fresh salads to compliment your meal. Fresh, fast and tasty! This quiet and cosy restaurant had super lovely staff, and the food was just fantastic. Great little spot for lunch on North Street.

I'm picky about my Asian markets, and this is the one I end up going to most frequently in…read moreBrighton. In tandem with my biweekly organic japanese vegetable box from nama-yasai, this supermarket tends to have everything I need to round out my Japanese pantry. There's little in the way of goods from other Asian countries, so while the cuisines often share ingredients in common -- soy sauce, sesame oil -- just note there's not much Chinese fare on offer, and just a scant smattering of Korean seasonings that are popular in Japan. Among the items they have in stock that you will likely find it difficult to find elsewhere (and I say this because I tried to find them elsewhere) are: - Katakuriko, or potato starch, commonly used similarly to how corn starch is used in other cusines and of course gluten free! - Konyakku, a block of yam cake seasoned with seaweed (like shirataki noodles, which they also stock, but the solid block form can be harder to find) - Mountain vegetables, used in stews and one pot meals - Chikuwa, or grilled hollow cylindrical squid cakes - Frozen sushi grade fish - Japanese style cake mix and pancake mix, which are different from one another, and used by a ton of recipes on cookpad website They also carry fresh Japanese foods made in house, of which the harder-to-find offerings would be takoyaki (fried octopus/squid inside spherical dough), onigiri (rice balls with a filling in the center), and mochi/daifuku (a type of dessert made from sweet rice pounded into a dough and a sweet filling in the center). And while I mean no offense to E-Kagen, here are things I don't recommend you get there, or which you can't get there: - Umeboshi (japanese pickled plums), because they're not the tastiest and overpriced for the small quantity... see if you can get the jarred Clearspring ones from Infinity foods instead. - Umeboshi purree, because it's common in Japanese recipes to request chopped Umeboshi to be added to something, especially a dressing, and it's cheaper and faster to use this item instead... E-Kagen doesn't carry it, so you'll need to go to hiSbe for it. - Shiso-ume seasoning, commonly used with rice... E-Kagen doesn't carry it, but neither does anybody in Brighton. Le sigh. - The selection of fresh japanese vegetables is limited (this is true of anywhere in Brighton) and you will probably need to go to Japan Centre in London for what you seek, or order a vegetable box like I do. Credit card minimum is 10 pounds, and they charge extra for packets of condiments if you are buying any of their ready made food (e.g. packets of soy sauce and wasabi carry a charge). The staff is always very friendly and you can ask them if you're looking for something specific, though sometimes the answer is that they don't have it!

Muesli Mountain is great- if you haven't yet stumbled across it, I suggest you check it out pronto!…read moreHidden away in a yard behind Queen's Park Rd, it is essentially a mini open market, with stalls selling all sorts of yummy food and interesting arts and crafts produced locally. The ethos is basically local local local! It's a really lovely alternative place to pick up freshly made bread (from the Lighthouse bakery) and organic fruit and veg. At the moment there is a stall selling and renting (!) live Xmas trees in pots and there is also a great selection of Christmassy gift ideas. You can even pick up sustainably sourced logs and kindling for lovely winter open fires. The market is open every day except Sunday and if you live in the Hanover area it's a really great resource. Even if you live further afield, Muesli Mountain is worth a trek. It is an inspired project with a lovely atmosphere- one of those little gems that makes you so grateful you live in Brighton.

Think Local, Buy Local, BE Local…read more As straplines go, Museli Mountain Market's is short, sweet and spot on. Run by a team of Hanover residents, it's an open market that aims to provide other locals with a space to meet, chat and learn how to be more sustainable. There's fresh organic fruit, salad and vegetables from local farms and allotments, gorgeous bread from Lighthouse Bakery and store cupboard essentials like pasta, rice, flour and cereals. They also sell local seeds and plants, cleaning products and Ecover refills. As a girl with a sweet-tooth, my only grumble is the lack of fresh and tasty, locally baked cakes!